Squads can learn from a defeat

Raider girls, Wildcat boys lose to state ranked teams

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon’s varsity girls basketball team did the best it could on Monday to break Westfield’s constant fullcourt trap, but its sharp outside shooting was too much for the Red Raiders to handle. A talented Westfield squad defeated Marathon, 73-27, in Marathon.

Red Raiders head coach Jeff Schneider praised his team for its tremendous effort on Monday.

“Despite the score, I was pleased how the girls communicated better in limiting the amount of live ball turnovers we had that led to easy layups for Westfield,” he said. “They shot the ball extremely well at 60 percent from three pointers (12 for 20) last night. I love how our team plays hard and together on the defensive end talking and switching screens and helping each other out.”

Westfield lost in last season’s WIAA Division 4 state tournament semifinal to eventual undefeated state champion Mineral Point. The Pioneers are ranked fourth in this week’s wissports. net Division 4 poll with a 13-1 record. Westfield’s only loss this season is to second ranked Laconia, 14-1, which lost to Mineral Point in last season’s Division 4 state championship.

The Pioneers have made 36 percent (88 for 247) of their three-point shots this season. Senior guard Nadia Hoffa is eighth in Division 4 in the WIAA’s girls basketball three-point challenge this season. She made all three of her three-point attempts against Marathon to finish with 13 points. Sophomore guard Haddie Showen made four of five three-point attempts to tie junior Carly Drew for the team lead with 19 points apiece against Marathon.

No Marathon player reached doubledigit points against Westfield. Senior guard Kali Prihoda paced the team with seven points and four rebounds, while senior Hannah Baldeshwiler had five points. Marathon now has a 6-7 record this season after Monday’s loss to Westfield.

The Marathon girls did beat Prentice, 53-23, on Friday in Prentice. The Red Raiders outscored the Lady Buccaners, 32-12, in the second half.

“I am super proud of the second half the girls played last Friday night,” Schneider said. “Our level of talk and ball movement really picked up. It was a super effort on the road.”

Senior guard Ashley Phakitthong led Marathon with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Prihoda added 16 points and seven rebounds.

Edgar boys fall to Mosinee

Junior guard Teegan Streit’s game-high 19 points on Thursday weren’t quite enough as Edgar’s varsity boys basketball team lost to a tough Mosinee squad, 62-48, in Edgar. Mosinee is ranked seventh in this week’s wissports.net Division 2 poll with a 10-1 record this season.

Edgar head coach Dave Huss is hoping his team starts its future games stronger than it did against Mosinee. The Wildcats scored 21 points in the first half and 27 points in the second half.

“I thought our kids played extremely hard and competed well against a very good Mosinee team,” he said. “ Unfortunately, you can’t dig yourself into a hole early in a game against a quality opponent. Hopefully we can get off to a quicker start in our next game and build off of that confidence. We are still growing and evolving as a team. There were a lot of positives from the game against Mosinee, Hopefully we can continue to improve and clean up some areas as we continue into the second half of our schedule.”

No other Edgar player besides Streit achieved double-digit points against Mosinee. Senior Justin Davis was next on the team with eight points. Junior Brett Baumgartner led the Wildcats with 10 rebounds and junior Preston Dahlke added seven. Sophomore Leyton Schuett paced Edgar with four blocks, junior Karter Butt with four assists and Streit with three steals.

Senior Davin Stoffel and junior Keagan Jirschele paced Mosinee with 15 points each.

The Edgar boys unfortunately did not get off to a good start on Tuesday against Auburndale, either. The Wildcats lost to the Eagles, 55-22, in Auburndale.

Auburndale improves its record to 11-1 this season while Edgar falls to 5-7. The Eagles are ranked seventh in this week’s wissports.net Division 4 poll.

‘Jay girls win ranked battle

The Athens varsity girls basketball team defeated Edgar, 58-53, on Friday at home in a battle of top-10 ranked squads in Division 5 this season. Athens entered Friday’s game ranked sixth in the wissports.net Division 5 poll while Edgar was ranked ninth. Athens held a slim 27-26 halftime lead against Edgar and held on for the close victory.

Junior guard Addison Lavicka led Athens with 22 points. Junior Jazelle Hartwig added 15 points and she paced the Bluejays with seven steals. Junior Sophia Coker contributed 14 points and she led the Bluejays with 11 rebounds and two blocks. Sophia Coker tied with Lavicka for second on the team in steals with four apiece. Junior Sydney Coker added 10 rebounds.

Edgar senior Reagan Borchardt tallied a game-high 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. She led the Wildcats with five steals. Junior Makayla Wirkus chipped in seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Senior Leah Davis led Edgar with five assists.

The Wildcats rebounded to defeat the Spencer Rockets, 73-34, on Tuesday at home. Edgar now has a 9-3 record this season. Athens beat Nekoosa, 81-27, on Tuesday at home. Sophia Coker scored a game-high 30 points with 11 rebounds. Hartwig contributed 14 points, Lavicka 11 and senior Celina Ellenbecker 10. Hartwig led Athens with seven steals and Lavicka with six assists.

The Bluejays improve their record to 13-1 this season and they are ranked fifth in this week’s wissports.net Division 5 poll.

Athens boys victorious

The Athens varsity boys basketball team outscored Chequamegon, 4225, in the first half of Tuesday’s road game to cruise to an 81-64 victory.

Senior Connor Sheahan led all five Athens starting players in double-digit scoring with 30 points. Senior Aidan Janke added 12 points. Senior Nathan Wolf and freshman Riley Schultz-Becker contributed 11 points each and junior Andrew Schaer had 10.

Janke paced the Bluejays with 10 rebounds and Wolf with six assists. Athens improves its record to 9-2 this season.

Raider boys down Royals

Marathon’s varsity boys basketball squad dominated Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 85-54, on Tuesday at home. The team rebounded from Saturday’s 80-65 loss to Division 2 Port Washington in Wisconsin Dells. Junior Grant Warren led Marathon with 21 points and eight rebounds, while senior Drew Love added 18 points.

Marathon defeated Prentice, 59-42, on the road Friday. Warren tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds. Love added 10 points. The Red Raiders now have a 9-2 record this season. Marathon plays at Auburndale this Friday, January 13, in a battle of first-place Marawood South Conference teams. Auburndale, Marathon and Newman Catholic are currently tied for first place with one loss apiece in the conference.

Coach gains 400th win

Curt Schmidt, Stratford varsity boys basketball head coach, earned his 400th coaching win on January 3 after the Tigers’ 81-57 home win against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption. Senior Ashton Wrensch led the team with 26 points and three steals. Curt Schmidt’s youngest son, sophomore Brady Schmidt, scored 21 points in the victory. Senior Izaiah Hadlock led the Tigers with 10 rebounds.

Stratford on Friday outscored Abbotsford, 40-9, in the second half to gain a 72-35 road win. Wrensch led the Tigers in three individual statistical categories with 30 points, six steals and three assists.

The Tigers lost Tuesday’s away game to Newman Catholic, 81-63. Wrensch paced Stratford with 18 points and sophomore Drew Bruesewitz had 11. Stratford now has a 6-6 record this season.

Tiger girls clip Falcons

Stratford’s varsity girls basketball squad on Friday downed Abbotsford, 48-40, on the road. Bailey Linzmaier led the Tigers with 14 points. Lauren Kraus added nine points and Tessa Berg had eight. Kraus paced the team with 10 rebounds and Ashley Hollatz chipped in eight boards. Hollatz and Linzmaier led Stratford with three steals apiece.

The Tigers lost to the Bonduel Bears, 53-36, in Tuesday’s road game. Stratford now has a 7-5 record this season.

Stratford returns home at 7:15 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 12, against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption. The Royals have an 11-1 record this season. Assumption’s only loss was to undefefeated Neillsville on the road.

WRENSCH’S BIG NIGHT- Stratford senior Ashton Wrensch on Friday scored a game-high 30 points in his team’s 72-35 road win against Abbotsford.STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD