Red Hawks end losing streak with back-to-back wins
For just over a full year, the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau girls basketball program has been searching for a win. When the time finally arrived and the Red Hawks snapped their lengthy losing skid, they enjoyed the taste of winning so much that they figured they might as well do it again their next time out.
G-E-T ended its 371-day wait to get back in the win column and snapped its 25-game losing streak with a 56-48 win over Tomah early last week. The program’s last win had come in a 45-42 triumph at Black River Falls on Jan. 30, 2024.
Two days after getting that monkey off their back, the Red Hawks ended a 14-game home losing streak and an 11-game conference losing streak in one fell swoop with a dramatic 46-44 victory over Black River Falls.
“I feel some of the keys this week we have talked about all year. Just do the little things right and the wins will come. We have talked about tightening our defense up which would keep us in the games offensively,” said G-E-T head coach John Schmidtknecht. “For the offense side of things, we needed girls to slow down a bit and see the floor and keep the spacing. By doing this we could see the open players and we could see the areas to attack to help boost our offense. These girls have worked so hard this year improving on all aspects of the game and it has shown this week. They come into practice with great attitudes and wanting to work hard and get better which I feel is turning the corner for the program.”
A week before that breakthrough win, the Red Hawks found themselves in position to break that losing skid against Westby. G-E-T led for most of the evening but faltered late as the Norsemen used a pivotal 22-3 run in the second half to sprint ahead to a 60-44 win.
Though that opportunity for a win slipped away, there were lessons to be learned for the Red Hawks in terms of how to play with a lead that may have paid dividends this past week.
“The Westby game was a huge boost for us in confidence and learning. It was new for us to be playing with the lead, and we could use a lot of teaching moments to help break through and get a couple of wins this week,” Schmidtknecht said. “Each and every game we try and highlight the learning moments that we can improve on and then set those goals for the next game and that has really helped us each game.”
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (2-19, 1-8 Coulee) finishes up the regular season by hosting West Salem on Tuesday and playing at Westby next Thursday. Both games will start at about 7 p.m.
With a couple of wins under their belt, the Red Hawks have the chance to keep building to end this season as best they can and give themselves a launching pad going into next year.
“This is such a close group of girls; they bring great energy each and every day. The season can get long for sure, but the family-like bond keeps the energy high and keeps them pushing for success,” Schmidtknecht said. “Getting two wins has really shown that we have the talent and we have what it takes to compete each and every night. For the rest of the season for us, we will take it one game at a time, keep setting our goals high and hopefully pull off a couple more wins this year and build on that for next year.”
G-E-T 56 Tomah 48
Barely over a week after a lackluster closing stretch cost them a chance at a win against Westby, the Red Hawks flipped the script and used a strong finishing kick to get over the hump and register their first win of the season, beating the Timberwolves (1-17) by eight in a non-conference clash last Tuesday in Tomah.
G-E-T trailed 36-33 with a little under 8:30 left in regulation when Amara Brantner buried a corner three to knot things up. A few minutes later, Sami Filla drilled a three of her own from the top of the key that put her team ahead 39-38 with 5:11 to go.
The Red Hawks kept their foot on the gas to stretch their lead out to 46-38 thanks to a crucial 13-2 run. From that point forward, Tomah never got the deficit closer than six and the celebration was on for G-E-T after securing that elusive victory.
Brantner led the charge for the triumphant Red Hawks with 18 points, Lexi James was close behind with 14 and the duo of Filla and Claire Baures added eight apiece to the G-E-T scoring ledger.
As for the Timberwolves, Brielle Plueger scored 20 points and Jordan Brookner tacked on 12 in the loss.
G-E-T 46 BRF 44
A win to break a long losing skid is equal parts exhilarating and relieving. Following it up immediately after with another win leaves no doubt that you’re trending in the right direction.
The Red Hawks carried their winning ways into Coulee play by eking out a victory over Black River Falls this past Thursday in Galesville.
The first half was a seesaw battle with a slew of lead changes. Neither team led by more than four over the first 18 minutes and G-E-T held a narrow 20-19 advantage at the halftime break.
The second half was more of the same. The Red Hawks briefly led by six with under seven minutes to play but otherwise the two teams were constantly tied or locked in a one-possession game for nearly the entire half.
With G-E-T down 40-39 and 1:06 left, Halene DeJager calmly sank four consecutive free throws after she was fouled with the Red Hawks in the double bonus and the Tigers’ Morgan Kundinger was hit with a technical foul immediately after.
DeJager made two more free throws on the next G-E-T possession to keep her team ahead 45-42. When she was fouled again with the score at 45-44, she missed both free throws but rebounded her own miss on the second and headed back to the line with 5.6 seconds left. She split a pair to make it 46-44.
Hannah Falcon had a look at a potential game-winning three at the buzzer for Black River Falls, but her shot hit the rim and careened harmlessly away, leading to the G-E-T student section mobbing their team to celebrate the victory.
Setting the pace for the Red Hawks were DeJager with 12 points, James with nine and Filla with seven.
Leading scorers for the Tigers were Falcon and Kundinger with 11 points apiece and Kenley Brown with 10.
