HOLMEN — The Aquinas High School girls basketball team wanted the ball in the hands of Sammy Davis in an MVC opener against Holmen on Tuesday night.
The Blugolds also wanted to make sure every dribble and pass made by the Vikings was under duress.
All of that was accomplished as Aquinas ran its conference winning streak to 115 games with a 70-16 victory at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse — the site of its last MVC loss on Dec. 11, 2015.
Davis made 16 of 23 shots, scored 29 of her 33 points in the first half and finished with 10 rebounds as the Blugolds (5-1), who are ranked eighth in Division 3 by the Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports media poll, won their fifth game in a row after opening the season with a loss to Kettle Moraine Lutheran.
The Vikings (3-2, 0-1) scored just three points — an Aspyn Archer 3-pointer with 16 minutes, 40 seconds left — in the second half, and Aquinas scored the final 22 points in a game that reached a running clock. Holmen had a two-game winning streak snapped.
“Our defensive pressure was the best I’ve seen in probably five or six years,” Aquinas coach Dave Donarski said. “I loved the intensity level, and I’m really proud of the way they played.”
The Blugolds had 21 steals, and most of them led to points for Davis, who pushed her scoring average to 23.8 per game with the big performance. She scored nearly all of her points in the post while being set up for shot after shot by her teammates.
“She is such an explosive athlete, and she was able to get into scoring position for the ball,” Donarski said. “The passes were on point, and that always helps.”
Senior Alaina Elias added 10 points and tied junior teammate Ava Fernholz for the team lead with five steals. Elias, Fernholz, Eva Willenbring and Alivia Dickinson all had three assists for Aquinas, which received at least two points from all 10 players who took the court.
Archer’s 3-pointer in the second half gave her a team-high five points for the Vikings, who faced a quick 14-3 deficit and trailed 46-13 at the half.
