---

by Joelle Doye
From time to time, teams have a game where very little goes wrong and everything seems to go right.
Barneveld had one of those Monday.
To say the Golden Eagles shot the ball well would be a huge understatement. A 32 point second quarter, where every shot seemed to find the bottom of the net, was the dagger in putting away host Mineral Point for a 76-36 non-conference win.
A 12-2 Eagle run set the tone right from the start that featured token pressure and a three each from Hannah Whitish and Hailey Kleppe, as well as six straight points from Rachel Slaney. Freshman Clara Chambers scored the final five points of the frame for Mineral Point to pull the hosts within 21-12 at the end of one.
An 11-0 run to start the second quarter, and a 12-2 stretch in the middle, showcased the offensive fire power that the Eagles are capable of when firing on all cylinders--a very scary sight for any opponent. Barneveld held a 53-22 halftime lead.
The Eagles picked up right where they left off to start the third with Madi Laube hitting back to back triples. Whitish and Kristen Udelhofen each added a three in the period as well. Chambers' half court shot as the horn sounded got the Pointers to 29 points, but Barneveld was still firmly in command with 71.
Both teams played their substitutes for the majority of the fourth quarter, and the pace of the scoring slowed down considerably.
Slaney led all scorers with 21 points (all in the first half). Whitish added 12 and Laube 10.
Chambers was the only Pointer in double digits with 10.
The Eagles improved to 3-0 with the win while Point fell to 1-2.
"Barneveld shot extremely well," said Pointer coach Mitch Wainwright. "But we didn't do a good job challenging many of those shots, and we just looked tired. We were a half step slow, we didn't get to loose balls, and we didn't box out. It's like they punched us and we didn't want to get back up."
"We knew they were going to pressure us--we watched film, we practiced it. We knew they were extremely athletic and could shoot well. I don't think we played with a whole lot of pride--we let them do whatever they wanted."
"We talked before the game, 'Where are we as a team?' This would've been a good game to figure that out. Barneveld has as tremendous program, and it's not like they just get mailed an invite to the state tournament every year--they earn it. We were just not ready to play tonight."
Things don't get easier for the Pointers as undefeated Cuba City comes to town Thursday. They then travel to Fennimore Tuesday.
"We have to remember how it feels to get beat by 40, but then we have to turn right around and try to forget about it by Thursday," said Wainwright.
"We shot well, especially in that second quarter," said Eagle coach Jim Myers. "We might never shoot that well again," he chuckled.
"I think we were quicker than they expected. We created a lot of turnovers, but we also had a few too many fouls. We had good energy for both halves, and took it possession by possession."
"Mineral Point moved the ball well, and has some big kids we thought could give us problems. Bottom line is, we just had an incredibly hot stretch tonight," concluded the coach.
Barneveld hosts Pecatonica Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
B: 21-32-18-5--76
MP: 12-10-7-7--36
BOX SCORE
BARNEVELD (fg-ft-tp) 76: Udelhofen 4-0-9, Straubhaar 1-0/2-3, Kleppe 2-0-6, Whitish 5-0-12, Laube 3-1/2-10, Slaney 9-3/4-21, Carden 2-0-5, Oimoen 3-2/3-8. Totals: 30-6/11-76. Fouls: 19. Three pointers: Laube 3, Kleppe 2, Whitish 2, Straubhaar 1, Udelhofen 1.
MINERAL POINT 36: Qualley 2-0-4, Dolphin 1-1/3-3, Graber 2-4/8-8, Mitchell 2-0-4, Chambers 3-3/5-10, Eggers 1-0-2, Enright 0-1/2-1, Schultz 2-0-4. Totals: 13-9/18-36. Fouls: 9. Three pointers: Chambers 1.