The Spring Valley Cardinals won a pair of games in Spring Valley this week, beating the Boyceville Bulldogs on Tuesday night 49-48 and beating the Glenwood City Hilltoppers 51-30.

The Cardinals got on the board in a big way, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as both games were against Dunn-St. Croix Conference rivals, thus pushing the previously 0-5 Cardinals into a tie for first place with the Elk Mound Mounders.

It’s been tough sledding for a young Spring Valley team so far this year, but they had a five-game window of non-conference games to cut their teeth, find their identity and put things together. Early returns indicate that this was exactly what they needed.

Tuesday’s win was the big one. Coming out of the game with a one-point victory over a good team in Boyceville was a huge way to start the conference season.

The Bulldogs had the first lead at 4-0 when Audrey Mathison got the home team on the board with a three-pointer. Rylie Fritz followed that up with a steal that ultimately turned into points of star player Mara Ducklow’s three-point shot from the corner. Ducklow did it again moments later, and the Cardinals took a 9-4 lead.

Ducklow and Charli Vanesse would both get steals, and Taylor Traynor would drain another three for Spring Valley to increase their lead to 10 at 16-6 with just 6:00 off the clock in the first.

Both teams kept the status quo throughout the bulk of the remainder of the period, and with just under 3:00 to play, the Cardinals were still up 28-16, and went into the half up by double digits.

Approaching midway through the second period, Spring Valley still had an 11-point lead at 37-26 with just over 12:00 to go. That’s when things took a turn for the worse. Boyceville came alive and went on a 12-2 run over the next seven minutes. At 39-38 with 5:00 to play, Fritz gave the Cardinals some breathing room with a three to make it a two-score game.

Spring Valley would get outscored 10-7 the rest of the way, but they did enough to hold on to a huge Week 1 of conference play victory.

Elmwood-Plum City

The Elmwood-Plum City Wolves lost to the Glenwood City Hilltoppers on Tuesday night in Glenwood City on Tuesday by a score of 61-41 and lost again on Friday night in Mondovi 81-21.

The Wolves had a tough week on the road, losing both games to Dunn-St. Croix rivals.

Game one was a heartbreaker. The Wolves played hard, good basketball until the end. The score was tied at the half as EPC went back and forth with the Hilltoppers throughout. The defensive performance including early steals by Kali Brunner and Hailey Webb helped to keep things close.

Midway through the second period, with 10:20 yet to play, the Wolves were down by two at 40-38. That’s when things took a turn for the worse. They lost Hailey Webb due to fouls, and over the next 6:00 of play, the Hilltoppers went on a 12-2 run that essentially put the game out of reach for Elmwood. Unfortunately, after playing a really good game, they went on to lose 61-41.

The stats were a mixed bag in this one. They scored 41 points and got 33 rebounds and 11 steals, which is all to the good. The downside is that they only converted on 38% of free throws, 31% of field goals and missed all their three-point attempts.

Head Coach Paige Saniter says that while the game was a tight one for the entire first half with both teams took turns having the lead, losing their most experienced player to foul trouble turned the tide.

“Her leadership on our team is something that our young girls feed off of and rely on. With her off the court, some panic set in and the game slipped away,” Saniter said. “Though the score may not show it, our team is making some amazing progress and improvements. The girls worked hard. I am super proud of them and their efforts. Our goal is to play together and for each other. We aim to get 1% better every day, and we will continue to work on that in practice this week.” 

 Next up for the Wolves is a home game against Durand-Arkansaw on Thursday. Tip off for that game is 7:15 p.m.

Big Rivers: River Falls

The River Falls Wildcats were defeated by the Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks in overtime on Tuesday in Baldwin by a score of 52-51 and were defeated by the Hudson Raiders by 67-64 on Friday in Hudson.

It was a pair of heartbreakers for River Falls who dropped two games by a cumulative four points. Game one was the harder pill to swallow though.

River Falls maintained a lead throughout the second half of the first period, though not a large one until an Addy Timm three-pointer pushed it out to a half dozen at 22-16 with 3:32 to go. Hayley Quinn followed that up with a defensive block, and the Wildcats went into the half with a nice lead.

The Blackhawks immediately closed that gap in the second period, pulling within one point just 90 seconds into the half. Keyah Strop gave Rive Falls a little more breathing room with a fast break resulting in two points.

That was as close as they would get until deep in second period when the Blackhawks took their first lead since early on in the first period at 41-40. Quinn hit a three and took the lead right back, but with time winding towards zero, it was all knotted up at 45 apiece. With just 0:03 left on the clock and the game on the line, Jordan Schwantz came up with a block from underneath the net to push it into overtime.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks put up a 7-3 run, but even a Schwantz three-pointer to bring them within one with a minute to go wasn’t enough to overcome it. The Wildcats lost 52-51 at the end of overtime.

The game with Hudson was neck and neck throughout. River Falls actually pulled within one with just over 3:00 to go after a Schwantz three-pointer to make it 61-60, but that game too would slip away right at the end.

Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Rice Lake on Tuesday and a homestand against Osceola on Thursday. Tip off for both of those games is at 7:15 p.m.

Middle Border: Prescott

The Prescott Cardinals lost to Altoona in Prescott on Tuesday by a score of 59-49 and lost to Eau Claire Memorial on Saturday at UW-River Falls 78-35.

Tuesday’s Middle Border Conference matchup against Altoona knocked them out of first place.

Prescott staked an early 6-2 lead behind an Avery Pattridge steal and a Lila Posthuma three-pointer. Altoona made a move and pushed to tie it up, but another Posthuma three-point shot increased the lead to five at 11-6.

Throughout the first half Altoona kept playing catch up. They pulled within three again at 17-14, but Leah French drained a three to put the lead back at six. A couple of nice Violet Otto blocks just before the half allowed Prescott to maintain that lead going into the break.

Otto continued to perform well in the second period, as she kept the momentum going for the Cardinals with a fast break for two points followed shortly thereafter with nice three-pointer from the perimeter to take an eight-point lead in the early part of the half. French stepped up and maintained that differential with a three of her own to bring it to 39-31 as the midpoint approached.

This was the highwater mark for Prescott on the night as things started going the other way. Altoona outscored the home team 18-6 over the next seven minutes, and with 4:04 to go, they had a two-score lead over the Cardinals at 49-45. The game continued to slip away, and the red birds lost lose by double digits at 59-49.

The real Achilles Heel for Prescott was their 36% success rate on field goals. Other than that, their 35% on three-point attempts and 60% on free throws were both decent.

It’s a tough pill to swallow when a game slips away like that, but Head Coach Owen Hamilton gives credit where credit is due.

“We really just couldn’t get shots to go in the second half like they normally would, but that’s a credit to Altoona and how they played us. A few too many turnovers and not getting stops on defense down the stretch,” Hamilton said. “I think we’re just starting to scratch the surface at the moment. There’s a lot of positives in the losses that are things we get to build on and the girls are eager to do what it takes. The best part of where we’re at right now is that we’ve played some great teams that can give us a challenge and a look at what we might see in conference. In a way it’s unfortunate to be 3-4, but at the same time, when the four losses are to four great teams we can’t hang our heads. There’s a lot of things we’re looking forward to right now, and like I said, I think we’re just scratching the surface.”

The Cardinals are now 3-4 overall, but more importantly, they are 2-1 in the Middle Border Conference and are still in the driver’s seat as far as repeating for a fourth consecutive conference championship. Every game is a learning experience, and as Coach Hamilton said, they’re just getting started.

Next up for Prescott is a two-game week on the road. First up is a MBC game against the Amery Warriors on Tuesday at 7 p.m., then they will travel to Durand on Thursday to play the Panthers on Thursday at 7:15.