By Reagan Hoverman

The Ellsworth girls basketball team is in one of the most competitive races for a conference title that western Wisconsin has seen in some time. Ellsworth’s critical conference victory over Baldwin-Woodville on Thursday, Feb. 3, was not secured by star power, but instead by role players that executed their roles to perfection in the 50-44 victory.

The stakes were high heading into the game for both teams. Ellsworth entered with a 10-9 record overall and a 6-3 record in Middle Border Conference games. The Blackhawks of Baldwin- Woodville went into the contest with a 15-4 record, including a 7-2 record in conference play. At the time, Baldwin-Woodville was in second place in the MBC standings.

In the first half, Ellsworth sophomore star Molly Janke had queued up her greatest hits. She was hitting her signature running floater, she hit a deep three-pointer, and with just under three minutes to go in the first half, she made a fantastic pass to Maria Harrington who banged home a three-pointer to give Ellsworth a 20-14 lead. The fantastic play of Janke helped Ellsworth get a 24-14 lead going into the halftime intermission.

While Janke was fantastic in the first half, during the second half she got into foul trouble, and when she went to the bench, some of the role players for Ellsworth stepped up and helped combat a comeback attempt by the visiting Blackhawks of Baldwin-Woodville.

Coming out of the halftime intermission, Ellsworth’s 10-point lead quickly evaporated. Baldwin-Woodville scored 10 straight points in the first five minutes of the half. Baldwin-Woodville senior forward Anna Jordt was primarily responsible for the damage. She accounted for six of the Blackhawks’ 10 points during the scoring run.

Just when it looked like Baldwin-Woodville was going take the lead and run away with the game, Ellsworth sophomore Ava Brookshaw began playing some of her best basketball of the season. She stepped up and made a critical midrange jumper to end the Blackhawk scoring run and regain the lead 26-24.

Less than one minute later, Brookshaw again connected. This time it was a deep three-pointer that gave Ellsworth a 29-24 lead with 12 minutes to go in regulation. Ellsworth head coach Jason Janke spoke about Brookshaw and her stellar play against Baldwin-Woodville.

“Ava (Brookshaw), I have high expectations for her,” Jason Janke said. “She’s got to wear a lot of hats for us. When Molly (Janke) is out of the game she’s got to be our primary ball-handler, she’s got to rebound for us, and she’s a better athlete than I think she realizes. She came through and she kept coming through for us.”

With under five minutes to play in regulation, Ellsworth had a four-point lead. That’s when Molly Janke found an open Brookshaw for an open three. Brookshaw’s top of the key threepointer extended Ellsworth’s lead to 39-32. A couple of minutes later, Molly Janke fouled out of the game after picking up her fifth foul.

It was Brookshaw who took control of the game, made some clutch free throws and helped seal the victory for Ellsworth, which improved the Panthers’ record to 11-9 for the season and 7-3 in Middle Border Conference action. The win moved Ellsworth into a three-way tie for second place with Altoona and Baldwin-Woodville. All three teams continue to chase Prescott’s 8-2 record in conference play.

For Ellsworth, it was the role players that made the difference in the game. Brookshaw led the charge once Molly Janke went to the bench, but other role players contributed too, including sophomore Kayla Kressin, junior Ashlyn Townsend, and sophomores Harrington and Aubrey Wittenberg. Jason Janke spoke about the importance of understanding roles.

“I challenged these kids to come out tonight and accept their roles,” Jason Janke said. “We talked about roles this weekend, and everybody came out (tonight) and played probably a step above their role tonight, which is what you need. That is a really good basketball team. I’ve got so much respect for those kids and that coaching staff.”

In her first postgame interview with the Pierce County Journal, Brookshaw spoke about the night that she had and how she was tasked with taking over the game once Molly Janke was in foul trouble and eventually fouled out.

“I was just thinking that I need to make sure we slow it down because there were only a few minutes left,” Brookshaw said. “Usually when we’re up we tend to go faster, so I was made sure to slow us down and make smart passes and take shots that are good and not forced. I’m more comfortable with the ball this season, so that has helped.”

Brookshaw and the rest of the role players did a great job at home against Baldwin-Woodville to help secure the win and give Ellsworth a great shot at winning a conference championship. Now in the thick of the conference race, Ellsworth plays some of its most important games of the season in the coming week, with games against Amery, Altoona, Osceola and Prescott.

Up next for Ellsworth is at home against Amery on Tuesday, Feb. 8. That game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m.

Ellsworth sophomore guard Ava Brookshaw made crucial free throws down the stretch to help Ellsworth hold on to the lead against Baldwin-Woodville on Thursday, Feb. 3.Photo by Reagan Hoverman