C-FC ends Independence girls basketball season

It was a story of two halves as the Independence girls basketball team’s season came to an end last week Tuesday.

The Indees got off to a strong start in their Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division Five regional quarterfinal game at Cochrane-Fountain City. However, the upset hopes of the 12th-seeded Indees hit a snag with a familiar problem as they managed just 11 points in the second half, while the fifth-seeded Pirates surged ahead for the win.

The loss put Independence’s final record at 8-17 on the season. The team will graduate four seniors who started, however had several freshmen playing key minutes this season as they hope for improvement in the future.

C-FC 36 Independence 27

The Pirates had a difficult time getting a good look at the basket early as the Indees’ defense established control in the first half. 

The Indees contested shots early and held the Pirates to just 10 points in the first half as Independence took a six-point lead into halftime.

Thanks, in part, to some Independence turnovers, the Pirates got going in the second half. The Pirates scored 12 points off of Independence turnovers and managed to get some shots to fall. 

C-FC showed why it was the higher seed, putting up 26 points in the second frame. The Indees, meanwhile, ran into the same issue that hurt them all season as they struggled to put the ball through the basket. The Pirates surged ahead and led by as much as 11 before settling in for a nine-point win.

Independence’s defense held C-FC to just 22.2 percent shooting from the field. The Pirates had more opportunities, however, thanks to 16 offensive rebounds and 21 Independence turnovers. As a result, C-FC had 54 field goal attempts, compared to 40 for Independence. 

Ahnna Bautch led Independence with nine points while Rhianna Theisen scored seven; Amiah Ives, five; Makiyah Scow, four and Kassidi Dejno, two. 

Independence (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Kniseley 0/2-0/0-3-2-0 Pronschinske 0/4-0/0-4-1-0 Ives 2/7-1/2-9-2-5 Bautch 4/8-1/4-4-4-9 Zastrow 0/6-0/0-4-3-0 Theisen 3/9-0/2-1-5-7 Dejno 1/1-0/0-1-0-2 Scow 1/3-2/2-4-1-4