Edgar downs arch-rival Marathon
By Casey Krautkramer
Edgar’s varsity girls basketball squad on Thursday completed its regular season sweep against Marathon. The Wildcats followed up their 36-28 home win against the Red Raiders on Nov. 17 with a 50-37 road victory on Thursday.
Wildcats coaches and players knew that the Red Raiders would be improved compared to the teams’ first matchup that was only the second game of this season. Edgar scored an identical number of points, 25, in both the first and second halves against Marathon in an always-intense arch rivalry game on Thursday.
Edgar senior point guard Taylor Lemmer enjoyed experiencing the thrill of winning a game again to halt the team’s three-game losing streak. Edgar lost tough games to Almond-Bancroft and Stevens Point Pacelli in the Sentry Classic in Stevens Point and also to Athens in its game prior to playing Marathon.
“It feels really good, especially since Marathon is one of our rivals and we know how good they are,” she said. “It’s always a good matchup between them and us.”
Edgar head coach Nicole (Borchardt) Nowak, who actually graduated from Marathon High School, knows firsthand how big the rivalry is between the Red Raiders and Wildcats.
“I think the adrenaline picks up on both sides of the fence in a Marawood South Conference battle like this one,” Nowak said. “You have players from Edgar and Marathon who’ve been competing against each other since they first started playing basketball at a young age. You could definitely tell this was a big game by the energy the players brought into this game and how they kept cheering for one another.”
Edgar senior forward Makayla Wirkus led her team with 20 points and seven steals. She drained two out of three clutch three-point shots against Marathon. Soph- See GIRLS BASKETBALL SHOWDOWN/ page 16
“It feels really good, especially since Marathon is one of our rivals and we know how good they are.” Taylor Lemmer Edgar senior
DRIVING THROUGH THE HEART OF THE RED RAIDERS’ DEFENSE- Edgar senior Maycie Yonker (10) takes a shot in the lane against Marathon sophomore defender Mylee Haehlke (4) during the second half of the Wildcats 5037 road win on Thursday. Edgar senior Morgan Streveler (24) is pictured in the background and Marathon sophomore Emma Love is shown behind Haehlke.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
HIGH ARCHING SHOT- Edgar senior Malana Koehler shoots the basketball over Marathon junior Danica Paszek’s outstretched arms on Thursday during the second half of the Wildcats’ 50-37 road win against the Red Raiders.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Girls basketball showdown
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omore Savannah Koepke added 11 points and she paced the Wildcats with eight rebounds. Wirkus added five rebounds. Senior Maycie Yonker contributed eight points and she led the Wildcats with two assists. Yonker added four steals in the victory against Marathon.
Marathon’s individual player statistics were not available at press time.
Edgar ran into a buzzsaw in undefeated Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on Tuesday. The Wildcats lost to the Royals, 5836, on the road. Edgar’s overall record is now 7-8 this season while Assumption improves to 14-0. Assumption is ranked No. 1 in this week’s wissports.net Division 5 coaches poll.
Tigers win two games in a row
Stratford’s varsity girls basketball team has enjoyed a great week on its home court. Stratford beat Auburndale, 58-53, in overtime on Thursday at home to hand the Eagles their first Marawood South Conference loss. Then Straford downed Marathon, 39-33, on Tuesday at home. The Tigers now have an even .500 overall record of 8-8 this season.
Junior guard Kayla Casperson led Straford with 17 points and four assists in the overtime victory against Auburndale. Senior Ashley Hollatz and sophomore Tria Tubbs added nine points apiece. Tubbs paced the Tigers with nine rebounds and Hollatz had seven. Hollatz led the team with five steals and freshman Carly Pankratz added four steals.
Stratford head coach Tammie Christopherson was pleased her team was able to grind out an overtime win against a tough Auburndale squad.
“We worked really hard in the gym over the past week to get ready for the Auburndale game,” she said. “It was a complete team effort to get the win. We had contributions from every player and I could not be more proud of the girls. Our goal was to play solid for 36 minutes and they played solid for 40. We have a very difficult schedule coming up, so we will focus on one game at a time. Our goal is to continue to get better every week.”
Casperson led Straford with 10 points in Tuesday’s win against Marathon. She drained a big three pointer down the stretch of the game to give the Tigers a 36-31 lead with just three-and-a-half minutes left in the game. Marathon sophomore Mylee Haehlke led her team with 14 points. Haehlke made eight of her nine free throws against the Tigers. Marathon sophomore Emma Love added six points on four of four shooting from the free throw line in the second half. The Red Raiders fall to 5-11 overall this season.
Athens downs Rib Lake
The Athens varsity girls basketball squad beat Rib Lake, 56-27, on the road Tuesday. Athens remains atop the Marawood North Conference with a 9-1 record and the team has a 10-6 overall record this season.
ON THE OFFENSIVE ATTACK- Edgar sophomore Savannah Koepke dribbles the basketball against Marathon sophomore defender Emma Love in the second half of the Wildcats 50-37 road victory on Thursday. Marathon varsity head girls basketball coach Jeff Schneider can be seen in the background.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
NOT IN MY HOUSE- Marathon freshman Maycie Myszka hustles down the court to block Edgar junior Emery Borchardt’s layup attempt after she stole the basketball during Thursday’s game. Edgar ended up sweeping its regular season series against Marathon. The Wildcats also defeated the Red Raiders, 36-28, in the second game of the season back in November.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
