Elk Mound girls make the most of only game of the week

MONDOVI — Playing on the road for their fourth straight game, the Lady Mounders traveled to Mondovi Dec. 13 and came from behind to give the Buffaloes their first conference loss 43-35. The win came after an overtime loss to Glenwood City the week before and now gives them a 3-2 conference record as they travel to Spring Valley Dec. 21.

It certainly wasn’t an offensive showcase for either team as the Buffaloes held an 18-14 lead at the half. Josie Hayes and McKenna McVey were the only Elk Mound players to score more than once in the half as Hayes hit three shots from close range and McVey dropped in a pair of deuces.

The Mounders fell behind by seven points in the third quarter before Kaysi Meindel brought them closer with a basket and a free throw, then added two points later on but they were still down by three as they went into the final eight minutes of play 26-23.

Free throws were a big part of the fourth quarter for the Mounders as they knocked down 8 of 11 attempts (after hitting just 1 of 8 in the previous quarter) while the Buffaloes never made it to the line.  Sarah Winchester went 4 for 5, Hayes was 2 for 2, Meindel was 2 for 2 and Hayes added a pair of shots from the paint. Emma Hayes dropped in a bucket as did Meindel, and McVey scored twice from close range to help the Mounders come up with 20 points while holding Mondovi to just seven to seal the win.

“We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball this game and we made some big plays down the stretch,” Elk Mound coach Jordan Kongshaug said. “Defensively our kids were up to the challenge of facing an excellent Mondovi team and it was a good win for us.”

Josie Hayes led the Mounders with 12 points while Meindel added 11 and McVey 10. Jenna Franzwa scored more then half of the Buffalo points with 18. Elk Mound converted just 9 of 19 free throws for the game while Mondovi hit 7 of 8.

ELK MOUND (43) J. Hayes 5-2-2-12, Meindel 4-3-6-11, McVey 5-0-4-10, E. Hayes 2-0-0-4, Winchester 0-4-5-4, K. Johnson 1-0-0-2

MONDOVI (35) Franzwa 6-4-4-18, S. Kopp 3-2-4-9, E. Stoughten 3-0-0-6, O. Weiss 1-0-0-2

THREE POINTERS: Franzwa 2