Lady Toppers surging ahead in D-SC conference with victories over Panthers and Cardinals

By Kelsie Hoitomt

The Glenwood City girls basketball team surged ahead in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference standings after two wins this past week over St. Croix Central and Spring Valley.

As of this week they were sitting at third with an 8-3 record behind Colfax (11-0) and Elk Mound (10-2).

Road win at SCC

The Toppers started off playing on the road at Central on Tuesday. They lost to them earlier in the season, but redeemed themselves with a mere five point victory of 50-45.

The game started with the Toppers down by one with the score at 10-9 after Jen Kopacz got the ball rolling with two threes and then Gabby Peterson sunk a free throw and had one double.

The Toppers turned things around in the second and outscored the Panthers by two points, which in turn had them leading overall with the score at 22-21 by the half.

They posted 13 points with Petersen leading the way with two doubles and then Moriah Kuehndorf had a triple, Kopacz made a double and Maya Petersen made one free throw.

Making her debut and scoring for the team with a free throw and then a double in the second quarter was Rachel Klatt.

This was her first appearance in a game this season after suffering a knee injury last year that was re-aggravated over the summer.

She was a missed presence under the net with her rebounding skills coming into effect immediately for the team.

Out of the halftime break, the Toppers played their best offensive game, which led them to victory when they outscored the Panthers 20-15.

They shared the ball throughout the line up with a three from Kuehndorf and Jenesa Klinger and then a double from Mikaela Voeltz and Kopacz.

Petersen drove in two doubles herself and then it was Morgan Kadinger that led in points with two doubles and then she made two free throws.

By this time the Toppers were up 42-36, which carried throughout the fourth quarter and turned to the five points margin after they scored eight points to the Panthers’ nine.

The Toppers made just one shot from under the net in the final eight minutes, otherwise it was all free throw shooting. They had ten attempts with six making it through the net.

As a team, they Toppers finished 11 for 18 on free throws made. The Panthers had 13 of 23 made.

Kopacz led in points with 12 from her three doubles and two triples. Kuehndorf followed with nine from two three’s and she was three for four from the line.

Kadinger finished with her two doubles and she went four for four from the line for a total of eight. Peterson had seven from three doubles and one free throw.

Then it was Petersen with five from her two doubles and one free throw. And then Klatt, Voeltz and Klinger each finished with three points.

Cardinals’ wings clipped

The Cardinals were blown out of the water on Friday night with the Toppers beating them 70-35, which put Spring Valley’s record at 0-11 in the D-SC.

The Toppers looked great on the court with a full 32 minutes of impressive ball played. All four quarters had over ten points scored with 11 in the first, 24 in the second, 12 in the third and 23 in the fourth.

The Toppers trailed by two to start the game with the score at 13-11 after the first quarter. They tied the game at 15s with a layup from Peterson and then a three by Kuehndorf put them ahead 18-15.

Those two baskets were the game changer as the Toppers took the lead and never looked back.

Kuehndorf drained that three and then hit one double and had two free throws. Petersen went four for four from the line and Peterson also scored four points from two doubles.

Kadinger had a free throw and one triple, Voeltz scored a double and a free throw and Samens made one shot.

Out of the half, Kopacz took a shot to the net and then hit a three. Petersen, Klatt and Klinger also scored a basket and then Kuehndorf was fouled and made the sole free throw.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Toppers led 47-30 and they quickly took a 20 point lead when Klinger drained a three from the side of the court.

The Toppers were ahead 60-30 with five minutes still left to play. Peterson was fouled twice and made all four of her shots. Petersen scored a double and had two free throws made.

Kopacz had two doubles and one free throw. Kadinger made a double and one free throw and then Klatt and Kuehndorf each made one shot from under the net.

The Toppers made 20 doubles, four triples and they finished with 18 free throws made out of 23. The Cardinals had eight doubles, four triples and seven free throws.

Kopacz scored 12 points again with four doubles, one triple and one free throw. Kadinger followed with 11 from three doubles, one triple and two free throws.

Petersen and Kuehndorf each had ten points; Maya made two doubles and was six for six from the line and Moriah had two doubles, one triple and three free throws.

Peterson and Klinger both had eight points with two doubles, one triple and one free throw from Jenesa and then two doubles and four free throws from Gabby.

Samens and Klatt each had two doubles for four and then Voeltz had her one double and one free throw.

The Toppers played in Clear Lake on Tuesday and then they will be in Boyceville on Thursday, February 5. Their next home game is next Tuesday, February 10 against Colfax.