Lady Bulldogs fall to fourth after losses to Colfax, Elk Mound

By Cara L. Dempski

Only a short eight days ago, the Boyceville girls’ basketball team was sitting just two games out of first place.

Then came last week, which proved to be not a particularly good week for the Lady Bulldogs’ hardwood fortunes. The squad dropped to fourth place and a 4-4 record in the Dunn-St. Croix standings after facing a pair of tough opponents while several players were sick with colds, flu, and bronchitis.

Colfax visited Boyceville last Tuesday with a bit of revenge on its mind after an earlier 45-42 overtime loss to the Bulldogs. The Vikings led the Bulldogs by seven at the end of both halves for a 42-35 win to split their regular-season series with Boyceville.

Things didn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs when they traveled to Elk Mound for a Friday, January 27 game. Boyceville fared better than its previous outing against the Mounders, a 22-point home loss back on December 13, but still could not get past the orange and black, dropping the game 55-37.

Boyceville now holds a spot in the middle of the Dunn-St. Croix with a 4-4 for the season. They are 8-6 overall.

The Lady Bulldogs played in Mondovi last evening (January 31) and will host the Elmwood/Plum City Wolves tomorrow, February 2. They will take a short trip to Glenwood City on Tuesday, February 7 for their second contest this season against Glenwood City, who won its first conference game of the season with a 53-46 win over Mondovi January 27.

Colfax

The Boyceville girls’ squad split this season’s conference contests against Colfax after the Vikings stepped onto the Bulldogs’ home court on January 24 and stepped back off on the high end of a 42-35 score. That loss dropped the Boyceville team to 4-3 in the D-SC.

Morgan Kuhn and Madysn Riek led the Bulldog offense with 12 points each. Kuhn dropped in a trio of three-point shots and three free throws, while Riek tallied her 12 with two field goals and eight charity shots. 

Cassie Malean scored nine points on two field goals, an outside shot for three, and a pair of free throws. Emma Harnisch earned two points with a single field goal.

Colfax held a seven-point advantage at the half and held it throughout the second half as the teams each scored 20 points in the final 18 minutes.

COLFAX 42, BOYCEVILLE 35
Colfax………………………………22  20 — 42
Boyceville…………………………15  20 — 35

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)

Colfax (7-19-12-42) A. Dachel 0-3-2-6, K. Meredith 4-9-3-17, S. Henricks 0-5-1-5, T. Irwin 2-1-0-8, B. Buchanan 0-0-1-0, H. Sykora 0-0-1-0, E. Hurlburt 1-1-4-6.

Boyceville (5-13-16-35) R. Prestrud 0-0-1-0, C. Malean 2-2-1-9, M. Kuhn 0-3-4-12, M. Riek 2-8-4-12, E. Harmisch 1-0-1-2, B. Hellmann 0-0-5-0.

THREE-POINTERS C — A. Dachel 1, T. Irwin 1, E. Hurlburt 1; B — C. Malean 1, M. Kuhn 3.

Elk Mound

It was a rough week for the Boyceville girls, but probably not for the reason most people would think.

“We have to get healthy,” coach Jolene Bird said. “We’ve just been battling flu bugs and bronchitis. It was a rough week for that to happen.”

Despite illness causing a lack of depth for the team, the Lady Bulldogs put up a substantial defense against a fast-moving, high-powered offense when they traveled to Elk Mound on January 27. Boyceville did not pick up a win against the Mounders (they lost 55-37), but Bird saw a few things she liked, and smiled when she said she would rather have most of her team get sick now than when tournament time arrives.

The Bulldogs fell behind Elk Mound early in the game, but rallied to a 9-8 lead in the first half before dropping to 32-23 at halftime. Boyceville tried to kickstart its offense against the Mounders in the second half, but was able to produce only 14 points more before the end of the game.

Senior starter Madysn Riek picked up 12 points with six field goals against the Mounders, despite being one of the team members who was still sick during the road trip to Elk Mound. Her classmate, Cassie Malean, scored 10 points, Morgan Kuhn picked up five with a three-pointer and field goal, Brooklyn Hellmann scored four on a field goal and a pair of charity shots, and Rachel Prestrud and Brooklyn Booth tied with three points each.

Elk Mound’s Morgan Radtke led the game in individual scoring with 16 points.

BOYCEVILLE 37, ELK MOUND 55
Boyceville…………………………23  14 — 37
Elk Mound………………………..32  23 — 55

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)

Boyceville (12-4-10-37) C. Malean 4-2-2-10, M. Kuhn 1-0-1-5, M. Riek 6-0-2-12, E. Harnisch 0-0-2-0, B. Hellmann 1-2-0-4, R. Prestrud 0-0-3-3, B. Booth 0-0-0-3.

Elk Mound (15-7-10-55) H. Cedarblade 1-0-1-11, A. Weber 1-0-3-2, E. Fasbender 2-3-2-10, K. King 4-0-2-14, M. Radtke 6-4-2-16.

THREE-POINTERS B — R. Prestrud 1, B. Booth 1, M. Kuhn 1; EM — H. Cedarblade 3, E. Fasbender 1, K. King 2.