ONALASKA — Onalaska High School girls basketball coach Tom Cowley knew he’d have a good blend of talent and experience this season.
More importantly, he understood the depth on his roster, and that made him decide defensive pressure could make a difference for his Hilltoppers.
Playing in its second game in as many nights, Onalaska used full-court pressure to overwhelm Chippewa Falls 64-30 in a nonconference game on John Shelton Court on Friday.
The Hilltoppers (2-0) used turnover after turnover to pull away and never led the Cardinals (1-1) get comfortable in a one-sided second half.
“We’re just trying to bring more pressure because we can go pretty deep (into the lineup),” Cowley said. “The kids really love that style of play, so we’re mixing it up, and this was already the third or fourth look for our press tonight.”
The Hilltoppers also used that press to beat Onalaska Luther 47-39 on Thursday.
Onalaska led just 17-15 late in the first half before sophomore Kayla Ketelhut scored in the lane, then found junior Lauren Pic open for a 3-pointer from the left corner for a 22-15 halftime lead.
That advantage skyrocketed in the second half, which began with a 17-4 Onalaska run. The Hilltoppers made three 3-pointers — two by junior Olivia Passehl — during that run. The second of those, set up with a pass from junior Finley Walters, gave the Hilltoppers a 39-19 lead with 12 minutes, 20 seconds left.
Passehl made five 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points, and Ketelhut added 13. The Hilltoppers made nine 3-pointers as a team, and Pica and Ketelhut hit two apiece.
Junior Natalie Marso also cleaned up on the offensive boards in the second half and finished with eight points. Three of her four baskets came on putbacks.
“I think we could go eight games and have eight different leading scorers,” Cowley said of the balance he expects to see this season. “You saw two or three people step up tonight after having some other score more (Thursday) night.”
