Champions still: Nicolet girls open state title defense with impressive win over King

Glendale - The Nicolet girls basketball team is still the defending state champions even though the front court is awfully barren without the likes of Ashley Green, Alex Cohen and Gabby Bronson.

But the backcourt is still full and hopes remain high for the reloading Knights, especially after returning guard Brittney Fair scored a career-high 27 points and got 18 points from transfer post Briana Gray in Nicolet's stunning season-opening 53-46 win over Milwaukee King on Friday.

"Obviously, that's a huge win," Knights coach Corey Wolf said. "That's a great team we beat with a ton of talent. They play at a fast pace and really try to stretch you. The biggest positive for us, was that we stayed competitive and found a way to win. We found a way past their physical defense."

The three-time North Shore champion Knights open defense of their league title Friday at home against Homestead (0-1) and then head back to Homestead for a 4:30 p.m. Saturday date with DSHA in the NY2LA Classic.

Wolf knows the team will have to play with the same intensity as it did against King all season long if the Knights want to make it four titles in a row.

Not intense enough

Intensity was a problem out of the gate against King.

"We were down 11-2," Wolf said, "and I took two timeouts pretty early. We just couldn't catch our rhythm, and I was afraid that if we dug ourselves too deep a hole we wouldn't be able to get out.

"But we kept focus and we were really honed into what was going on out there."

The Knights tied the score at 13 by the end of the quarter and then took the lead for good with a 22-14 effort in the second session.

Gray scored 11 of her points in the second quarter. Both she and Fair found different ways to torment the Generals.

"They were very aggressive defensively," Wolf said of the Generals, "and Brittney just found a way to the basket time and again through the open lanes. She would hit pull-up jumpers and drive one on one. And Bri (Gray) was just so strong with the ball. She catches and shoots so well. She really took advantage of her opportunities."

The lead was 11 going into the fourth quarter and it was still double digits with three minutes to go before King made a late push.

Room for improvement

"We needed to make a few better decisions," Wolf said. "We fouled them when we didn't need to and didn't work the clock well when we could have."

Still, Wolf was very happy with the win. She said that point guard Courtney Smith made one great decision after another and really controlled the game. Wolf also pointed to junior forward Lanoira Duhart and senior forward Rebecca Olin for their efforts on the boards.

Wolf also noted that Gray has made an easy transition to a new team this winter.

"Bri just picks up things so quickly," she said. "She understands the things so well. I really think the sky is the limit for her."

"It's still so early. I wasn't sure what we picked up in these last few weeks, but we're headed in the right direction."