GC girls struggle to score against E/PC, Spring Valley
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by Laura Giammattei
Sports Correspondent
A lack of roster depth and inability to consistently score seemed to be the center of trouble for the Glenwood City Hilltoppers, as they gassed out in the second half against Elmwood/Plum City to end in a 41-22 home court defeated last Tuesday.
Three days later the Lady Toppers started well but were eventually doubled up in a road game in Spring Valley that the Cardinals took 55-27.
Glenwood City fell to 0-3 in the Dunn-St. Croix with the latest two losses and are now 0-7 on the season.
The Hilltoppers played at Clayton (2-2) on Tuesday this week in a doubleheader with the boys team. Returning from the holiday break, they get right back into it, as they host Clear Lake at home Tuesday, January 4 and Mondovi on Thursday, January 6, before hitting the road to play a non-conference match up against Independence on Saturday, January 8.
Elmwood/Plum City
The Hilltoppers held their own during the first half against the current Dunn-St. Croix Conference third-place Wolves (3-2), trailing by only two points at intermission, 17-15. However, while Glenwood City came into the second half winded, Elmwood/Plum City returned renewed and refreshed, racking up 24 points to the Hilltoppers’ seven.
The Wolves capitalized on seven of 10 free throw attempts due to a stack of fouls committed by senior Kendall Schutz and sophomores Libby Wagner and Michaela Blaser. However, the main source of trouble for the Hilltoppers was Elmwood/Plum City’s Maggie Glaus, who proved difficult to contain as she ran over the Hilltoppers for 15 points, 11 of which were added in the second half.
Freshman Izzy Davis scored almost half of the Hilltoppers’ points, finding the net four times from the inside in the first half and once in the second. She went 0-2 at the free throw line. Blaser followed on the board with five points, Schutz finished with four points, and junior Devynn Olson wrapped up scoring with three.
Spring Valley
A lack of offensive momentum plagued the Hilltoppers once again on Friday, traveling to Spring Valley (4-2) only to head home with a 55-27 loss.
Glenwood City came out strong in Spring Valley as it stayed within a basket of the host Cardinals through the first eight minutes of the game. Unfortunately, a few long balls from Spring Valley and frigid shooting by the Hilltoppers after that allowed the Cardinals to take a 25-10 halftime advantage.
Glenwood City showed an improved offensive effort in the second half as it put in 17 points but Spring Valley nearly doubled that adding 27 points to their halftime tally to win 55-27.
Six Toppers scored in the game with Izzy Davis leading the way with nine points, seven of which came in the second half. Senior Kendall Schutz finished with eight including six of the Toppers’ ten first-half points and their only three-pointer. Jenna McCarthy and Whitney Klasse added three points each while Libby Wagner and Devynn Olson each hit a two-point bucket.
Spring Valley’s Mara Ducklow was the top point-getter with 16.
“The girls are working to maintain concentration for longer periods of time,” noted head coach Dean Bellanti. “At this point, our margin for error is small. Our fundamentals are improving, we just need to maintain our focus for longer periods. I do think fatigue played a part in the final lopsided score, we felt we competed well in this game.”
“We are playing with effort and we’ve seen good growth, we will continue to improve in our fundamentals and our mental focus,” concluded Bellanti.