Two years of program building and rebuilding later, and Elmwood/Plum City is starting to harvest the reward. The Wolves have won three of four games, moving to 3-3 on the young season.

“A big thing for us right now is our intensity level, especially on the defensive side. Whether it’s our trap or whatever, it’s given us some easy opportunities to put the ball in the hoop,” Head Coach Adrian Hook said. “Once we’re in the half-court, the girls are coming around to being a little more patient and not forcing up some silly things.”

After going 0-22 in 2023-24 and 1-22 in Hook’s first season in 2024-25, the seniors and juniors have worked endlessly to be a part of Elmwood/Plum City’s culture establishment. They came into the year targeting a record in the neighborhood of .500, which seemed lofty to outsiders, but they have stood tall the entire way.

Getting back to that .500 record early has been both a relief and a testament to the work put in.

“It definitely has kind of put the girls at ease a little bit,” Hook said. “It makes them feel a little bit better. It gives them a level of confidence, I believe. Going forward, they just feel like they’ve got a shot in every game now.”

During the four-game stretch, EPC has scored 50 or more three times, beating Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 53-29, Thorp 57-27 and Birchwood 58-15, and losing 59-31 to Durand-Arkansaw. Despite the losing scoreline, it was a significant improvement to the games against the Panthers in recent years including 70-14 and 63-21 losses in the conference face-off last season.

Top scorers sophomore Polly Webb, junior Aurora Sampair and junior Allison Sauve have taken steps forward in their offensive efficiency this season. Hook also gave a lot of credit to senior Addasin Ingli and the rest of the bench unit, bringing a major spark whenever it is needed.

Running nearly the exact roster from a year ago, the successful two-week stretch was even more important. The team is riding high in terms of confidence while remembering to take a lesson away from each 36-minute bout.

“Just not beating ourselves before we go and play a game,” Hook said. “If it doesn’t go our way, we can still take a lot of positives out of a loss, but we can’t be happy with a win either. That sounds wrong, but we can’t settle with it. Our goals are much higher than that.”

They will keep that message in mind as they take on conference opponents Colfax and Glenwood City on the road Dec. 16 and 18.