PLUM CITY/ELMWOOD GIRLS

Dunn/St. Croix Conference (DSC) basketball is wrapping up with just a few important games left on the slate.

Friday night, the Plum City/Elmwood (5-10, 3-8 in DSC play) girls’ team got out to a hot start at Spring Valley (1-14, 1-10 in DSC play), taking a 14-point lead into the break.

After winning 64-47, Plum City/Elmwood picked up their third conference win of the year.

Junior Maggie Glaus led all scorers with 21 points and eight rebounds. Fellow junior Hailee McDonough netted another 15, while sophomore Isabella Forster contributed 11 and seven boards. Sophomore Hannah Forster added seven rebounds and four assists, sophomore Lily Webb finished with nine points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.

Last Tuesday, the Wolves fell on the road to Elk Mound (9-7, 9-3 in DSC play) 53-34. Glaus led all scorers with 15 points and three blocked shots. Hannah Forster added eight points, five rebounds and a pair of assists and steals.

After trailing 14-18 at the half, the Mounders outscored the Wolves by 15 points in the second half.

Thursday at Boyceville (3-12, 1-10 in DSC play), the Wolves fell 47-36. After the home team got out to a 24-15 advantage in the first half, the Wolves were only outpaced by a pair of points in the second stanza. Isabella Forster led the team with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. Hannah Forster finished with five points, 13 rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Glaus finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Wolves travelled to Durand (12-4, 10-2 in DSC play) Monday night to play the DSC’s second-ranked team before two matchups with Glenwood City (5-12, 4-7 in DSC play). The Hilltoppers are just one game ahead of the Wolves, and with games Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, that could change.

“We’re taking it one game at a time,” Coach Adam Sticht said in an interview by phone on Monday afternoon ahead of the matchup that night with Durand. “We’ll start focusing on Glenwood City after that. They’re a solid team and if we don’t play well, we aren’t going to beat them, so we’ve got to take care of ourselves first. If we play like we’re capable, we feel like we can beat anyone in the conference, Glenwood City included.”

The Wolves boast a very young roster this season and will see all of their statistical contributors back next season, so the players are getting some valued experience this season.

“We put in an entirely new offense, an entirely new defense and an entirely new press break,” Sticht said. “Not only did they have to learn what we wanted them to do, they had to learn to trust each other to be in the right positions. Taking out a couple games where we just didn’t show up to play, I think we’ve shown steady improvement.

“It’s a learning process,” Sticht explained that the players’ trust has grown throughout the year as they’ve become more accustomed to the new system.

PLUM CITY/ELMWOOD BOYS

After dropping Monday’s game to Dunn/St. Croix Conference (DSC) opponent Mondovi (8-7, 5-4 in DSC play) by just a point, the Elmwood/Plum City boys’ team beat Colfax (4-8, 4-5 in DSC play) to tie the Buffaloes in third place in the DSC Conference. Spring Valley (11-3, 8-2 in DSC) and Elk Mound (9-8, 6-3 in DSC play) are in first and second, respectively.

“Our goal as we go to finish the season is to finish strong and in the upper parts of the conference standings,” Coach Kyle Webb said. “It is going to be a tough next couple weeks, but I'm confident that the guys know what it takes and will execute.”

The Wolves held a 25-19 advantage going into halftime on the road at Mondovi before being outscored by Mondovi and losing, 58-57.

“The biggest thing that came from our loss to Mondovi is simple: free throws,” Webb stated. “We have to up our percentage on our free throws.”

Junior Luke Webb finished with a 13-point, 12-rebound double- double, while senior Basil Gilles led the Wolves in scoring with 15.

Thursday night when they hosted Colfax at Elmwood High School, the Wolves cruised to a 69-58 win after a big second half.

Plum City/Elmwood dominated the paint in the win.

“Utilizing our size is an important part of our game,” Webb said. “Getting those buckets in the paint while drawing fouls is crucial to our momentum.”

Senior Tyler Bauer and Webb both led the team in scoring, each finishing with 19 points. Bauer also recorded seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Webb recorded another double-double with 14 rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.

Gilles also ended up in double figures with 15 points and five boards. Junior Dayne Whipple also contributed eight points and four assists in the win.

The Wolves were on the road Tuesday night after the printing of this publication at Elk Mound and travel to Spring Valley on Friday.

ELLSWORTH BOYS

In last week Monday’s win at home over Middle Border Conference (MBC) opponent Osceola (1-13, 0-9 in MBC play), the Panthers cruised to an easy 59-45 win.

Senior Mason Anderson led all scorers with 23 points on an efficient nine of 13 shooting from the field, along with seven rebounds and a pair of assists, steals and blocks.

According to wissports.net, Anderson’s 21.1 points per game are third in MBC behind New Richmond’s CJ Campbell (26.4) and Prescott’s Dylan Malmlov (25.2). Anderson’s eight boards per game lead MBC play.

Junior Jack Janke contributed 15 points and seven boards, impressively hitting all nine attempts from the charity stripe.

Senior Shane Lange and junior Alex Coulthard each scored seven points in the win.

Thursday night, the Panthers hosted St. Croix Central (14-2, 10-0 in MBC play). The visiting Panthers got out to a 33-18 lead at half before winning 71-47. Janke led all scorers with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Ellsworth fell to Prescott 69-67 at home Monday night. The game was tied until the closing moments when the Cardinal’s tipped in a rebound for the win. Anderson led all scorers with 31 points. Janke added another 20, wihle sophomore Jurell Gooden contributed eight points and some tight defense on Malmlov all night.The Panthers played Amery at home (2-10, 1-9 in MBC play) on Tuesday after the printing of this publication.

Photos by Gaylen Bicking.