G-E-T finishes sweep of BRF
The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau girls basketball team ended a lengthy losing streak with a road win over Black River Falls last month. In the rematch, the Red Hawks only improved on that performance to complete a satisfying season sweep.
G-E-T (3-19, 2-9 Coulee) used a second-half surge to power past the Tigers in their conference clash last week, snapping a brief four-game skid for the Red Hawks that culminated in a loss to Viroqua a few days earlier.
After wrapping up the regular season against Onalaska Luther on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Galesville, G-E-T shifts focus to the D3 playoffs. The 11th-seeded Red Hawks hit the road to play No. 6 seed Amery in the opening round next Tuesday at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to face No. 3 seed Baldwin-Woodville in the regional semifinals.
Viroqua 53 G-E-T 38
A 31-point onslaught by Viroqua’s standout sophomore Allyah Schwem proved too much for the Red Hawks to overcome Tuesday in Viroqua.
The Blackhawks bulldozed their way to a 40-19 halftime advantage that made for a low-stress second half for the home team. G-E-T did manage to shave 10 points off its margin of defeat compared to the 64-39 loss to Viroqua in early January.
In last week’s rematch, the Red Hawks were led by sophomore Caydie Thompson with 10 points, senior Lexi James with nine points and sophomore Alexis Ouellette with seven points.
G-E-T 63 BRF 53
G-E-T enjoyed a triumphant senior night last Friday at Russ Lund Gymnasium, going on a big run in the second half for their most decisive of their three wins this winter.
The Tigers (3-18, 0-11) only trailed 17-16 in the latter stages of the second half, but a 12-4 Red Hawk run allowed them to open up a nine-point lead. G-E-T kept the pedal down early in the second half, with junior Joshlyn Lunsford’s triple with 13:18 to go in the game extending her team’s advantage to 17.
Later, transition layups by sophomores Brookelynn Keller and Claire Baures helped get the Red Hawk lead all the way to 25. Though the Tigers ended the game on a 19-4 run to whittle that deficit down quite a bit, it was too late for a serious comeback bid.
“We did a great job moving the ball around and finding the open player. We also talked a lot about having our hands ready to shoot off a pass which we also did a great job,” said G-E-T head coach John Schmidtknecht. “Defensively we were very strong, creating a lot of tipped balls and steals leading to 28 points off turnovers.”
A balanced scoring effort by the Red Hawks included Baures with 12 points, Thompson with 11, sophomore Kennedy Scow with 10, James and Lunsford with eight each and Ouellette with seven.
