Tigers take sting out of the Hornets
By Casey Krautkramer
A head coach never knows how his or her young team is going to react after a tough loss. Stratford’s varsity girls basketball team could’ve started out sluggish against Colby on Monday, following its 20-point road loss to Phillips on Friday. The Tigers squad, however, was aggressive against the Hornets in their 62-37 home win.
Stratford only has two seniors on this season’s squad, but it certainly helps to have a pair of tall sophomore post players in Tria Tubbs and Emily Zuelke. Tubbs is five feet, 11 inches tall and Zuelke is six feet, two inches tall. Many of Stratford’s opponents this season, including Colby, can’t match up to the Tigers’ considerable height advantage.
Tigers freshman guard Carley Pankratz is great at making long range shots. This allows Stratford players like sophomore point guard Kayla Casperson and Carley’s older sister, junior Laney Pankratz, to pass the basketball into the post players who can then kick the ball back out to Carley Pankratz for an open three-point shot. Carley Pankratz drained a pair of treys against Colby to lead the Tigers with 14 points. Casperson and Laney Pankratz are also good shooters. Capserson scored 11 points and Laney Pankratz added eight against the Hornets. Senior forward Ashley Hollatz contributed 10 points and Zuelke had seven.
Stratford head coach Tammie Christopherson was pleased with how her team played against Colby.
“I was really proud of the team last night,” she said on Tuesday. “We had a very balanced scoring attack and we have put up great offensive numbers the last two games. As we head into the last month of the regular season, we are going to continue to work on our scoring consistency. I am super proud of the hard work and energy that the team brings every day.”
Phillips girls are tough to defeat
No area teams, except for undefeated Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, have been able to beat Phillips this season and the Loggers have not lost a home game. Phillips fell to Assumption, 74-66, on Dec. 1 in Wisconsin Rapids. Assumption is cur-rently ranked No. 1 in the wissports.net Division 5 coaches poll. Phillips’ only other loss this season was a 61-47 setback to Upperman, Tenn. on Dec. 15 during a tournament in Orlando, Fla.
Stratford fell behind by 10 points at halftime, 33-23, against Phillips on Friday. The Tigers lost the game, 73-53, against the Loggers who are in the Marawood North Conference. Senior Kacy Eggebrecht scored a game-high 32 points for Phillips and her junior teammate, Mataya Eckert, had 21 points. No other Phillips player scored more than six points against Stratford. Carley Pankratz led Stratford with 14 points on three of five shooting from three-point range.
The conference crossover defeat against Phillips counts against Stratford’s Marawood South Conference record this season. Stratford now has a 6-5 Marawood South record and is 9-9 overall this season.
Straford has a pivotal Marawood South Conference matchup against Edgar at 7:15 p,.m. this Thursday, Jan. 25, at Edgar High School. The Tigers beat the Wildcats 31-22, on Dec. 5 at home in their first regular season matchup this season. Edgar and Straford have nearly identical teams as far as their records this season.
Bluejays down Red Raiders
The Athens varsity girls basketball team upended Marathon, 65-35, in Monday’s Marawood Conference crossover game at Athens High School. The Bluejays jumped out to a 31-19 halftime advantage against the Red Raiders.
Athens senior center Sophia Coker led her team with 20 points and nine rebounds. Bluejays senior power forward Jazelle Hartwig added 18 points and she paced the team with 11 steals. Sophomore power forward Sy’Rih Hartwig added 13 points. Junior guard/strong forward Danica Diethelm contributed nine points and she led the squad with five assists. Marathon’s individual player statistics were not available before the newspaper was printed.
The Bluejays improve their record to 10-1 in the Marawood North Conference and 11-6 overall this season. Marathon falls to 2-9 in the Marawood North Conference and 5-12 overall. Athens has a pivotal Marawood North home matchup against Phillips at 7:15 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 25. The Bluejays lost to the Loggers, 77-52, on Dec. 5 in Phillips. Therefore, Athens needs to beat Phillips this Thursday to gain a share of the Marawood North Conference championship this season. Phillips’ only conference loss was the crossover game against Assumption in Wisconsin Rapids. Athens first plays at Assumption on Thursday, Feb. 1.
Wildcats clip the Falcons
Edgar’s varsity girls basketball squad edged Abbotsford, 44-37, on the road Friday. The Wildcats held a slim 18-17 lead at halftime against the Falcons. Edgar was
See GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP/ page 14
BATTLE FOR THE BOARD- Stratford sophomore Tria Tubbs reaches high for an offensive rebound attempt during the first half of Monday’s 62-37 home win against Colby. Stratford rebounded from Friday’s 20-point road defeat to Phillips.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Girls basketball roundup
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led by its seniors. Makayla Wirkus paced the Wildcats with 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Malana Koehler added 10 points and she led Edgar with two assists. Morgan Streveler contributed nine points in the victory and Maycie Yonker added eight rebounds.
The Wildcats improve their record to 6-5 in the Marawood South Conference and 8-8 overall this season. They play a pivotal home game against Stratford, whom they lost to in the teams’ first matchup this season, at 7:15 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 25.
STRONG TO THE BASKET - Edgar sophomore forward Savannah Koepke plays aggressive basketball in Friday’s 44-37 road win against Abbotsford.
TP PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
