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Menomonee Falls - They are long, athletic, tenacious and relentless.Sussex Hamilton's girls basketball team plays the type of defense that Dick Bennett would love. Friday night, Menomonee Falls found out just how suffocating the Chargers can be.

Hamilton held the Indians to just five field goals and 12.5% shooting. That defensive effort helped the Chargers knock off Menomonee Falls, 36-19, in a Greater Metro Conference showdown.

"Defense is our main constant and it's stressed from Day 1," said third-year Hamilton coach Dan Carey. "And the fun thing is we have kids that like to play defense. They want to play defense."

Hamilton, ranked ninth in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 1 poll, improved to 8-0 overall and moved into first place in the league at 4-0. Falls, ranked fourth in Division 1, fell to 10-2 and 3-1.

"I think we were already confident," Hamilton sophomore guard Hannah Menzia said. "But this just helps us so much more. To win here and stay unbeaten is huge."

The Chargers' defense was huge on this night.

Hamilton, which was allowing just 28.3 points per game, took it up a notch. Not only did the Chargers limit Falls to 5-of-40 shooting, but they also held the Indians to just one second-half field goal and no baskets in the final 13 minutes 10 seconds.

Hamilton mixed man-to-man and zone defenses all night and sprinkled in some full-court pressure and half-court traps.

"I think we kept them on edge," said Hamilton sophomore forward Mackenzie Latt, who led all scorers with 13 points. "That's the kind of defense we want to play. That's Hamilton basketball."

Hamilton, which won its first seven games by an average of 26.6 points, took a 23-13 halftime lead thanks to its stifling defense. Falls had three droughts of at least 4½ minutes without a field goal and shot 4 of 23 (17.4%) in the half.

Hamilton used a 19-4 run over a 9-minute stretch in the first half to take a 23-10 lead. Five Chargers scored in that time, Latt and Menzia with five points each and Jenny Shernell with four.

Hamilton led, 25-13, early in the third quarter when the Indians got a basket from junior forward Erin Crownover. Falls missed its final 13 shots, though, which allowed Hamilton to run away and hide.

The Chargers were far from perfect with 27 turnovers. But Hamilton shot a respectable 40.5% (15 of 37) and played stellar defense.

"There's a ton of things we can get better at," Carey said. "But to come here and win a tough road game and play defense like we did, that's something we can definitely be proud of."

Wow! What a great tournament this past weekend! We received many compliments on the tournament from a wide variety of people including the referees, t-shirt vendor, visiting teams and our own parents. Special thanks to the following people for helping with this success:

· All of the families involved in the program – Thanks for volunteering, supplying your assigned donation, lending us your appliances, working your shift, having patience when things didn’t go as planned (ex. concession stand electrical test on Friday night L), always being willing to do anything that was asked and taking pride in what you did. Your positive attitude about our program showed! If you were one of the many volunteers who worked a double shift, stayed longer than you needed to or showed up with additional help (player siblings, grandparents, etc.), thank you!! Our tournament could not have run as smoothly as it did without all of your help. You made us look good!

· All of the high school students who helped us out – Tristen Hayes, Hannah Jeffers, Jessie Neumann, Amy Neve, Colleen O'Neill, Melanie Sumiec, Eric Thompson, Lauren Ullmann, Kayla Walsh, and from National Honor Society Riley Feldman, Sarah Geier, Mitch Nitschke, Maddie Oskey, Sarah Thompson and Marlee Williams. The extra hands really helped us during the times that we were short parent volunteers.

· A special thank you to Michelle Shanks, a friend of the program who has never had a player in the Jr. Charger program yet worked set up on Friday night as well as a 13 hour day at HHS Concessions on Saturday.

· The families of the Tournament Directors who put up with the planning meetings before the tournament, making signs, getting pulled into hauling, working, running, etc. That “guilt by association” thing was in full swing. Special thanks to Julie Walsh, Sarah Thompson and Eric Thompson for being Concession Leads since one person cannot be at both schools, and to Brian Thompson for all of his efforts on Sunday with unpacking and hauling the leftover concession items.

· Dan Carey, Dee Latt and Dan Waddell – Thanks to the HHS coaches for supporting the Jr. Charger program by handing out trophies and cheering our teams on throughout the day. The players always appreciate seeing you in the stands!

· Tom Mulholland, Dan Waddell and Sue Waddell – Thanks to the leadership team of the Jr. Charger program for helping out all weekend!

· Brian Hagenow – Thanks for arranging the donation of 320 hot dog buns. This makes hot dogs a huge profit maker for us! We will miss you in the Jr. Charger program next year, but you are always welcome back!

· The parents of past Jr. Chargers who came back to volunteer – Lori Hayes and Tom Neve. Once a Jr. Charger, always a Jr. Charger! J

· Kelly O’Neill – Thanks for helping with the concession stand shopping at Sam’s. Your steering ability of an overloaded flat bed was outstanding!

· The O’Neill, Derpinghaus, Hagenow and Klug families – Thanks for supplying injury ice bags. They were definitely used to the point that TMS ran out.

Many people asked what happens to the leftover food from the concession stand. The perishable items (fruit, hot dog buns, unopened ketchup, mustard, etc.) are donated to the Sussex Food Pantry. The extra candy, chips, brownies, granola bars, Gatorade, water and soda is given to Dan and Sue Waddell who coordinate a Give Back Day selling the items at the Saturday basketball program. The profits from that are then donated to a charity chosen by the club. Two years ago, it went to the Sussex Food Pantry. Last year it was added to the money that the high school program collected to support breast cancer awareness and research.

I had a couple parents offer to cook noodles for next year’s tournament. The tournament directors cooked 20 pounds of noodles this year, but we could have used 30 since both schools ran out by 4:30. If you would like your name added to that list, please let me know. We are also collecting names of anyone interested in shadowing the Tournament Director team next year in preparation for taking the tournament over in 2013. Please let us know if you are interested in that as well.

We always ask the coaches from the other teams for feedback on the tournament, but we also welcome feedback from the volunteers (positive or negative). Every year, we look to make improvements. If you have any thoughts on this, feel free to send them to me. Thanks again for everything you did this past weekend!

Your 2011 Tournament Directors,

Mark Selin, Jim Sumiec, Nancy Thompson, Jay Walsh and Brad Williams