Raider girls finish Coulee play perfect

A shooting slump didn’t prevent the Arcadia girls basketball team from clinching sole possession of the Coulee Conference on Tuesday and they finished the season undefeated on Friday. 

The Raiders had a tough time getting any shots to fall early in their game against Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, but their offense got going late in the first half as their defense was lights out in a 49-17 win. On Friday, their defense limited Onalaska Luther to 16 first half points as the Raiders won 55-43.

The first win clinched sole possession of the Coulee Conference for the Raiders and the second meant they finished the season with a 12-0 record in conference play and 19-3 overall.

Arcadia earned the top seed in their Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division Three bracket and had a bye when tournament play began on Tuesday of this week. The Raiders will host the winner of the game between (9) Altoona and (8) Ellsworth on Friday with the regional final game — against the winner of (5) Adams-Friendship and (4) Elk Mound set for Saturday. 

The sectional semifinal game is slated for next Thursday at Altoona with the sectional final at Baldwin-Woodville next week Saturday.

Arcadia 49 G-E-T 17 - Once the lid was lifted off the basket, the Raiders cruised to the win which clinched the conference title.

The Raiders were able to get good looks early, but couldn’t get shots to fall and missed four free throws early in the first half. They were able to make life difficult for G-E-T defensively as they clung to a 9-4 lead with five minutes left in the half.

An inside basket by Linzy Sendelbach was followed by a three pointer by Mercedes Romo as Arcadia took a 10-point lead with four minutes left in the half. G-E-T scored again, but Ellie Hoesley answered as the Raiders took a 17-6 lead into halftime.

The Raiders broke the game open with an 11-2 run to start the second half. Sendelbach and Hoesley were both able to get to the basket while Romo, Hannah Suchla and Abby Suchla all got outside shots to fall as the Raiders pulled away.

Hoesley had a game-high 16 points while Sendelbach added 12, Romo scored seven, Abby Suchla finished with five, both Ali Pronschinske and Hannah Suchla scored three, Hailey Sonsalla had two and Chloe Halverson finished with one. 

G-E-T’s offensive struggles were in part due to disciplined defense by Arcadia as the Red Hawks weren’t able to manage a single free throw attempt. Kaylie Bratberg, Cassy Schmitz and Genna O’Neill all had four points for G-E-T while Anna Puent scored three and Alivia Beaman had two. 

Arcadia 55 Luther 43 - For the second time this season, the Arcadia girls basketball team had a player top the 1,000-point mark.

Ellie Hoesley reached the milestone with her nine points in the game, joining Linzy Sendelbach, who did so late in January. Both are seniors who have been starters for the Raiders since their freshman seasons.

As for the game, it was defense that helped the Raiders take control as they held the Knights to just 16 points in the first half and took an 11-point lead into halftime.

Arcadia was able to maintain control of the game in the second half, despite a charge by the Knights, as the Raiders won by 12.

Sendelbach led the Raiders with 16 points, three more than Halverson while Romo added eight, Hannah Suchla scored seven and Ali Pronschinske finished with two.