Lions’ 1-2 punch knocks out Pirates

Brackmann, Hintz combine for 33 points

Special to the Journal Sentinel

Greenfield — Chelsea Brackmann and Julia Hintz of New Berlin Eisenhower create a “pick your poison” dilemma for most defenses. On Thursday night, Pewaukee got a dose of both.

Eisenhower’s big senior and little freshman wreaked havoc in leading the Lions to a 65-58 victory over the Pirates in a Division 2 sectional semifinal matchup.

The 6-2 Brackmann posted 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the 5-5 Hintz added 12 points and a strong floor game as Eisenhower (20-5) earned a matchup against Pius XI on Saturday for a trip to state.

“The thing about Chelsea is she’s playing her game,” Eisenhower coach Gary Schmidt said. “She’s come to play now. She’s not playing around anymore. She’s dominating the boards, she’s finishing, she’s hitting her free throws. She’s tough to handle right now.”

Pewaukee (18-7) led for most of the first 24 minutes.

The Pirates shot 61.9% (13 for 21) in the opening half and held Eisenhower to just 37.9% (11 for 29). On most nights, those numbers would lead to a solid lead. Instead, the Pirates held just a 32-29 edge thanks to allowing the Lions nine offensive rebounds.

With Pewaukee holding a 4139 lead with 11 minutes left, Brackmann scored six straight points inside for a 4541 lead, forcing a Pirates timeout.

After MacKenzie Schill scored for Pewaukee, the defense collapsed on Brackmann, who passed back to Hintz for a three-pointer.

Brackmann added two free throws to push the lead to 5043 with 8:48 left, and the Pirates never got closer than three the rest of the way.

“We struggled the first half,” Brackmann said. “We had a few turnovers and we weren’t being strong with the ball.

“It was a different look from Pewaukee. I don’t think they’ve ever played zone on us, so that kind of shook us up a little. But eventually we got the rhythm of it and in the second half we did a lot better.”

Shooting percentages flipflopped in the second half. Eisenhower shot 66.7% (10 for 15), and Pewaukee made just 33.3% (9 of 27).

Eisenhower put the game away by making 11 of 12 free throws over the final 1:41.

“I’m so proud of my teammates,” said Brackmann, who went 9 for 9 from the line, four of them in the closing stretch. “We shoot at least 30 to 40 free throws a day, every day, every practice.”

Pewaukee was led by senior Abby Gerrits’ 19 points. She is the school’s all-time leading scorer, but her career ran out of time when Eisenhower finally figured out the Pewaukee zone.

“We don’t play zone a lot, but we had to give them a different look,” said Pewaukee coach Todd Hansen, whose team lost to Eisenhower for a third time this season. “At the beginning, we did some good things. In the second half, they made a few adjustments . . . and she (Brackmann) got some easy baskets.

“Give them credit. They made a few more plays than we did.”