By Reagan Hoverman

Coming into the season, Prescott girls basketball coach Joan Korfhage stated that it might be a rebuilding year after graduating several seniors last season. If anything, it’s been a retooling of talent, not a full-blown rebuild for the program, as Prescott is currently tied for first place in the Middle Border Conference standings.

Perhaps the biggest win of Prescott’s season was on Friday, Jan. 14, at home against Baldwin- Woodville. Both teams entered the game with 4-1 records in Middle Border action, which had them, as well as Ellsworth, in a three-way tie for first place in the conference.

Prescott’s 34-28 victory over Baldwin-Woodville propelled the team to a 5-1 record in the Middle Border Conference which knocked the Blackhawks out of the three-way tie. Now, Prescott and Ellsworth are the two teams remaining tied atop the standings with 5-1 records after factoring in Ellsworth’s 6862 win over Osceola on Friday, Jan. 14.

The game between Prescott and Baldwin-Woodville began with a 16-6 scoring run that featured baskets from four different Cardinals. The run was capped off with a layup by Prescott sophomore forward Lila Posthuma that forced an immediate timeout by Baldwin-Woodville head coach Holly English with nine minutes to go in the first half.

In those remaining nine minutes, the Blackhawks began to turn the game around. Coming out of the timeout, Blackhawk junior guard Marney Roemhild hit a three-pointer to cut the Prescott lead to seven points. At the halftime intermission, the Cardinals led Baldwin-Woodville 22-18.

Prescott’s notable scoring in the first half came from the aforementioned Posthuma, who had seven points at the break. Her effective scoring ability continued in the opening minutes of the second half when she buried a threepointer to take a 25-18 lead.

As the game progressed, both teams began to struggle on offense, and the game quickly became a gritty defensive battle. Baldwin-Woodville continued to chip away at the Prescott lead throughout the middling minutes of the second half. With four minutes remaining in regulation, Baldwin-Woodville senior Anna Jordt made a free throw to tie the game 28-28.

On the ensuing possession, Prescott senior guard Brynley Goehring made a layup to take a 30-28 lead. Less than one minute later, Jordt of Baldwin-Woodville had an open layup that was blocked by Posthuma. The block saved two points for Prescott and was a game-changing play in the 34-28 victory.

After the game, Korfhage spoke about how important the victory was for Prescott in the context of the season and how other teams are still dangerous, even though Prescott is tied for first in the conference standings.

“This is a huge win, probably our biggest game of the season,” Korfhage said. “Altoona will probably still be tough to beat. We lost to them at their place. Ellsworth will be tough again. Every team in the conference will be tough if they have a hot night. We know we have shooters, but we know there will be nights like tonight when they’re not falling.”

Even though Prescott got the win, Korfhage was correct about shots not falling. The Cardinals shot 30% from the floor, including 15% from behind the three-point line. The leading scorer for the night was Posthuma, who finished the game with 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Despite the poor shooting night for the Cardinals, they won a defensive battle which Korfhage said is something the team can hang its hat on.

“It’s our defense and our rebounds that need to keep us in games on nights like this,” Korfhage said. She also spoke about how they’ve played in close games this year and that the team is used to playing under pressure. “We’ve had close games; I think we keep our composure really well.”

Prescott’s composure in high leverage situations has contributed to the team’s 9-4 overall record and the 5-1 record in Middle Border Conference play. As Korfhage stated, there are at least four teams that are in a position to win the conference title.

Ellsworth is 5-1, Prescott is 5-1, Altoona is 4-2 and Baldwin-Woodville is 4-2. Prescott’s next two games were non-conference opponents. On Monday, Jan. 17, Prescott hosted New Richmond in a 7 p.m. game, and on Tuesday, Jan. 18, the Cardinals traveled to River Falls for a 7:15 p.m. game (both after The Journal’s press time).

Perhaps the biggest game of the season for Prescott is on Friday, Jan. 21, when they travel to Ellsworth for a game that will likely decide the Middle Border Conference champion. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.