Boys Basketball
Prescott won the first installment of the rivalry at home against Ellsworth 70-63 Jan. 21. Kobe Russell’s 26 and Teddy Bernick’s 18 made the difference in a game that …
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Boys Basketball
Prescott won the first installment of the rivalry at home against Ellsworth 70-63 Jan. 21. Kobe Russell’s 26 and Teddy Bernick’s 18 made the difference in a game that came down to the wire. The win slotted Prescott in a tie for first with Osceola at 6-1 in Middle Border Conference play and 10-5 overall.
Ellsworth followed the loss with a dominant 69-51 win over Granstburg on Thursday to improve to 9-5. The Panthers’ 4-3 conference record finds them in a tie for third place.
The Wildcat boys took a thriller on the road against Rice Lake 61-59 Jan. 21 after Rice Lake failed to foul River Falls in the final seconds for a chance to get the ball back. Preston Johnson posted 23 on the night on 10-14 shooting to lead the way. River Falls failed to keep the momentum alive, losing 55-45 at Menomonie on Friday. The Wildcats are now 9-5 overall and 4-4 in conference, good for a tie for fourth in the Big Rivers Conference.
Spring Valley was its usual dominant self, showing up Boyceville with a 58-41 win to improve to 10-2 overall and 5-1 in conference. That record slots the Cardinals into first in the Dunn-St. Croix beating out 4-1 Elk Mound and 4-1 Durand-Arkansaw.
EPC had just one game on the week, losing at Glenwood City 64-53 Friday. The Wolves are 4-7 overall and 1-4 in conference, but have four games in seven days coming up with a chance to bounce back.
Girls Basketball
If you thought the River Falls boys won a thriller, the girls had the hearts in the building beating at an unprecedented rate. After going to overtime against Menomonie on Friday, the Wildcats trailed 60-58 with about 15 seconds to play. Menomonie stole an inbounds pass and scored a layup. Kaelin Jalowitz was left open at the top of the key on the following possession, canning a three that rolled around the rim for seemingly minutes. The bucket was good with 1.2 seconds to play and River Falls won 61-60. River Falls also won a bruiser 39-23 earlier in the week versus Somerset. The wins move the Wildcats to 4-12 overall and 3-5 in conference.
Ellsworth picked up a win Jan. 20 over Spring Valley on the road 61-46 to snap a four-game skid. Morgan Halverson had 25 on the night and Lexi Marks had 19 of her own with a whopping seven steals to catapult the team to a win. St. Croix Central narrowly escaped Ellsworth with a win Friday, stealing one 45-37. The Panthers are 5-10 on the year with an 0-8 conference record.
Prescott had a game canceled due to cold weather and lost a close one 49-44 against Osceola on Friday. The squad is 7-8 overall and 4-4 in conference.
Spring Valley used the loss to Ellsworth as motivation, winning a home conference game against Glenwood City 56-46. The Cardinals were down five at the half, but rallied to a 34-19 second half. The season sweep of Glenwood City moves Spring Valley to 7-9 overall and 2-5 in conference.
EPC fell to 1-13 after a 65-27 loss to Mondovi. Recently the EPC team has shown improvement, including the team’s first win since February 2023 a week ago.
Hockey
The St. Croix Valley Fusion had a busy week, sandwiching 7-0 wins over Red Wing and the University School of Milwaukee Co-op with a 2-1 loss to Black River Falls, a team the Fusion beat earlier in the year. At 10-8-0 and 2-2-0 in conference, the Fusion have a lot to play for in the final regular season weeks.
River Falls boys took a 2-1 loss to Somerset to open the week followed by a 5-2 win over Chippewa Falls. The Wildcats are 9-8-0 on the year with a 6-3-0 record in conference.
Wrestling
Spring Valley/Elmwood won the Shell Lake Challenge that featured 17 teams. Sam Schmitt won at 138, Asher Turner won at 165, Jack Steinmeyer won at 215 and Tyler Vanasse won at 285.
River Falls had a big weekend including the boys’ best finish at the St. Croix Falls Wrestling Classic since 2008 taking second of 18 teams. Vinny Costabilo and Jacob Hutchinson were the event individual winners. Izzy Davenport got the win on the girls’ side, pinning each of her opponents.
Prescott was at the same event, taking 16th place as a team.
Ellsworth lost 45-34 to Osceola and won 51-26 against Baldwin-Woodville during a triangular in Osceola on Thursday.
Boys Swimming and Diving
River Falls lost to Hudson with a final regular season matchup against Menomonie on Tuesday headed its way. The true test will be the postseason for the Wildcats with the Big Rivers Conference Tournament kicking things off in Hudson Feb. 7-8.
Gymnastics
River Falls hosts a triangular Thursday before competing at an invitational in La Crosse over the weekend. The season is heating up as the team’s final meet of the regular season is on Feb. 22.