Boys Basketball

River Falls has really found its groove in the middle portion of the season, picking up a pair of wins on the week to extend the winning streak to five straight. The Wildcats started the week with a statement 84-69 win over Prescott Jan. 6 and followed it with a 68-67 rivalry win to remember over Hudson on Friday. River Falls is tied for third in the Big Rivers Conference at 3-2 and is 8-2 overall.

Speaking of games to remember, Ellsworth has now won twice in overtime and once on a regulation buzzer beater on the year. This week started off with the second of those overtime wins, beating Baldwin-Woodville on the road 72-65 Jan. 7. The Panthers followed it with a dominant 72-55 win at home over Somerset on Thursday and they fell just short 64-59 against Menomonie on Saturday. Ellsworth trails only Prescott in the Middle Border Conference at 4-1 and the team is 8-3 overall.

Prescott took the previously mentioned loss to River Falls and quickly bounced back to move to 5-0 in conference with a 77-54 win over Amery on Friday. Junior Kobe Russell scored 24 points and senior Teddy Bernick had 20 on 7-7 shooting and 6-6 from deep.

Spring Valley also snatched the top spot in their conference, beating Elk Mound on Friday to move to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in Dunn-St. Croix Conference play. The Elk Mound team was undefeated in conference for a reason, as the Mounders have unmatched shooting prowess, but the Cardinals were an unstoppable force on the inside. Senior Cade Stasiek had 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and senior Masyn Wolf added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Elmwood/Plum City split a pair of road games, beating Clayton 68-50 Thursday and losing 70-53 Friday.

Girls Basketball

Prescott had a three-win week to improve to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in Middle Border play. The Cardinals toppled River Falls 42-38 Jan. 6, Amery 45-36 Friday and St. Croix Falls 52-29 Saturday.

Ellsworth fell to 4-7 overall and 0-5 in conference with losses to Bloomer 52-47 and Somerset 52-34 on the week.

Spring Valley took down Cumberland 53-47 Jan. 7 and was no match for Durand-Arkansaw, losing 75-30 Thursday. Spring Valley is 6-7 overall and 1-4 in conference.

EPC nearly picked up its first win of the year Jan. 6, falling 49-46 to Osseo-Fairchild. The Wolves then lost 69-17 Thursday to fall to 0-11 on the year. The EPC squad is one that has made major strides from a winless season a year ago, sticking in games and building a more competitive system.

The River Falls girls did not have the same luck as the boys during the rivalry week, losing 42-38 to Prescott on Jan. 6 and 53-33 to Hudson on Friday. River Falls is 2-10 on the year, but 2-3 and battling for positioning in conference play.

Wrestling

It was Hudson week for River Falls, as they also took the Raiders on in wrestling and won 43-34. The Wildcats also competed at the Mustang Duals in Mounds View and lost 38-27 to Mounds View and 40-28 to Blaine before beating Eastview 42-28. The girls team competed in Cadott over the weekend with Olivia Luther and Izzy Davenport taking second and Providence Kretzmann taking third.

Spring Valley/Elmwood had a big week, dominating Durand-Arkansaw 66-19 and Somerset 55-18. Ellsworth competed at a tri in Chippewa Falls and lost 37-33 to the hosts before winning 78-6 over Rice Lake.

Hockey

The St. Croix Valley Fusion pulled off the perfect week, not allowing a single goal in a pair of 2-0 wins. First, the Fusion beat Eau Claire Area Jan. 7, following it up with a win over Coulee Region on Saturday. Goalie Katelyn Gustafson made 25 saves against Eau Claire to move the Fusion to 2-1 in Big Rivers play.

The Wildcat boys lost the rivalry to Hudson 3-1 Jan. 7 and bounced back with wins 5-3 over Rice Lake and 7-2 over Regis/Altoona/McDonell to close the week. River Falls is 6-7-0 overall and 3-3-0 in conference.

Gymnastics

River Falls hosted the Winter Wonderland Invitational and got the job done on their own floor, scoring a 135.25 to take first place overall.

Boys Swim and Dive

River Falls had a couple of tough battles on the week including a narrow 91-84 loss to Tartan-North. They get back in action Saturday at Skyview M.S.