Lady Toppers faced off against top two teams in the D-SC to end regular play

By Kelsie Hoitomt

GLENWOOD CITY — The Colfax girls basketball team secured a 12-0 record after beating the Lady Hilltoppers last Tuesday night in a 41-35 final.

After a loss to the number one team in the Dunn-St. Croix, the Toppers had to turn around and play the number two team on Friday night, the Elk Mound Mounders. The Mounders finished on top with a 59-40 victory.

The Toppers played one final game in this regular season on Monday night, which was back at home against Prescott. The Toppers finished the season with a win of 38-33 over the Cardinals.

Colfax continues its reign

The Vikes scored the first baskets last Tuesday night, but the Toppers got an early foul that put Jen Kopacz on the line. She made one basket and then they turned around and caught their own rebound for a shot that tied the game at 5s.

The Toppers were up 10-5 with two minutes left to play in the first quarter, but turnovers allowed the Vikings to close the gap before the buzzer rang.

It was an intense game from the get-go with a lot of pressure and movement that had a good majority of the players dripping sweat and red in the face before the quarter was half way over.

Morgan Kadinger scored two doubles, Rachel Klatt and Moriah Kuehndorf each had one and Kopacz and Gabby Peterson had a free throw for the 10-9 first quarter score.

In the second, the Toppers had possession of the ball first, but lost it and the Vikings took advantage of the turnover with a basket scored that gave them the lead.

The score jogged back and forth between the two teams for the majority of the quarter with the score at 14-13 and then 15-15 and soon it was 15-20 in the Vikes’ favor.

Too many fouls were called against the Toppers in the second, which accounted for six points.

The Toppers missed two three point shots and Colfax answered back with points scored, which pushed the score gap from five to nine.

The Vikings posted 15 points before the half and the Toppers were down to five with a double from Kadinger and Megan Samens and a free throw from Klatt.

Out of the half, the Toppers continued on the same path with a turnover to start the third quarter. Their shots were off with three missed off the bat. Three minutes into the game and there were still no baskets made.

Kuehndorf finally put the first points on the board with a three, which put the score at 18-24. The Vikings answered back however with two triples of their own for a ten point lead with just over a minute left to play.

The Toppers finished with six points in the third to Colfax’s nine for a score of 33-21 going into the fourth quarter.

The Toppers played their best ball in the final eight minutes, but it was just too late and time ran out for them to try and take down the conference leader.

The Toppers scored 14 points compared to the Vikings’ eight for the final of 41-35.

Kristie Knops and Kopacz each knocked down a three pointer and Jenesa Klinger and Klatt each had two doubles.

As a team the Toppers finished with 11 doubles, three triples and they were successful with four free throws out of 11.

The Vikings on the other hand had eight doubles, five triples and were just 50 percent from the line with ten free throws out of 20 made.

Kadinger and Klatt led in points with seven each; both had three doubles and one free throw.

Kuehndorf followed with five from her one triple and one double. Kopacz and Klinger each had four points; Jen with one triple and one free throw and Jenny with two doubles.

Knops and Peterson each had three points and then Samens finished with two.

Mounders topple Lady Toppers

The Mounders had a huge first half that set them on pace to win the contest against the Lady Toppers.

The Toppers trailed 11-7 in the first quarter and then the scoring deficit sky rocketed in the second after the Mounders posted 23 points for a 34-17 score at the half.

Kadinger had a free throw and then a double in the first quarter and Kopacz and Klatt each pushed in a shot.

In the second, it was a free throw game with three from Kopacz, one from Kadinger and then Petersen, Samens and Kuehndorf each made a two pointer.

In the second half of the game, the Toppers played their best ball with 12 points posted in the third and 11 in the fourth.

The Mounders however continued to rain in shots with ten in the third and 15 in the fourth. Ten of their points were scored on free throws with 23 total attempts in the second half.

It was a monotonous free throw game with 28 attempts from the Mounders in the entire game and 28 from the Hilltoppers as well.

In the third quarter, Kadinger had a double and three free throws. Voeltz, Kopacz and Samens each made a free throw and then Kuehndorf and Peterson each made a double.

To finish the game, Klatt, Peterson and Voeltz each dropped in two free throws and Kopacz had one herself and a double and then Kuehndorf had another double.

All together the Toppers had 11 doubles and 18 free throws. Kopacz and Kadinger led in points with nine each from two doubles and five free throws.

Kuehndorf followed with six from her three doubles. Peterson and Klatt each finished with four from one double and two free throws. Voeltz and Samens each had three points and Petersen finished with two.

Cardinals fly home defeated

The Toppers finished up their regular season with a game that was rescheduled from the beginning of the year. They hosted the Prescott Cardinals and won by a mere five points in the 38-33 final.

The Toppers trailed in the first half of the game, but consistency and perseverance led them to victory.

The Cardinals were up 16-7 in the first quarter and 22-19 by the half. The Toppers however turned things around out of the break with a 31-28 lead, which carried through the end with the help of a poorly played offensive game by the Cardinals.

Samens, Kuehndorf and Voeltz each had a double and Knops made one free throw to start the game. And then in the second, Klatt put up two doubles, Petersen had one and a free throw, and Peterson and Knops each made a double.

In the third quarter, the Toppers posted 12 points to the Cardinals’ six with a three from Kuehndorf, a double from Kadinger, Kopacz and Klatt and a free throw and a double by Peterson.

That six point advantage was just enough to provide the Toppers with a cushion in the fourth quarter as they only outscored the Cardinals by two in the final eight minutes of play.

The Toppers last seven points came from four free throws with two from Kadinger and Kopacz each. Kuehndorf aided in the success with one more trey dropped in for seven points posted against the Cardinals’ five.

The Toppers finished eight for 11 from the free throw line and had the two treys and 12 doubles. The Cardinals fell short with just six doubles and six free throws, but they did have five treys.

Kuehndorf led in points with eight from her two treys and one double. Klatt had her three doubles for six. Peterson and Kadinger had five each, Kopacz had four, Petersen and Knops each had three and Samens and Voeltz finished with two.

With their final game played on Monday, the Lady Toppers now head to the Regional tournament as the number three team in the D-SC with a 9-5 record.

They were seeded as the #4 team in Division 4 and they will play Tuesday, February 24 against Boyceville (#5) at home at 7:00 p.m. The winner of that contest will play against Colfax (#1) on Friday, February 27.