PASSING — Rachel Scharlau (#44) used her height, 5’11”, to get the pass around Jannah Mehtala (#5) of Regis. Scharlau was tough from inside the paint during Friday night’s, November 22, game where she scored 12 of her 14 points. —photo by Amber Hayden
By Amber Hayden
COLFAX — After a season-opening, overtime loss to Hudson, the Colfax girls’ basketball squad bounced back in a big way as the girls scored a pair of double-digital, non-conference home wins over Eau Claire Regis and Bloomer prior to the Thanksgiving break.
The Lady Vikings ran roughshod over the Regis Ramblers on Friday, November 22, taking a convincing 64-21 win in their home opener. Regis struggled to get the ball any where near the basket all evening, which had bode well for Colfax, who was able to snag the numerous rebounds and head back down court. Colfax head coach Joe Doucette stated, “It wasn’t your typical Regis team,” during his comments following the game.
Colfax followed that victory with a 17-point home win over neighboring Bloomer last Tuesday, November 26. The 64-47 Vikings’ varsity triumph was preceded by wins for Colfax’s junior varsity and freshmen squads.
Colfax earned a brief respite over the Thanksgiving Holiday but will return to the court this Thursday, December 5, for its first Dunn-St. Croix Conference contest when it hosts arch-rival Elk Mound. The Vikings will then travel to Elmwood to take on the Wolves of Elmwood/Plum City next Tuesday, December 10.
BREAK AWAY — Kameri Meredith broke away from Regis’s Jannah Mehtala to score two for the Vikings in the first half. Meredith had a total of 18 points for Colfax bringing her within 82 points of 1,000.
—photo by Amber Hayden
EC Regis
In the first home game of the 2019-20 season, the Lady Vikes basketball team did not disappoint fans as they trampled Eau Claire Regis 64-21 on Friday evening, November 22.
“It was a good win for us,” said coach Doucette. “Regis has lost a lot of kids and are very young, but we played well and made sure we did not give them any confidence early.”
Scoring kicked off early for Colfax after the tip-off sent the ball into the hands of Morgan Schleusner who was able to move the ball back down the court, giving senior Rachel Scharlau the chance to make her way to the basket in which she was able to get two points after rebounding the ball with a mere 23 seconds ticked off the clock.
Scharlau dominated the opening minutes of the game as she continued to find herself in prime position for rebounds and converted them for field goal. She had six baskets from inside point and was two-for-two at the line to finish with 14 points.
“Rachel had a great stretch early and she is playing at a very high level right now,” Doucette explained. “I thought we were solid in every phase and we got to play everyone.”
Regis struggled throughout the first half with their first two points coming at 11:11 from Makenna Rohrscheib making it a 22-2 in favor of Colfax. Rohrscheib was Regis’ high scorer for the night with eight points.
Kameri Meredith had a slow start for the Vikings, but came alive during the end of the first half and start of the second. She missed several baskets in the opening minutes, but after a quick three-pointer she was able to settle in and score for Colfax.
Meredith was one-for-four from the charity stripe and hit seven doubles and the lone trey for a total of 18 points to lead all scorers.
“Kameri showed her ability to score at the end of the first and early in the second half,” said coach Doucette.
BLOCKING — Taylor Irwin (#4) went up for the block against Katie Andrews (#3) who was forced to get creative in her passing to her teammates. —photo by Amber Hayden
Colfax’s starting five – Meredith, Scharlau, Morgan Schleusner, Jayna Bowe, and Josie Steinke – were able to rest in between the two halves which allowed the remaining ten players on the bench to earn varsity minutes, five of whom scored points for the Vikings.
“We had a lot of people play well, and we have a lot of options and people fighting for minutes that will help us down the road,” Doucette commented. “We have one more big non-conference game against Bloomer, and we have to keep improving.”
Regis’ Caitlin Klink was injured when she took an accidental elbow to the eye by Madison Barstad late in the second half. Klink then fell in a tumble with Saville Wilson less than a minute later.
Starters Schleusner and Bowe each had three points for the Vikings. Schleusner hit the backboards for two and was one-for-one at the line and Bowe hit a well timed shot from outside the arc.
Also scoring for Colfax were Taylor Irwin with two doubles and a single foul shot; Madison Barstad with four points, a trey and was one-for-two from the line; Saville Wilson, who was two-for-two from the line; Emilee Burcham-Scofield with a single shot from inside; and Addisyn Olson with two shots from outside the 3-point arch and was one-for-one from the line.
Colfax (64)
FG-FT-F-TP: T. Irwin 2-1-0-5, M. Schleusner 1-1-1-3, J. Bowe 1-0-1-3, K. Meredith 8-1-1-18, M. Barstad 4-1-4-10, S. Wilson 0-2-0-2, E. Burcham-Scofield 1-0-1-2, A. Olson 2-1-1-7, R. Scharlau 6-2-0-14. Totals 25-9-14-64
Regis (21)
FG-FT-F-TP: C. Klink 0-4-3-4, M. Rohrscheib 1-6-1-8, K. Andrews 1-0-4-3, L. Semerad 2-1-5-6. Totals 4-11-18-21
Colfax………………………37 27 – 64
Eau Claire Regis.……………8 13 – 21
3-point goals: Colfax: J. Bowe, K. Meredith, M. Barstad, A. Olson (2); Regis: K. Andrews, L. Semerad.
Bloomer
Colfax had another successful evening against the Bloomer Blackhawks last Tuesday, November 26, as they earned their second consecutive win of the season by a score of 64-47.
“It really was a good win against a tough, physical team,” said coach Doucette. “Bloomer is always a tough, well coached team. (Coaches) Nikki (Seibel) and Lon (Wilson) are two of the best around.”
Colfax got off to an early lead against Bloomer as they jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the opening minutes of the first half.
Kameri Meredith continued her quest for 1,000 points as she scored 31 points to lead the Vikings and all players for a second straight game. Meredith, who had 12 field goals, was solid from the charity stripe as well, hitting all seven of her free tosses.
Following Meredith’s lead was senior Rachel Scharlau, who tallied 15 points over the two halves. Scharlau has been more disciplined this season as she hit five field goals, a trey and was two-of-three from the line.
“We wanted to beat their zone down the floor if possible, and if not run great offense and play inside out and we were able to do that,” Doucette explained. “Kameri and Rachel were great in the first half combining for 28 points, but everyone got them the ball in great spots.”
The Lady Vikes had a majority of their bench in to earn varsity minutes including Madison Barstad and Taylor Irwin. Irwin had a total of five points off of a double and triple, and Barstad earned three off a lone trey.
Also scoring for Colfax were Jayna Bowe with a triple and a foul shot, Marissa Harmon with a shot from outside the arc, Addy Olson with two from the charity stripe, and Morgan Schleusner, who was one-for-one from the line.
“We have to keep working and strive to get better, we have some people playing very well,” said Doucette. “We are excited about the conference opener next week.”
Colfax (64)
FG-FT-F-TP: T. Irwin 2-0-0-5, M. Schleusner 0-1-0-1, J. Bowe 1-1-2-4, K. Meredith 12-7-3-31, M. Barstad 1-0-1-3, A. Olson 0-2-0-2, R. Scharlau 6-2-3-15, M. Harmon 1-0-1-3. Totals 23-13-13-64
Bloomer (47)
FG-FT-F-TP: S. Buchholtz 2-0-5-10, A. Zeman 1-0-0-2, R. Jarr 1-2-2-4, V. Jenneman 2-0-2-5, E. Seibel 3-0-4-8, L. Score 1-0-0-3, L. Fossum 3-0-3-6, C. Grambo 2-1-2-5, A. Iverson 2-0-0-4. Totals 19-3-18-47
Colfax……………………33 31– 64
Bloomer…………………12 35 – 47
3-point goals: Colfax: J. Bowe, K. Meredith, M. Barstad, A. Olson (2); Bloomer: S. Buchholtz (2), R. Jarr (2), C. Grambo.
