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You would be hard pressed to find it but you know it is there.
That would be the switch that Barneveld junior guard Hannah Whitish turns on when it is time to elevate her already outstanding play just a little more.
She flipped that switch in the middle of the second quarter of a tight game between the Six Rivers East and Six Rivers West champions Saturday at Mount Horeb and took a 14-9 game to 25-9 in three and a half minutes.
After Maggie Oimoen pushed up a shot using her 6'2" frame to her advantage and drew a foul and made the free throw to give the Eagles a five point lead and Taylor Owens wove in for a driving layup for a seven point advantage, Hannah Whitish took over, scoring seven quick points in a minute and a half. She started with a three pointer for a 19-9 lead then followed with a drive and a baseline move to make it a 14 point margin with 2:06 to go in the half.
Oimoen finished the scoring in the quarter when she snatched up a loose ball bouncing around near the basket and stuffed it in to give the Eagles a 25-9 lead at the half.
Then it was the defense's turn and that part of the game took over allowing Benton/Shullsburg only six second half points and no baskets the final frame.
The Eagles kept up the scoring and advanced to the WIAA Division 5 sectionals at Mineral Point Thursday with a 46-15 win.
The Zephyrs seemed to go into a trance the rest of the first half when Oimoen and Hannah Whitish both clicked for seven points for the 17 point lead. Oimoen was a force inside on both ends of the court, finishing with 14 points and altering many Zephyrs shots as they tried to attack the lane most of the night.
Hannah Whitish took scoring honors with 19 points. After a silent first quarter she struck for seven, nine and three points in the final three frames to reach her total.
Only five girls scored for the Eagles but 13 played and put on a show of smooth ball handling along with suffocating defense.
Rachel Slaney had a battle with foul trouble and sat much of the first three quarters, giving Oimoen time on the court. Slaney saw enough action to garner nine points.
The Eagles scored five points the final quarter mostly because they ran their ball control offense to take time off the clock. When the substitutions came in they stayed with the ball control style, not missing a beat.
Benton/Shullsburg missed 12 straight free throws until Bailey Redfern, a senior guard, made both of her attempts in the fourth quarter for all the points in the frame.
Six foot freshman Brianna Leahy led the Zephyrs with six points, hooking in a couple baskets over Oimoen.
Leahy had all four points for the Zephyrs in the third quarter.
Another Benton/Shullsburg freshman, Emma Lawrence, added four points, all in the first half.
While their accomplishments did not show up in the scorebook, Mia Whitish, Kelsee Fargo, Mattie Schave and Taylor Owens all had huge contributions.
Mia Whitish spent time in the post and at point guard, depending on what the situation dictated. Fargo, Schave and Owens all had good performances on the boards and keeping the basketball safe.
Eagles coach Jim Myers was waiting for the girls to make their move and it happened to be the scoring from Hannah Whitish and Oimoen that got them rolling.
"Their scoring was big for us but so was their defense," Myers said. "We also had some girls who didn't score but contributed heavily on defense and handling the ball."
While the win was one-sided the competition was still strong.
"Benton/Shullsburg is a really good basketball team," Myers said. "They will be good for several years."
The Eagles will face another Six Rivers West team in the Sectional semifinals tonight when they take on defensive minded River Ridge. The Timberwolves eliminated Highland in the Regional finals to earn the Sectional assignment.
"They are outstanding defensively," said Myers about the Wolves. "They also have one of the best coaches in the state (Carron Townsend) so they will be ready. We will have to be laced up and ready."
The Sectional finals will be played Saturday at Richland Center.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
B/S 5 4 4 2 15
B 9 16 16 5 46
BOX SCORE
B/S 15: (fg-ft-tp) Droessler 0-0-0, Burmeister 0-0-0, Rennert 0-0-0, Lawrence 2-0-4, Neis 0-0-0, Hauset 0-0-0, Leahy 3-0-6, Redfern 0-2-2, Carver 0-0-0, Dougherty 0-0-0, Bastian 1-0-3, Morrissey 0-0-0 Totals 6-2/14-15 Fouls-12
BARNEVELD 46: Fargo 0-0-0, Sutter 0-0-0, Walker 0-0-0, Bahr 0-0-0, Owens 1-0-2, H. Whitish 8-1-19, M. Whitish 0-0-0, Schave 0-0-0, Cannoy 0-0-0, Roberts 0-2-2, Slaney 4-1-9, Malin 0-0-0, Oimoen 6-2-14 Totals 19-6/13-46 Fouls-16
3 point goals:
B/S-Bastian 1
B-H. Whitish 2