Lady Vikes trounce Toppers

COLFAX — Apparently losing their first game of the season last week to one of the best teams in Minnesota didn’t sit well for the Colfax girls as they returned to conference play and completely dominated the Glenwood City Hilltoppers in their only game of the week by a score of 57-23.

Back in their own gym, the Vikings didn’t waste any time on either end of the court as they scored early and often, jumping out to a 16-0 lead while forcing five turnovers by the Toppers in the run. Hannah Hover got things started with a triple and a layup off a steal, and after a fast break layup by Taylor Shipman, Hover drained another triple from the opposite side of her first one. Shipman hit a pair of free tosses and Braanna Steen assisted Ryleigh Prochnow under the hoop for a bucket and Hover hit her ninth and tenth points of the quarter with two more free throws. A free throw by Kristie Knops finally put Glenwood on the scoreboard with around a minute left in the quarter but with 10 seconds left, Dannielle Dachel drove the lane past three Topper defenders for two and it was 18-1. The Viking’s full court press frustrated the Toppers and not only forced them into losing the ball, they committed their seventh team foul before the quarter ended.

Already in the bonus, the Vikings began shooting double bonus free throws less then a minute into the second stanza. Dachel hit three of four freebies while Shipman, Mallie Doucette and Alexis Rudi all connected for two each and with a Rudi steal and lay up, Colfax was up 31-5. Steen finished off the half with a shot from the paint and one from behind the arc and Colfax was up 36-8.

“We had a great start and made it tough for Glenwood City to get going,” Colfax coach Joe Doucette said. “We moved the ball well and had a lot of energy, and when Hannah shoots the ball well it makes us a much better team.”

The defense almost shut the Toppers out in the third quarter as they allowed just two free throws and when Doucette knocked down a triple, Colfax had a 50-10 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.

It was the Viking’s turn to get into foul trouble as they put the Toppers into the double bonus in the middle of the fourth quarter and although they scored 13 points against the now half court Colfax defense, only three came from the free throw line. Brittany Rothbauer added two free tosses, McKayla Harmon nailed a triple and Rudi scored a final bucket for the Vikings to finish off the rout.

“We had great balance against a very physical and aggressive team,” Doucette said. “Glenwood rebounded the ball very well and we were fortunate they missed a lot of easy shots. We gave up too many offensive rebounds and we missed a lot of free throws but overall I saw more good then bad,” he added.

He wasn’t kidding about the free throws as the Vikings shot under 50% making 16 of 34, but the Toppers didn’t help themselves by going seven of 24 from the stripe. Hover led the Vikings in scoring with 12 points while Rudi added 11. Colfax is now 10-1 for the year and 6-0 in conference play and will play home games Jan. 8 against Mondovi and Jan. 11 against Elk Mound.

COLFAX (57) Hover 4-2-2-12, Rudi 4-3-4-11, Doucette 3-2-2-9, Shipman 2-4-4-8, Dachel 1-3-5-5, Steen 2-0-1-5, Harmon 1-0-2-3, Prochnow 1-0-6-2, Rothbauer 0-2-2-2

GLENWOOD CITY (23) J. Kopacz 4-0-2-10, Knops 1-3-4-5, M. Kadinger 1-1-3-3, O. Weidling 1-0-3-2, J. Ullom 0-1-4-1, M. Kuehndorf 0-1-3-1, R. Klatt 0-1-2-1

THREE POINTERS: Hover 2, Kopacz 2, Doucette 1, Harmon 1, Steen 1