G-E-T closes regular season with loss to Luther, win over BRF
G-E-T senior Emily Nelson readied to toss a layup toward the net in the closing minutes of a 59-43 loss to Luther at G-E-T High School last Thursday. (Times photograph by Benjamin Pierce)
As the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School girls basketball team readied for their final regular season game against the second best team in the Coulee Conference on Thursday, coach Louis Hurd wrote the top priority for his team on a whiteboard.
The words — ‘handle a run’— were simple, but the execution of the words would prove to be difficult against a potent offensive attack by the Knights. Luther opened the game on an 18-3 run to grab the lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish in a 59-43 win.
The loss followed a win over Black River Falls. Sixth-seeded G-E-T kicked off the WIAA regional playoffs with a rematch against the Tigers (No. 11) at home on Tuesday. The Red Hawks would play No. 3 Altoona with a win.
G-E-T 65 BR Falls 26
Twenty-one points from Lettner and 15 from senior Kayli Bratberg carried the Red Hawks to a win on Tuesday at Black River Falls High School.
G-E-T had 10 different players score in the win over the Tigers (3-21, 2-10 CC).
G-E-T (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-points) — Lettner 9/17-0/0-3-21, Braunreiter 1/2-0/0-0-2, Hunter 1/7-0/0-5-2, A. Bratberg 1/5-0/0-0-3, K. Bratberg 7/11-0/0-5-15, Schmitz 1/4-1/2-2-3, O’Neill 1/3-1/1-4-3, Nelson 2/2-0/0-3-4, Kokott 2/2-0/0-3-4, Kirkey 2/5-0/0-5-4.
Luther 59 G-E-T 43
Hurd said the Red Hawks struggled early against a quality offense.
“They had everybody shooting really well right out of the gates, and that kind of hit us in the mouth,” Hurd said after the game. “We just were not ready to counter punch yet in the first half.”
The Red Hawks cut Luther’s lead to 10 with about eight minutes remaining in the half and began to find some energy late to end the half behind 31-16. But Luther opened the second half on a 9-0 run to extend their lead, and again G-E-T was chasing.
G-E-T got the offense clicking in the second half, and Hurd said the strong finish was nice to see as his team closes in on the postseason.
“We hit some shots, we made some plays, and then we were able to get into the press, and the girls probably played it as well as they have all year,” Hurd said. “We definitely came out with a different mentality.”
But as his team prepares for their final games of the season, he told the girls that that message on the whiteboard would remain a focal point, adding that they needed to be ready from the start.
Especially for the eight seniors, it’s time to play their best basketball, Hurd said, adding that he was proud of that group for their growth over his four years as coach.
“It’s just a matter of being ready to go and just truly realizing that this could be the last go around,” Hurd said. “They understand that. ... and I fully expect our squad to be ready to go next week.”
G-E-T (field goals -free throws/attempts -fouls-points) — Lettner 7-0/0-2-16, Hunter 1-2/2-4-5, A. Bratberg 2-0/0-1-4, Schmitz 2-0/0-0-4, O’Neill 4-1/2-2-10, Nelson 0-0/0-1-0, Kokott 1-0/0-0-2, Kirkey 0-2/2-0-2.
