If you haven't seen downtown Blanchardville in the middle of a winter snowstorm, your art collection lacks anything from Norman Rockwell's winter material.

That was the postcard setting through which I drove -- slowly -- to watch a great prep girls basketball game Tuesday night between Barneveld and host Pecatonica.

So did about 500 other people -- including members of the Barneveld boys team, who got the opportunity after their scheduled game with New Glarus was postponed. And none of us left questioning our sanity for braving the snow-covered roads -- I feel uneasy when I ask reporters navigate Highway 78 between Mount Horeb and Blanchardville  in good weather -- just to watch Barneveld pull out a 59-57 victory over the Vikings.

(By the way, my journey through Daleyville reminded me of another slow crawl I took in 2003 to South Wayne to watch the Pec boys play Black Hawk. That night, Highway 11 was nearly impassable, but I was treated to a great game that night, too, as the host Warriors edged Pec 55-53 on a late 3-point play.)

Barneveld, which faltered down the stretch of a 70-61 loss to Pec when the teams met Dec. 21 in Barneveld, were up to the challenge from start to finish Tuesday.

The Eagles were agressive rebounders during the first half, owning a 23-12 edge on the boards at the half with 11 of them coming on the offensive glass. In addition, they had an answer for every Pec basket.

After Kimee Chandler and Ashley Gant scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Vikings a 6-4 lead 3 minutes into the game, Pec only score multiple field goals in between Barneveld baskets once more the rest of the way. That came on a Chandler 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter and a Danielle Senf fast-break basket to open the fourth -- after talking things over during the quarter break and committing a turnover.

``I think we had all the momentum on our side instead of on their side,'' Barneveld's Alyssa Bowe said, when asked to compare this meeting to the first. ``They're a running team like us, but they're faster runners. We needed to slow down and keep the momentum.''

 In doing so, the Eagles won "The Battle for Highway K" and retained ownership of the mock road sign and pro  wrestling championship belt Barneveld had earned back from Pec with a 51-50 boys basketball victory Jan. 15.

Whether Barneveld can sustain the momentum remains to be seen. The Eagles looked as good as ever with their intensity and all nine of their players who scored looked confident in seizing shot opportunities.

``This team, maybe a couple losses got them to open their eyes a little bit and know that everybody has to contribute,'' said Barneveld coach Jim Myers, whose team's upset of the state's No. 2-ranked Division 4 team is its sixth straight win since a 49-38 loss to Black Hawk -- their opponent at home Friday night.

 ``We had to be patient against Pec because they want you hurry up and take that shot so they can get down on offense. That's a team that's almost like the (New England) Patriots; you want to keep them off the offensive end because they have so many weapons.''

 The Vikings haven't been firing on all cylinders of late -- in part because of injury issues to Chandler and Senf, who didn't start Tuesday after having a nagging knee injury checked out in Madison earlier in the day.

 But you wouldn't have known it against Barneveld. The Vikings managed to slice into the Eagles' rebounding edge -- outrebounding them 19-7 during the second half -- and forcing Barneveld into 15 of its 23 turnovers. Pec had chances to tie the ball game on the game's last two possessions and, typical of a great game, the Eagles' made two defensive stops to seal the win.

 ``Rebounding absolutely destroyed us,'' Pec coach Josh Tarrell said. ``We've got to get that fixed before tournament or we're not going to reach where we want to go. They destroyed us on rebounding and until we fix that, it's going to be a shorter season than we want.''

 And this is a Vikings team that has the personnel to enjoy a long, prosperous journely along the WIAA tournament trail ... if it ever gets plowed out.

Signing day is today

We received an e-mail Tuesday telling us that River Valley senior Garrett Peck was scheduled to sign his National Letter of Intent today to play football at Northern Michigan. According his father Mark, Garrett was recruited as a punter and tight end by many NCAA Division II and some Division I schools, but opted to accept a full scholarship from Northern Michigan.

 We will begin a separate Prep Talk blog as word of other area signings -- in football and other fall sports -- are released by colleges today. Other prep athletes who are expected to sign NLIs today -- or their parents -- are encouraged to e-mail us with news of their decisions to rhernandez@madison.com.