Bulldog girls basketball split games; fall to Clear Lake before beating Spring Valley

By Cara L. Dempski

After winning its first game of the year in Turtle Lake on November 16, the Boyceville girls’ basketball team took to road again for another Lakeland match-up, this time in Clear Lake but the Bulldogs came away on the short end of the November 29 contest for their first loss of the season.

The Bulldogs led the game against the Warriors 26-22 at halftime, but managed only 14 points in the second half. Clear Lake added 12 points in the final nine minutes of the game to take the 43-40 win.

Playing on the road for the third time in as many games, Boyceville traveled to Spring Valley for the December 2 conference opener. The Lady Bulldogs trotted back home after a decisive 44-26 victory.

The Bulldogs will stay on the road when they travel to Colfax on December 8 to take on the Vikings before finally hosting their home opener against the Mounders on December 13.

Clear Lake

The Boyceville girls’ basketball squad went to Clear Lake after having outscored the Turtle Lake team 53-24 in its only other game of the season. They might have walked away from the Warriors with another win, but Clear Lake instead surprised the Bulldogs with a 12-point scoring drive in the final minutes of the game to snag a 43-40 victory.

The Bulldogs committed 17 fouls to the Warriors’ 17, but came away with a total of four three-point shots spread among three players.

Bulldog head coach Jolene Bird said it was a tough loss for the team.

“There was poor energy defensively, and poor shooting from the arc and free throw line,” Bird stated. “We just couldn’t seem to get it all put together for long enough stretches.”

Seniors Emma Harnisch and Cassie Malean led the Bulldogs by scoring 12 and 10 points respectively. Harnisch was the only Boyceville player to find serious foul trouble, and had to leave the game after committing five.

Madysen Riek sent in four field goals for eight points, fellow senior Brooklyn Hellmann hit a three-pointer and a field goal for five points, Brooklyn Booth shot a single three-pointer, and Morgan Kuhn added two more points to the Bulldogs’ total for the night.

Riek also led the team with five rebounds, and tied with Harnisch for two steals apiece. Hellmann provided five assists during the matchup.

Warrior sophomore forward Juliana Rosen led Clear Lake with 12 points and put through four of her seven free throw attempts.

BOYCEVILLE 40, CLEAR LAKE 43
Boyceville…………………………26  14 — 40
Clear Lake………………………..22  21 — 43

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)
Boyceville (16-4-17-40) R. Prestrud 0-0-3-0, B. Booth 1-0-1-3, C. Malean 3-2-1-10, M. Kuhn 1-0-1-2, M. Riek 4-0-2-8, E. Harnisch 5-2-5-12, B. Hellmann 2-0-3-5.
Clear Lake (16-11-14-43) M. Rosen 3-3-4-9, Me. Zimmer 0-0-1-0, A. Winke 4-1-1-9, J. Rosen 4-4-2-12, Ma. Zimmer 1-1-3-3, M. Madison 4-2-2-10, H. Monette 0-0-1-0.
THREE-POINTERS – B — R. Prestrud 1, C. Malean 2, B. Hellmann 1.

Spring Valley

Senior Madysen Riek led the Bulldog charge against the Cardinals at Spring Valley on December 2 with 15 points. She nailed six field goals and three of her four free throw attempts.

Coach Jolene Bird seemed pleased with the overall effort of the Lady Bulldogs against Spring Valley. The defensive effort was clean, with only 12 credited to Boyceville and 17 incurred by the Cardinals.

“We were able to get good shot selection, but again struggled putting the ball through the hoop,” Bird stated.

One of Riek’s fellow seniors, Emma Harnisch, recorded seven points in the game, and logged only one foul. Cassie Malean and Morgan Kuhn chalked up six points apiece, with Kuhn sinking a single shot from downtown for three of her points.

Brooklyn Hellmann put in one three-pointer and two free throws to tack on five points, Brooklyn Booth and Carlee Schultz each nabbed two, and Rachel Prestrud put in a single free throw to log a point.

Spring Valley’s leading scorer, Ally Lee, accounted for seven of the Cardinals’ 26 points.

BOYCEVILLE 44, SPRING VALLEY 26
Boyceville………………..……17  27 — 44
Spring Valley………………….11  25 — 26

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)
Boyceville (17-8-12-44) R. Prestrud 0-1-1-1, B. Booth 1-0-3-2, C. Malean 3-0-1-6, M. Kuhn 2-1-3-6, C. Schultz 1-0-0-2, M. Riek 6-3-2-15, E. Harnisch 3-1-1-7, B. Hellmann 3-1-1-5.
Spring Valley (11-2-17-26) T. Huntress 1-0-1-2, C. Wegener 0-0-2-0, T. Cipriano 1-0-1-3, S. Bune 2-0-4-4, S. Kaven 0-0-1-0, B. O’Brien 1-0-2-3, K. Schreiber 2-1-1-5, A. Lee 3-1-4-7, L. Johansen 1-0-0-2, G. Larson 0-0-3-0.
THREE-POINTERS B — M. Kuhn 1, B. Hellmann 1; SV — T. Cipriano 1, B. O’Brien 1.