No.1 ranked Eleva-Strum meeting challenges, staying undefeated
Talk about a tall task on a quest.
The Eleva-Strum High School Prep Girls Basketball Team not only had to play back-to-back road games in 24 hours but play three games in five days, one of them coming against a newly ranked rival on its home court.
But the No. 1 ranked Cardinals have been taking those tasks head-on since the start of the season and have been meeting them each time and the past few days have been no exception.
E-S has racked up more wins to add to its collection, now up to 12 with no blemishes to report. The Cards downed Osseo-Fairchild 77-20 on Friday, Jan. 9 at home, won at Melrose-Mindoro 55-36 on Monday of this week, Jan. 12 and the very next day downed Blair-Taylor at B-T impressively 66-50.
Central took an eight-point lead at halftime 37-29 against a Wildcat (10-3) squad - brand new to the Top 10 in Division 5 this week at No. 8 - and built onto it in the second half. The D-5 rankings from Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports Girls Basketball Media Poll are as follows:
1). Eleva-Strum
2). Pecatonica/Argyle
3). Stevens Point Pacelli
4). Webster
5). Wisconsin Rapids Assumption
6). Lena
7). Marshfield Columbus
8). Blair-Taylor
9). Royall
10). Owen-Withee
Eleva-Strum junior Maddea Brown had one of her best games of the season so far with 20 points, making seven field goals, six from behind the three-point arc. Her scoring was a nice compliment to fellow junior Avery Glenz's 18 points and went to show E-S opponents that keying on one player defensively may not work all that well. Another junior, Clara Christ, was also in double figures for E-S with 12 points. Glenz had a double-double with 10 rebounds and junior Avaya Zwiefelhofer finished with eight boards. Glenz nearly snagged a triple-double as she finished with nine assists. Eleva-Strum broke a couple of school records vs. the Wildcats. They made 14 trifectas in a single contest. Brown had six of them to set the program's individual record for a ballgame, Christ had four, Glenz sank three and Aliza Kulig also made a bucket behind the arc.
Glenz also had 18 points against Mel-Min. The Redbirds also showed their scoring diversity in this contest as sophomore Brenley Bauer had 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with Zwiefelhofer's 12 boards. Avery Spanberg finished with eight points and Brown had seven assists. .E-S had another strong defensive effort, surviving a close first half ahead only 24-16 vs. the Mustangs (5-6) by outscoring them 31-20 in the second half.
Brown put in 22 points in the Cardinals' win over Hwy. 10 rival Osseo-Fairchild. Senior center Kulig finished with a season-best so far 15 points, Glenz had 13. Zwiefelhofer had team tops in rebounds with 11 and assists with five, The contest was quick as E-S led 57-13 at halftime and had running clock in the second half.
The tasks on the Cards' quest aren't over yet this week as they travel to Independence Thursday, Jan. 13 for their fourth game in a week against a tough Independence/Gilmanton squad with the tip at 7:15 p.m.. The Indee Panthers are 10-3 overall, 6-3 in the league and have won six games in a row since a loss to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran back on Dec. 15. I/G is coming off a 54-41 win over Lincoln (8-5) on Monday, Jan. 12 and leading them in scoring is senior Arabelle Kniesely at 14 points per game followed by junior Nora Schank at nine points and sophomore Reilynn Sheehan at 8 ppg. Kniesely leads the team in rebound with eight per game while Schank is averaging three assists a contest. Indy/Gilmanton is three and a half games back of E-S in the Large Dairyland standings at 10-0 to 6-3. The Cards can put a hammerlock on the division title with a win Thursday. They also get a much-needed break because E-S also faces another multi-game week in their schedule hosting Spencer on Monday, Jan. 19 followed by another home game vs. Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 24 hours later and then a date at Alma/Pepin in Pepin on Friday, Jan. 23.
Speaking of Osseo-Fairchild (1-12), they played much better on Monday. Jan. 12 at home vs. Augusta despite a 62-46 loss in their Parent's Night and OFHS Hall of Fame induction ceremony. They kept playing hard despite their youth and other difficulties, cutting a 22-point second half deficit to the Beavers (3-9) down to 14 before time ran out. Sophomore Kiearra Sieg sank four trifectas as part of a 16-point game for O-F, and fellow sophomores Jianna Scheffer scored five points, Julia Whelan had six points, Junior Noelle Kiesow scored eight points, and freshman Addison Dunahay had a bucket too. Senior Makaela Kiesow finished with 10 points. O-F also lost last week in a rescheduled contest at home to Lincoln 64-37 on Thursday, Jan 8. O-F is on the road for its next three contests, at No. 8 Blair-Taylor on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Black River Falls (1-10) on Jan. 19 for a non-conference tilt then at Melrose-Mindoro on Jan. 23 before its next home game Jan. 29 vs. Independence/Gilmanton.
For Augusta, just getting a win, its third of the season was the important thing, especially after losing to B-T at home last week Friday, Jan. 9 by a 64-33 margin. B-T had three players in double figures led by Andrea Waldera's 21 points. It was Augusta's first game of the New Year as they had not played since Dec. 19 against Eleva-Strum. Against the Thunder, AHS was led in scoring by Stella Zank wth 17 points with 15 points each going to Laney O'Brien and Cecelia Schroeder. O'Brien was named Player of the Game by WHTL 102.3 FM which broadcasted it. AHS's Brooklyn Krueger finished with six points. Augusta's next chance for a win to continue their turnaround comes this Thursday, Jan. 15 at home vs. Melrose-Mindoro. The Beavers lost a close contest to the Mustangs back at the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Next Tuesday, Jan. 20, they host Independence/Gilmanton.
Losing to your rival is always tough and that was true for Fall Creek as No. 5 Eau Claire Regis (12-2) topped the Crickets 53-40 last week Thursday, Jan. 8 at Fall Creek despite Fall Creek leading at halftime 23-20. The loss dropped FC to the .500 mark both overall and in the Western Cloverbelt Conference. But perhaps things should be seen from this perspective: Fall Creek has been without its top center, senior Jasmin Heuer, since fall due to injury and there were other players out with injuries as well for Fall Creek on its varsity roster ( Avery Ludescher and Tessa Schroeder) to leave them with just nine players to face a squad as deep, experienced, talented and tall (Regis's freshman center Evelyn Borcherding is 6-5 and led the Ramblers in scoring vs. FC with 18 points). Teammate junior Ella Mae Cooper finished with 17 points and senior Izzy Reichert had eight, five at the free-throw line but she also made a key three-pointer in the second half which began Regis' rally to win. Fall Creek certainly was well-prepared, played tough defense and outshot the Ramblers in three-pointers. Junior Rylee Winsand made three trifectas for a team-best 11 points. Sophomore Joanna Grossinger scored nine points for the home team and senior Becca Sturz had seven.
Thus, when the Crickets won in overtime at Elk Mound (8-5) on Tuesday, Jan. 13 by a score of 58-57, it should not be considered a fluke. Fall Creek is still playing well as it gets back healthy again in the second half of the season. While the Mounders Allie Rabel led all scorers with 25 points, Fall Creek offset this with 15 points coming from Sturz, 14 points from sophomore Kendall Haynes and 10 points from junior Kam Dahlberg. The win snaps a three-game losing streak as FC gets ready for another challenge, No. 10 ranked Chippewa Falls McDonell (11-2) this Friday, Jan. 16 at home with the tip-off at 7 p.m. McDonell leads Regis by a game (7-0 to 6-1) in the WCC standings while Fall Creek is tied with Bloomer and Elk Mound at 4-3.
