ONALASKA — The Onalaska High School girls basketball team used a triangle-and-two defense to create trouble for Caledonia, but the Warriors found a way past the problem to keep an unbeaten season alive on Tuesday.
Caledonia didn’t shoot as well as it has this season from the perimeter and needed some time to adjust to what the Hilltoppers did defensively, but they found a way to get out of town and head home with a 45-32 victory.
Seniors Aubrie Klug and Josie Foster scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Warriors (7-0), who gave themselves some breathing room in the second half after only separating by a 25-18 margin after one half. Nicole Banse added 10 points for Caledonia.
“Offensively, we struggled, and their triangle-and-two took away two of our players,” Caledonia coach Scott Sorenson said. “To see that, it gives us an opportunity to work on some things we haven’t been able to. Right now, we’re a team that, besides (Rochester) Lourdes and (Winona) Cotter, hadn’t been tested.
“I thought (Onalaska coach) Tom (Cowley) put together a really great game plan, and they executed it well.”
Sorenson said his team’s defensive plan was to limit shots for sophomore Finley Walters, who made two first-half 3-pointers but nothing more in a six-point performance for the Hilltoppers (1-4). Senior Jenna Gansen scored a team-high eight points.
Klug and Foster combined for 15 of Caledonia’s first-half points, and Banse scored eight of her 10 as the Warriors pulled away in the second half.
Aquinas 87, Tomah 24
TOMAH — The MVC-leading Blugolds (5-3, 3-0) ran their conference win streak to 105 games and led the Timberwolves (0-6, 0-1) 50-14 by the end of the first half.
Aquinas made 10 3-pointers and was led by junior Sammy Davis, who had 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with six steals. Sophomore Oliva Passehl and senior Emma Dobbins combined for seven 3-pointers. Passehl made four for 12 points, and Dobbins hit three on her way to 15.
Alaina Elias had 11 points and five steals, Brooklyn Rohr eight points and Ava Fernholz five assists.
Tomah was led by sophomore Brielle Plueger, who made three 3-pointers and scored 14 points.
Sparta 60, Logan 39
SPARTA — The Spartans (3-4, 1-0) won their conference opener and snapped a three-game losing streak in the process.
Junior Tiana Leis scored a season-high 16 points and had 10 of them in the first half for Sparta, which plays at Central on Friday. Teammate Lily Seifert added 13 points, and Elexa Jones made a pair of 3-pointers on her way to nine.
Sophomore Maria Weber made a first-half 3-pointer and scored 12 points to lead the Rangers (1-6, 0-2) in their fourth straight loss. Junior Kaia DePaolo added nine points and Lydia Mason eight for Logan, which hosts Tomah on Friday.
Marshfield 60, Holmen 50
MARSHFIELD — The Vikings (1-5) gave up 17 of the first 21 points before starting on a comeback. Holmen faced a 37-24 halftime deficit and was within 51-45 with 4 minutes remaining but couldn’t get any closer.
Freshman Makenzie Nunemacher scored 17 points, while juniors Charley Casey and Macy Kline added 15 and 14, respectively, for the Vikings, who just played first-place Aquinas within five points on Saturday.
Bangor 90, Royall 34
ELROY — The first-place Cardinals (6-2, 3-0) won their second game in a row and scored 60 points in the first half while playing starters for less than half of the game.
Senior Anna Fronk made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Bangor, which had 11 players score and seven of them with at least eight. Aubrey Langrehr added 16 points and Kiera Cavadini 14 while holding the Panthers (2-4, 1-2) to 17 points in each half.
Layla Marty scored a team-high 10 for Royall on a night that included 12 3-pointers for Bangor. Langrehr added three to Fronk’s five.
Cashton 46, Necedah 31
CASHTON — The Eagles (5-3, 2-1) won for the second time in three games and took a 12-point lead to the second half.
Senior Marlee Schroeder scored a team-high 12 points and made three 3-pointers with six points in each half. Teammates Kate Wall and Addison Pieper added eight points apiece for Cashton.
The Cardinals (3-4, 1-2) lost their third game in a row and were led by senior Hannah Hunkins’ game-high 16 points. She had 11 of those points in the first half.
Mauston 43, Viroqua 35
VIROQUA — The Blackhawks (3-5) lost their second straight game after a two-game win streak.
Freshman Allyah Schwem, who is averaging 22.3 points per game, scored a game-high 19 points for Viroqua.
New Lisbon 62, Brookwood 37
NEW LISBON — Senior Abby Steele scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the first half for the Rockets (4-5, 2-1), who won their second game in a row. Senior Arria Raese added 16 with 12 of them coming in the second half.
The Falcons (4-3, 1-2) were led by junior Ruby Muehlenkamp’s 11 points — all of which came in the second half.
Mondovi 70, G-E-T 25
GALESVILLE — Ava Lightfoot scored seven points and Amara Brantner six for the Red Hawks (0-7), who are still searching for their first win.
Wauzeka-Steuben 59, De Soto 40
DE SOTO — Sophomore Kylee Venner scored 18 points for the Pirates (3-3, 1-2) in their second straight loss. She is averaging 20.2 points per game this season.
OTHER AREA SCORES
Melrose-Mindoro 63, Blair-Taylor 58
Eleva-Strum 53, Independence/Gilmanton 39
Whitehall 55, Alma Center Lincoln 39
Hillsboro 57, Wonewoc-Center 31
