Lady Mounders move on to regional final with wins over Viroqua and Westby
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
ONE HANDED — Elk Mound’s Hailey Blaskowski went up for the basket with the ball in one hand as she put in two of her six points against the Viroqua Blackhawks in the first round of the 2019 WIAA Division 3 girls’ basketball tournament February 19. Elk Mound went on to win by 40 points to advance to play Westby, whom they beat as well. —photo by Amber Hayden
By Amber Hayden
It was a productive week for the Elk Mound girls’ basketball squad. The girls pushed past a pair of Coulee Conference teams, the Viroqua Blackhawks on Tuesday evening, February 19, and the Westby Norsemen on Friday, February 22, in the opening two games of the WIAA Division 3 tournament.
The Blackhawks were no match for the strength and depth of the Mounders as it was a blowout from the get-go. Elk Mound posted a 40-point win in the February 19 Division 3 regional quarterfinal game as they took down Viroqua, who finished the season 1-21, by a score of 61-21.
Then last Friday evening, the Lady Mounders earned a spot in the Division 3 regional title game by defeating the Norsemen of Westby, 58-49.
Elk Mound faced their third Coulee Conference team in a week when they played in the home gym of Coulee champion Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (G-E-T) this past Monday evening for the regional championship and a sectional berth.
The Mounders, currently 16-7, were originally scheduled to play the top-seeded and the fifth-ranked (according to the most recent Division 3 state poll) Red Hawks, 21-2, last Saturday, February 23 but blizzard warnings postponed the game until Monday.
The victor will advance to the play either Arcadia or Stratford in the sectional semifinal to be play this Thursday, February 28 at Black River Falls. The sectional championship will be played on Saturday afternoon, March 2 at Altoona High School.
Because the Messenger went to press prior to the Mounders’ game at G-E-T, that game story will appear in next week’s issue.
Westby
Another strong showing for the Mounders last Friday evening, February 22, earned them the chance at a Division 3 regional title against what another Coulee Conference teams.
Last Friday evening, the Mounders found themselves in Westby (14-9) to take on the Norsemen and squeezed out a nine-point win by a score of 58-49. Elk Mound hit 11 three-point shots in getting the victory.
Elk Mound was led by both Morgan Radtke and Sophie Cedarblade with the pair putting up 16 points apiece. Cedarblade’s five triples and one foul shot earned her a season and career high against Westby, while Radtke hit six baskets underneath, a lone trey and went one-of-three from the line.
Victoria Fasbender also had a good afternoon with 11 points added to her career total, she hit three triples and was two-of-two from the charity stripe.
Junior Hailey Blaskowski and senior Sydney Simpson finished with eight and four points respectively.
Adding to the Mounders final points total were Kayla Bridges with a single double and Alana Plaszcz with a foul shot.
Elk Mound held a slim 24-21 advantage at halftime and outscored Westby by six in the second half.
The Norsemen were led by Macy Stellner and Grace Hebel who finished with 16 points each.
ELK MOUND 58, WESTBY 49
Elk Mound……..………………..24 34 – 58
Westby………….…………………21 28 – 49
TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-TP)
Elk Mound — A. Plaszcz 0-1-5-1, S. Simpson 1-2-0-4, H. Blaskowski 3-0-2-8, V. Fasbender 3-2-0-11, S. Cedarblade 5-1-1-16, M. Radtke 7-1-2-16, K. Bridges 1-0-2-2.
Westby — M. Stellner 5-5-5-16, J. Bishop 1-1-2-3, C. Griffin 0-2-3-2, M. Manske 3-0-0-8, G. Mebel 6-4-2-16, A. Winterfield 2-0-1-4.
THREE-POINTERS
EM — H. Blaskowski 2, V. Fasbender 3, S. Cedarblade 5, M. Radtke 1; W — M. Stellner 1, M. Manske 2.
Viroqua
For the Viroqua Blackhawks the first round of the WIAA Division 3 girls’ basketball playoff went about as well as its regular season had.
JUST MISSING a shot to the face, Mounders’ senior Morgan Radtke (#51) got around Jessica Tryggestad (#24) of Viroqua to sink two points for Elk Mound. Radtke came close to breaking her season and career high with a stellar 26 points against the Blackhawks in the first round of WIAA Division 3 girls’ basketball playoffs last Tuesday, February 19 —photo by Amber Hayden
#5 Elk Mound made sure that Viroqua’s season win tally stayed at one as the Mounders drubbed the Blackhawks 61-21 in the regional opener played in Elk Mound.
“It was a good way to start the tournament,” said Mounders head coach Jordan Kongshaug. “Our kids came out motivated with a lot of energy.”
Mounders’ senior center Morgan Radtke kicked things off with a double and a foul shot to give Elk Mound a 3-0 lead, a lead which Elk Mound never lost throughout the two halves of the contest. Radtke brought her “A” game last Tuesday evening, February 19, making it quite impossible for the Blackhawks to shut her down. She finished the night with ten doubles and went six-of-six from the foul line for a 26-point performance that led Elk Mound.
The Blackhawks attempted several shots but did not score until Jessica Tryggestad stepped up to the foul line and hit one of her shots to end Elk Mound’s 30-0 run to start the contest.
Kayla Bridges was a force underneath the net snagging any ball she could for a rebound to put more points on the board for Elk Mound. Bridges finished with four doubles and a total of eight points.
With seven minutes left on the clock in the first and second halves, the Mounders began to filter in their bench players. But not before Hailey Blaskowski and Victoria Fasbender each scored six points for Elk Mound. Balskowski had three doubles and Fasbender a pair of threes. Blaskowski had to sit for much of the first half after getting back-to-back fouls.
Alana Plaszcz managed to hit a trey in the first 18 minutes of play and tried for several shots in the second half before she came out to ice an ankle that has been giving her problems this last month.
Elk Mound carried a 42-5 advantage into the half.
The Viroqua team is young and full of potential, but the Mounders proved to be too much on both ends of the court as the Blackhawks chances to move on in the playoffs fell flat Tuesday evening.
Grabbing a few final points in the first half was Taya Schaefer who made her way underneath and snagged a rebound and tossed it into the net for her only points of the evening. She earned varsity minutes in both halves of the game as each time they took our Morgan Radtke, Schaefer was put in.
Adding to the point tally for Elk Mound were Sophie Cedarblade with a double and triple, Sydney Simpson was three-of-four from the line and Olivia Schindler hit a double in the second half.
ELK MOUND 61, VIROQUA 21
Elk Mound……..………………42 19 – 61
Viroqua………….…………………5 16 – 21
TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-TP)
Elk Mound — A. Plaszcz 1-0-3-3, O. Schindler 1-0-1-2, S. Simpson 0-3-2-3, H. Blaskowski 3-0-2-6, V. Fasbender 2-0-0-6, S. Cedarblade 2-0-0-5, T. Schaefer 1-0-1-2, M. Radtke 10-6-1-26, K. Bridges 4-0-1-8.
Viroqua — H. Sherry 3-0-0-6, K. Jerdee 1-0-3-2, B. Carman 1-0-0-2, J. Tryggestad 1-1-2-3, V. Lohr 3-0-2-8.
THREE-POINTERS
EM — A. Plaszcz 1, V. Fasbender 2, S. Cedarblade 1; V — V. Lohr 2.