SOMERSET — River Falls moved to 5-1 on the year with little friction against Somerset, winning 78-46 with firm control the whole way Monday night.

The Wildcats came into the year hoping to establish an identity as a fast team that pushes the tempo in transition. While that faucet has been on and off thus far, Monday’s matchup showcased what it looks like at its best.

“Our personnel fits [up-tempo] a little bit better,” Head Coach Ian Sticht said. “We’re all pretty athletic, and can get up and down a little bit… When we talk about playing fast, this is probably the game where we actually converted a bunch in that transition.”

It was a case of one thing going right leading to everything going right. Sharing the ball well led to made shots, thus energizing the defense to force turnovers, cycling all the way back for more easy buckets.

Playing at the fast pace can be difficult enough, but River Falls does it while running six or seven player rotations. Sticht said systems like theirs became possible due to advancements in the understanding of conditioning and the human body.

“We do have a conditioning coach on staff, so certainly a piece of that is the conditioning program,” Sticht said. “You just look back on how I used to coach or grew up, and you’re just like, you did things so wrong.”

Sticht mentioned athletes today make a lot more progress in conditioning over the course of the regular season than ever before.

Senior Hayley Quinn went ballistic in Somerset, scoring 29 points in the win while resting for a large chunk near the end of the game due to the score. Senior Abigail Treichel has dominated inside all year long, scoring 12 points per game and snagging 15 rebounds. Treichel finished with 13 points in the win. Sophomore Eva Englebert also had a notable performance, dropping 18 points.

Both Quinn and Englebert missed the previous season due to injury. A full return to form was never a surprise, as the two work as hard as anyone.

“Two kids who just live, and breathe, and die and they just love basketball,” Sticht said. “It’s just great to have two kids who can score it in multiple ways, defend at a high level, push the ball, transition, share it really well.”

Sticht said the backcourt duo makes an impact that cannot be measured in the box score.

With Quinn and Treichel being as consistent of seniors as anyone could ask for, the fate of the season will lie in the hands of the five sophomore contributors. It will have to be all of them getting the job done, not just one.

“We’re still playing a bunch of sophomores, so getting more consistency from some of the sophomores,” Sticht said on the key to success. “Hayley and Abigail have shown us pretty much game in and game out what they’re going to bring to the table.”