Elk Mound girls crush Toppers to win back-to-back D-SC titles
By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND — Elk Mound’s head girls’ basketball coach, Jordan Kongshaug, once told his team he would shave his head if it won a conference championship.
The Mounders’ coach failed to follow through on his promise when the squad won a Dunn-St. Croix championship last season, so the girls’ were not going to let his statement slide a second year. Kongshaug was still adjusting to his newly-shorn head the morning after his team’s resounding 62-17 win over Glenwood City on February 16 that helped them win back-to-back Dunn-St. Croix Conference championships.
Elk Mound was able to meet its team goal with a February 13 victory over Colfax that tied them with Durand for the conference lead, but secured the status of two-time titlists in its home contest against the Lady Hilltoppers three nights later.
“The girls feel a sense of accomplishment,” Kongshaug said. “Our senior class has done a great job of leading this team, and last night was a great way for them to conclude their regular-season careers.”
Elizabeth Fasbender, who is one of the Elk Mound girls who played her final regular season game on February 16, led Elk Mound in scoring with 13 points. Kami King, another senior, scored 10 points, Kaitlyn Baier earned seven. Seniors Riley Radtke and Gracie Peterson picked up five apiece, and Megan Krall and Crista Sweeney tacked up two points each, which means all the seniors on the team scored in the game.
Morgan Radtke logged 11 points, the second-highest individual score for Elk Mound in the game. Allie Weber scored seven points, Ashley Gunderson-Morris earned four, and Hannah Cedarblade rounded out scoring with a three-point shot.
Elk Mound bounded to a huge 43-9 halftime lead over Glenwood City and never looked back. The Mounder ladies out scored the Toppers by 18 in the second half thanks to a 17-0 run in the final 11 minutes of the contest to post the 69-17 thumping.
The second-seeded Mounders are scheduled for an eight-day break before hosting a February 24 regional semifinal match-up against the winner of the February 21 contest between number-seven seed Arcadia and number-ten seed Mauston in the WIAA Division 3 Menomonie Sectional.
Elk Mound heads into the tournament season with an overall record of 18-4 after finishing 13-1 in the D-SC.
GLENWOOD CITY 17, ELK MOUND 69
Glenwood City…………………….9 8 — 17
Elk Mound………………………..43 26 — 69
TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)
Glenwood City (4-3-15-17) J. Klinger 1-2-0-7, M. Voeltz 1-0-2-2, D. Quinn 0-0-3-3, M. Peterson 0-0-2-0, H. Strehlo 0-0-2-0, B. Barstad 1-0-2-2, J. Johnson 0-0-1-0, J. Crossley 0-0-1-0, B. Moll 1-0-1-2, C. Lawson 0-1-1-1.
Elk Mound (16-13-11-69) K. Baier 3-1-3-7, H. Cedarblade 0-0-0-3, A. Weber 0-4-1-7, E. Fasbender 2-0-2-13, M. Krall 0-2-0-2, R. Radtke 1-0-0-5, K. King 1-2-0-10, G. Peterson 1-3-1-5, A. Gunderson-Morris 2-0-3-4, M. Borofka 0-0-1-0, M. Radtke 5-1-0-11, C. Sweeney 1-0-0-2.
THREE-POINTERS GC — J. Klinger 1, D. Quinn 1; EM — H. Cedarblade 1, A. Weber 1, E. Fasbender 3, R. Radtke 1, K. King 2.