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There were enough good things that happened in Highland's 53-29 win over Pecatonica in non-conference girls basketball action Monday to make both coaches leave the gym with something good.
For Pecatonica it was the ability to give the Cardinals a game in a very close first half that ended with Highland leading 27-25.
It was also the post play of Brooke Johnson who scored 10 points and gave the Vikings a physical presence all night.
"She has been playing well," said Vikings coach Aaron Lancaster.
It was also the return of Emily Scoville who came back from a trip with some illness but still gutted it out to add nine points to the Pecatonica total.
"The girls played pretty well the first half and did a good job executing," Lancaster said. "They gave a good effort and for that, I am happy."
The Cardinals changed defenses the second half and the three quarter court 1-3-1 led to traps and steals. Pecatonica managed only four points the second half, two each quarter, as the Cardinals put up 26.
"Give coach (Josh) Tarrell credit," Lancaster said. "He did a good job finding our weak spots and we struggled with the pressure. They got us running and when we get ahead of ourselves we get into trouble."
"We didn't handle the ball well with their pressure and they beat us on the boards," Lancaster added.
For the Cardinals the bright spots included the return of Bianca Yager to the line-up after sitting out with a hyper extended elbow. She scored five points in limited action.
"It is good to have her back," Tarrell said. "We gave her a few minutes at a time and she responded well. She has to get back into basketball shape and we hope we get her there for the post season."
A second bright spot was a double double turned in by 5-10 senior Brenna Bomkamp.
"She dominated in the post and had 10 points and 10 rebounds," Tarrell said. "She has been doing that regularly all season."
A third good thing was Caitlin Wienkes who led the Cardinals with 13 points and handled the ball flawlessly.
"She had a great game," Tarrell said.
When it came to ball handling the Cardinals excelled and only had 10 turnovers, their lowest total of the season.
Tarrell said the first half was close because the Vikings were shooting well.
"We played OK the first half but they shot very well," said Tarrell. "They made some good shots to get back in it."
But the defensive switch ended that.
"We got more opportunities the second half because we got some steals and got hot," Tarrell said.
"The only problem we had was at the free throw line (3 of 14) but we will keep working on that," said Tarrell.
The game was a warm-up for the post season. Highland has received the number two seed and will host Ithaca which is seeded seventh. Pecatonica is seeded seventh and will travel to Benton to face number two seed Benton/Shullsburg. The post season games are at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
P 10 15 2 2 29
H 16 11 10 16 53
BOX SCORE
PECATONICA 29: (fg-ft-tp) Schraepfer 1-0-2, Scoville 4-0-9, Miller 2-0-4, Erickson 1-0-2, Johnson 4-2-10, Mabin 1-0-2 Totals 13-2/6-29 Fouls-15
HIGHLAND 53: Drury 2-0-4, Wienkes 6-1-13, Kosharek 3-0-9, Bomkamp 5-0-10, Dailey 2-0-4, Rose 0-1-1, Yager 2-1-5, Esser 3-0-7 Totals 23-3/14-53 Fouls-9
3 point goals:
P-Scoville 1
H-Kosharek 3, Esser 1