The Prescott Cardinals defeated the Amery Warriors by a score of 65-40 on Tuesday, Dec. 19 in Amery.

Prescott won the tip off and immediately got on the board as Avery Pattridge passed it to Lila Posthuma who was alone at the corner on the outside, and she drained if for three. These would be the first points of what would amount to a 14-point run to begin the game. At 11-0, Violet Otto got a nice block to keep Amery off the board and followed that up with a three-pointer from the top corner of the key.

The Warriors pushed back a little bit going on an 8-2 run themselves, but Rory Zuehlsdorf stopped that from continuing with a timely block and recovery to give Prescott the ball back.

It was 18-12 with 10:00 on the clock, when Posthuma drained another three to push it back to a nine-point lead. This proved to be short lived though, as with 5:00 left in the first, the Warriors had shrunk that lead to three at 23-20. A Zuelsdorf three-pointer put points on the board as did her follow up steal which she passed to Otto who completed the fast break for two more.

They went into halftime up by eight at 30-22.

The Cardinals truly broke it wide open in the first half of the second period. By 10:55, they were up by 20 at 51-31, but that didn’t stop them from running up the score even more. Kelsey Sterud got a steal and ran it back, dumping it off to Otto who was in position once again to finish the fast break and increase that lead to 22.

The game stayed out of reach for the Warriors, and Prescott went on to win, 65-40.

Prescott shot very well on the night, converting on 42% of shots from the field, 30% on 3’s and 67% on free throws. That’s not the newsworthy stat line though, this is. The Cardinals piled up a staggering 46, yes 46 rebounds on the night to go along with 19 assists, seven steals and five blocks.

Posthuma was the number one scorer as per usual for Prescott as she put up 26 points while going 12-16 from the field and 2-2 on 3’s. She also completed the double-double with 15 rebounds. Other notable performances include double digit points by Cadyn Hillebrand and Otto as well as some good supporting stats from Zuehlsdorf.

It’s been an uncharacteristically uneven start for a team coming off a three-peat of conference championships. On the year, Prescott is 4-4, but in the Middle Border Conference, they are 3-1 putting them in a three-way tie for second place with Ellsworth and Altoona behind Baldwin-Woodville who are a perfect 4-0 in the MBC.

They have a pair of non-conference games to finish out the 2023 portion of their season before they’ll get their shot at first place. On Thursday, Dec. 28 they play Racine Park at Carthage College and then they play Racine Case the next day at UW-Parkside. Both of those games tip off at 3 p.m.

Their first game after the new year will come against the aforementioned Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks. If they win, they would claim first place via the tie breaker as they would both be at 4-1 in the MBC. That game will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5.

Big Rivers: River Falls

The River Falls Wildcats defeated the Chippewa Falls Cardinals 46-37 on Tuesday night in Chippewa Falls. It was a competitive game, and one that the Wildcats needed to win against a Big Rivers Conference rival.

Addy Timm got River Falls on the board in a big way with a three-pointer to take the lead. Fast breaks by Hailey Quinn and Jordan Schwantz kept things moving in the right direction, and all of a sudden, the Wildcats were out to an 11-5 lead.

Things tightened up defensively on both sides as the Cardinals’ deficit remained virtually stagnant. Cheyenne Wilson and Jordan Torrez broke things up with blocks that sent the ball going back the other way, but the Cardinals pushed back and nearly tied it up before the half. The end of the first period had the Wildcats clinging to a one-point lead at 17-16.

Things broke open early in the second period as Quinn took a fast break the length of the court and extended their lead to three. Unfortunately, this momentum did not hold, and approaching the midway point of the half, Chippewa Falls had taken the lead at 28-26.

Kaelin Jalowitz stepped up for River Falls, though, getting a steal and taking a fast break all the way for two points to tie it up.

River Falls got the stop twice more, and twice more they scored, the second of these being a deep shot from Timm from the far corner to make it a five-point lead. Chippewa got one back at the line, but Timm took all that back and more as she hit another three, this time from the opposite corner to make it 36-29.

The Wildcats kept it rolling until the end, and they beat the Cardinals by nine at 46-37.

It wasn’t River Falls’ most efficient offensive win, but tight defensive games aren’t known for that. They racked up auxiliary stats aplenty, though, to the tune of a massive 38 rebounds and 14 steals.

Quinn was the offensive player of the game in this one, scoring a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a pair of steals. Schwantz almost had a double-double of her own with nine points and eight rebounds while leading the team in assists with two and steals with four. Timm rounded out the top scorers for the Wildcats with nine points of her own.

This was a good win against a tough Big Rivers Conference opponent for the Wildcats. They had been slipping a lit bit earlier in the month, but they have now won three of their last four and are climbing back up the conference rankings.

They only have one more game before the new year, and it’s an away game against non-conference team the Wingers in Red Wing on Friday at 7:30.