Colfax girls flatten Flambeau, erase Elmwood

Playing in the comforts of their own home twice last week, it was business as usual for the Lady Vikings as they won a pair of games by a combined score of 137-40, starting with a score 74-25 over the Flambeau Falcons Dec. 11, then followed up by routing the Elmwood Raiders 63-15 just two days later.

Flambeau

Although Flambeau’s head coach’s last name sounded familiar to basketball fans, it wasn’t Ted Alberson leading the team but his brother Steve. And this wasn’t quite the caliber of team Ted had when he led the Falcons to four state championships (2000, 2006, 2007, 2008). Flambeau is trying to rebuild with a young team that includes just one senior, and although they kept the game close at the beginning, they were no match the rest of the way as the Colfax defense held them to single digit scoring all four quarters.

Meanwhile, the Vikings used balanced scoring with 10 different players hitting from inside and outside throughout the game. Mallie Doucette collected eight of her 13 points in the game in the first quarter on four buckets and Dannielle Dachel, on her 16th birthday, added three more on a deuce and free toss to help the Vikings take a 17-8 lead.

Colfax extended their lead to 43-13 at the half with help from triples by Brittany Rothbauer, Alexis Rudi and McKayla Harmon who canned hers just before the buzzer, while Taylor Shipman picked up six points on three shots from the paint. Flambeau had trouble against the Colfax press, turning the ball over several times before coach Joe Doucette called it off with a couple of minutes to go before the break.

Braanna Steen led the third quarter barrage, scoring six of the Viking’s 23 points while Hannah Hover added five and Colfax took a 66-19 lead into the final quarter.

The Vikings practiced their passing and ball handling skills most of the fourth quarter as they rotated the ball, looking for a good shot. Shipman hit from underneath, Rothbauer stole a Falcon pass and drove end to end for a layup, Cheyenne Olson canned a pair of free throws and Harmon finished off the rout with a fast break bucket.

“Flambeau was ready and intense early on but we had too much experience for them,” coach Doucette said. “We played hard and did a lot of good things and our bench was much better then it was last week.”

COLFAX (74) Doucette 6-1-1-13, Shipman 5-0-0-11, Steen 3-4-5-10, Rudi 2-2-4-7, Hover 2-2-2-7, Rothbauer 3-0-1-7, Olson 2-3-3-6, R. Prochnow 1-3-3-5, Harmon 2-0-2-5, D. Dachel 1-1-3-3

FLAMBEAU (25) K. Alberson 2-3-4-7, N. Mateski 3-0-0-7, M. Paulson 3-1-4-7, R. Novakovic 2-0-1-4

THREE POINTERS: Rudi 1, Hover 1, Shipman 1, Harmon 1, Rothbauer 1

Elmwood

It was more of the same for Colfax as for the second time this year they held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter. Meanwhile they poured in 16 points with Doucette picking up seven of them on a three ball and two buckets while Hover canned a triple, Rudi and Olson hit from underneath and Steen went two for two from the free throw line.

Rudi had the hot hand in the second quarter with a couple of shots from downtown and another bucket, while Ryleigh Prochnow added four points to help the Vikings establish a 36-8 lead at the half.

“Our defense really controlled the game early and Elmwood could not recover,” coach Doucette said. “Getting off to the start we did just did not allow them to play their game.”

Hover scored seven of her team leading 12 points of the game in the third stanza, hitting from all over including inside the arc, outside the arc and twice from the free throw line while Prochnow drained a long ball and a short ball as Colfax collected 19 points while giving up just four.

Emily Halpin added a basket in the final eight minutes for the Vikings, and moving up to the varsity in place of an injured Kenna Breckner, freshman Dempsey Fogarty scored her first varsity points on a drive to the hoop late in the game to finish things up.

(After the game, coach Doucette announced Breckner, a senior who has been dealing with knee injuries her whole high school career, suffered another knee injury in the game against Flambeau that will end her season).

The wins bring the Vikings record to 6-0 and they will play at St. Croix Central Friday, Dec. 21. Colfax is currently ranked number three in the Wissports.com Division 4 poll.

COLFAX (63) Hover 3-4-4-12, Doucette 5-0-1-11, Rudi 4-0-0-10, Prochnow 3-2-2-9, Steen 2-2-2-6, Olson 2-1-2-5, Dachel 2-0-0-4, Fogarty 1-0-0-2, Rothbauer 1-0-0-2, Halpin 1-0-0-2

ELMWOOD (15) M. Brunner 2-2-4-6, J. VandenBerge 2-0-0-4, A. Pax 1-1-2-3, E. Fredrickson 1-0-0-2

THREE POINTERS: Rudi 2, Hover 2, Doucette 1, Prochnow 1