Lady Hilltoppers dominate holiday tournament; handily defeat opponents Osceola, Ellsworth

by Laura Giammattei

GLENWOOD CITY— The Hilltopper girls’ varsity team stomped both of their opponents during the Glenwood City Classic Holiday Tournament held over the Christmas and New Year’s break.

Osceola

The first of two home tournament games kicked off for the girls against the Osceola Chieftains on Monday, December 28. The Toppers performed impressively as they denied their opponent any points for the first six minutes of play and allowed just three two-point buckets in the first half. Glenwood City completely controlled the first half of the game, where they scored the majority of their points and denied their opponent nearly any offensive production at all.

On the other end of the court, seniors Rachel Klatt and Gabby Peterson led the Hilltoppers’ offensive production with a combined score of 28 of their team’s total 47 points. Glenwood consistently broke through Osceola’s defense, with all of their points coming from layups, short jump shots, and free throws. Senior Morgan Kadinger and junior Becca Moll also contributed three field goals each.

The Toppers’ offensive production slowed in the second half but for good reason. Starting the second half 25 points ahead, Glenwood City spent most of the rest of the game maintaining possession and allowing the clock to run down.

Although the Hilltoppers retained control of the game, Osceola fared better offensively in the second half, connecting on more of their shot attempts and managed to triple their own score. However, their efforts were not enough to close the gap created by Glenwood in the first half and they eventually lost the game 47-18.

Ellsworth

The Lady Hilltoppers extended their impressive win streak to six in the second game of the tournament, which was held the following evening in Glenwood on December 29 against the Ellsworth Panthers. It also marked the fifth game in a row the Toppers have won by more than twenty points.

Most of the girls on the court contributed greatly to the offensive aspects of the game with five athletes having at least six buckets a piece. Sophomores Jenesa Klinger and Mariah Voeltz took charge on offense and went on to score a combined 23 of their team’s 58 total points.

Klinger banked in two layups, two three-point shots and only connected on three of her nine free throw attempts. Voeltz put up three two-point shots and sank four of her five opportunities at the free throw line.

Seniors Morgan Kadinger, Gabby Peterson and Rachel Klatt also had solid offensive games, each contributing nine points. All of the Topper girls that scored had at least one connected basket from free throws.

Though Glenwood’s defense allowed more points from Ellsworth than in the Osceola game, Ellsworth accrued a troublesome amount of turnovers and fouls, which led to Glenwood City outscoring them in both halves, for a 58-34 win.

The ladies come back from the holiday break to take on Flambeau at home on Tuesday, January 5th with tipoff at 7:15 p.m.