Lady Vikings stomp on Buffaloes, sneak past Panthers

By Cara L. Dempski

There was a sense of relentless urgency to last Tuesday’s home game in Colfax.

A strong defensive effort led the Colfax girls’ basketball team to a 58-34 win over one of the Dunn-St. Croix’s tougher teams, the Mondovi Buffaloes, January 9 at home. The victory came just days after a strong home performance against Glenwood City the previous week.

The win did not come a moment too soon, as the Vikings traveled to Durand January 12 to face the third-ranked Division 4 team in the state according to the most recent Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association poll. 

The Vikings looked like they were in trouble late in the first half before they brought the game within four at halftime, and then were down midway through the second, only to come roaring back for the 50-39 win.

The wins allowed Colfax to improve to 9-4 overall, and move into a first-place tie with Durand at 6-1 in the D-SC standings.

The girls face Boyceville at home January 18, and then head to Spring Valley January 23 before playing at Elk Mound January 26.

Mondovi

Viking girls’ basketball coach Joe Doucette knew he had a good basketball team, he just wishes the squad had not waited so long to show it.

“I really enjoyed watching us tonight,” he said the morning after the Colfax girls beat Mondovi 58-34 January 9. “We tried hard, had great teamwork, and we looked like we really enjoyed playing. We knew we were better than we have showed, but it really only will be good if we can build on it.”

The Colfax ladies were defensively persistent and offensively patient to get the win, and chalked up some impressive statistics in the process.

Not only did sophomore Kameri Meredith pick up her team’s, and the game’s, highest score with 20 points, she also reeled in her second double-double in a row. Emma Hurlburt and Rachel Scharlau had solid performances providing their teammates with adequate time and good position for scoring.

Scharlau picked up 10 points in the game, Emma Hurlburt put up eight points, Savannah Henricks and Josie Steinke tied with six points each, Morgan Schleusner dropped in four, and Saville Wilson and Alyssa Dachel each scored two.

Mondovi’s highest-scoring player was Haley Poeschel, who averages approximately 16.6 points per game, but has scored up to 28 points against opponents this season, was held to just 13 points against Colfax.

MONDOVI 34, COLFAX 58
Mondovi……..…………………12  22 — 34
Colfax……………………………28  30 — 58

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)

Mondovi (8-12-10-34) — C. Buchholz 0-0-1-0, H. Poeschel 2-8-2-13, M. Rud 1-0-0-3, S. Ede 0-0-2-0, R. Evans 2-3-3-8, A. Miller-Oates 0-0-1-0, M. Akins 1-0-0-3, E. Flaskrud 1-1-0-4, J. Zacharias 1-0-1-3.

Colfax (23-8-14-58) — A. Dachel 1-0-3-2, M. Schleusner 0-4-4-4, K. Meredith 8-2-0-20, S. Henricks 3-0-0-6, J. Steinke 2-0-1-6, A. Olson 0-0-4-0, S. Wilson 1-0-0-2, R. Scharlau 4-2-0-10, E. Hurlburt 4-0-2-8.

THREE-POINTERS
M — H. Poeschel 1, M. Rud 1, R. Evans 1, M. Akins 1, E. Flaskrud 1, J. Zacharias 1; C — K. Meredith 2, J. Steinke 2.

Durand

Doucette named a few reasons why Durand was last week’s third-ranked Division 4 girls’ team in the state in his post-game comments: coach Lionel Jones has built a great program, the Lady Panthers have raised the bar on competition in the Dunn-St. Croix, and Jones and his team work exceptionally hard.

The Colfax coach admitted there were times his team fell behind and really had to dig deep to get back into the thick of things, but was very proud of the Lady Vikings for getting right back into the D-SC race with a 50-39 win at Durand January 12.

“Our ability to defend was a huge key until we started to get some things going on offense,” Doucette said after the game. “Early, it didn’t look good, mostly on offense, as we had a lot of trouble passing and catching against their tremendous ball pressure.”

The situation Doucette describes is not unfamiliar to this year’s Colfax ladies, but the difference appeared to be a sense of perseverance, which eventually turned the tide in the Vikings’ favor.

The Colfax girls were down 10 in the closing minutes of the first half, but closed the gap to trail by just four, 22-18, as both teams headed to the locker room for a break. The team took the lead late in the game on some big shots, including a pair of threes from Meredith, to give the Vikings the W and leave them in the mix for a possible conference championship.

Henricks led the game with 12 points, while Meredith came in just behind her with 11.

“Savannah Henricks seems to play at a high level when we really need her, and Meredith is getting scary-good,” Doucette finished.

Hurlburt and Scharlau repeated their success inside against the Panthers, with Hurlburt landing nine points, and Scharlau accounting for two. Dachel and Schleusner provide solid shooting from the perimeter for six points each while keeping the Durand girls from getting inside to score, and sophomore Addy Olson tacked up four.

Durand’s Emily Anibas chalked up the Panthers’ highest score by tying Henricks for 12 points in the game.

COLFAX 50, DURAND 39
Colfax……………………………..18  32 — 50
Durand…………………………….22  17 — 39

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)

Colfax (15-14-14-50) — A. Dachel 1-3-3-6, M. Schleusner 1-4-0-6, K. Meredith 4-1-3-11, S. Henricks 3-5-2-12, J. Steinke 0-0-1-0, A. Olson 2-0-1-4, R. Scharlau 1-0-0-2, E. Hurlburt 3-1-4-9.

Durand (16-3-20-39) — S. Baier 4-0-2-10, E. Hansen 1-0-5-2, H. Prissel 4-0-5-8, M. Baier 3-1-5-7, E. Anibas 4-2-0-12.

THREE-POINTERS
C — A. Dachel 1, K. Meredith 2, S. Henricks 1, E. Hurlburt 1; D — S. Baier 2, E. Anibas 2.