LA CROSSE — The Central High School girls basketball team is showing the ability to maintain focus during an unbeaten season.
The RiverHawks understood what Tuesday night’s matchup against Logan meant. Rivalry games are never easy, and coach Quartell Roberson knew the game meant an opportunity for the Rangers.
But Central did a good job of taking away that opportunity with a strong start that turned into a 65-28 MVC victory at the Steve Hole Field House.
The RiverHawks (11-0 overall, 4-0 MVC), who took over the No. 1 spot in Division 2 of the Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski media poll on Monday, had seven players score and were led by freshman Ellie Apuan’s 18 points.
“That was one of the points of emphasis, to get out to a good start,” Roberson said. “We wanted to get going early, and I thought we did that for the most part.
“We didn’t shoot it particularly well and didn’t make a lot of our outside shots early in the game.”
Apuan made just one 3-pointer, but she scored 16 of her points in the first half.
Senior Alahnna Simpson added 14 points and had 10 of those in the first half for Central, which is a half-game behind first-place Aquinas (5-0) in the standings.
Logan (2-10, 0-4) scored 14 points in each half and was led by senior Kaia DePaolo’s eight points.
Onalaska 80, Sparta 55
ONALASKA — The Hilltoppers (10-3, 3-1 MVC) won their fifth game in a row heading into Thursday night’s showdown with second-place Central (11-0, 4-0) at the Mark Sutton Memorial Gymnasium.
Sophomore Kayla Ketelhut scored a game-high 27 points and has averaged 26.5 points over her last two games. Ketelhut made three 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the second half as Onalaska built on a 14-point lead after one half.
Junior Olivia Passehl made six of her team’s 11 3-pointers and added 18 points in support of Ketelhut’s big game. Junior Natalie Marso added 11 for the Hilltoppers.
Viroqua 64, West Salem 53
WEST SALEM — The Blackhawks (10-3, 5-0 Coulee) took over sole possession of first place in the conference by ending the Panthers’ 44-game Coulee winning streak.
Sophomore Allyah Schwem scored 33 points for Viroqua, and West Salem (5-5, 4-1) slipped into a second-place tie with Arcadia.
The Panthers were led by sophomore Ava Hendrickson’s 15 points. Senior Josie Brudos added 13 and junior Bella Quackenbush 10.
Onalaska Luther 60, Westby 35
ONALASKA — The Knights (6-6, 2-2 Coulee) picked up their second win in a row and outscored the Norsemen by 18 points in the second half.
Sophomore Natalie Hackbarth made three 3-pointers and scored a team-high 17 points for Luther, which pulled away from a 27-20 halftime advantage. She made two of those 3s and scored 12 points in the second half.
Sophomore teammate Cara Unke added 15 points with three 3-pointers, and sophomore Jaeyda Livingston contributed nine points.
Holmen 68, Tomah 28
HOLMEN — The Vikings (8-4, 2-3 MVC) tied their season high for points scored in a game and blasted the Timberwolves.
Eight players scored for Holmen, which has won five of its past six games and plays next at Logan on Jan. 20.
Sophomore Makenzie Nunemacher scored a team-high 17 points and knocked down two 3-pointers in the first half.
Seniors Charley Case and Macy Kline added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Vikings, who successfully bounced back from a loss to Onalaska on Friday.
