Vanguards’ girls split a pair

The WIAA girls basketball postseason seeds will be announced on Sunday. And Wisconsin Heights has put itself in position for a solid seed during the upcoming playoffs. The Vanguards split a pair of games last week and are now 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the Capitol South Conference. Heights defeated Waterloo, 65-20, on Feb. 4. The Vanguards then fell to Belleville, 61-24, on Feb. 6. Here’s a recap of the Vanguards’ week: • Wisconsin Heights 65, Waterloo 20 — Sonja Severson had 17 points to power the Vanguards past the Pirates. Severson added four assists, two rebounds and two steals. Jocelyn Brabender added 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, while R.J. Kalscheur had eight points and 13 rebounds, and Lydia Crowe had eight points, four assists and three rebounds. “It was a fun game to coach as the girls played great on both ends of the court,” Heights coach Tyler Fuchs said. “A complete effort by everyone who played.” Heights actually was out of sorts early and fell in a 10-4 hole. After Fuchs called an early timeout, the Vanguards outscored the Pirates, 61-10, the rest of the way. Heights surged to a 31-14 halftime lead, then opened the second half on a 17-0 run. “After the timeout, we took the press off and played tough half-court defense, forcing them into turnovers and bad shots, which we turned into easy fast break points,” Fuchs said. “We started moving more on offense and created open looks at the rim.” • Belleville 61, Wisconsin Heights 24 — The Vanguards fell behind, 38-10, by halftime and never challenged in the second half. Sonja Severson led Heights with eight points and 12 rebounds, while R.J. Kalscheur added eight points and seven rebounds. The Vanguards finished with 30 turnovers, which led to 30 Belleville points. “Belleville pressured us on their defensive end which sped us up on offense,” Fuchs said. “That led to rushed, poor shots and bad passes that we haven’t made in a while. We talked (last) Friday at practice about what happened and how we can learn it from it. “We went in with a game plan of limiting their top two scorers, one a post and the other a guard. We knew their other starters were good shooters and unfortunately they were hot in the first half. We did a great job making things difficult for their two leading scorers so I was proud of that. It wasn’t our best game but we are going to use it as an opportunity to improve and get better for the last few weeks of the season.” • On deck: Heights was at Cambridge Tuesday, then hosts Black Hawk Thursday at 6 p.m. and is at Marshall Friday at 7:30 p.m.