G-E-T girls open second half with strong burst to beat Raiders Friday

When the whistle blew and the clock started ticking to begin the second half of a Coulee Conference girls basketball game between a pair of rivals at Arcadia High School last Friday, the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School girls basketball team looked as if they had found new energy.

The Red Hawks forced the host Raiders to throw the opening in-bound pass out of bounds with tight defensive coverage and quickly used the turnover to score on a Kayli Bratberg layup. Bratberg followed the effort with a three-pointer on G-E-T’s next possession, and after a pair of steals on the Raiders’ next two tries the visiting Red Hawks had suddenly stretched their lead to 11. Arcadia pushed back late, but G-E-T (10-12 overall, 7-3 Coulee Conference) walked away with a 66-54 win.

G-E-T closes the regular season this week by visiting Black River Falls on Tuesday and hosting Luther on Thursday. The (6) Red Hawks will open Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association play with a home game against (11) Black River Falls this coming Tuesday. The winner will play at (3) Altoona on Friday with the regional final slated for Saturday.

G-E-T 66 Arcadia 54

“We needed to ramp up the energy a little bit, ramp up the crispness on defense,” G-E-T coach Louis Hurd said of the second half. “I challenged them to play without fouling, force some turnovers and get them into some tough situations. They came out hungry and ready to play.”

The Raiders (6-16, 5-5 CC) made G-E-T work for the win, trading possessions for much of the first half. Junior Breah Golden had one of her best games of the season, scoring 24 points on a night she often traded baskets with G-E-T senior Lindsey Lettner (23 points).

Genna O’Neill put G-E-T ahead in the final minute of the first half on a put-back layup, a lead that would send the Red Hawks into the break ahead 30-28.

Golden and sophomore Casidi Pehler (18 points) alternated scores for the Raiders in the second half, slowly cutting into G-E-T’s strong run after the break. Arcadia trailed by five points with just under four minutes remaining in the game after a three-pointer from Golden.

Kianna Suchla was the only other Arcadia player to score, finishing with 12 points.

“It came down to getting stops for us, and we couldn’t get enough of them,” Arcadia coach Lucas Passehl said. “And I think the big difference ultimately is he (Hurd) was playing nine to 10 kids, and I was playing six. At the end with them being fresher, we just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Passehl applauded Golden and Pehler, who have led the Raiders in scoring this season.

“It’s one thing to have Bre do her thing because she is obviously very capable with the ball in her hands and scoring herself, but we’re actually at our best when we are working the ball inside out, getting Pehler touches inside to allow the defense to collapse and then get it back outside,” he said. “We’re a much more balanced team.”

Aleah Hunter hit a three-pointer to spread the Red Hawks’ lead to eight with three minutes left in the game, and another three a minute later canceled a Golden score and created a big enough spread for the Red Hawks to earn the win.

Hurd said Hunter’s shooting made a big difference on Friday, and he was proud of the senior.

“I trust her to make those plays. I trust her to make the right choices, and she can hit those,” Hurd said. “Hats off to her because it really put the dagger in I think.”

Arcadia (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-points)—Suchla 5/7-1/2-2-12, Walters 0/2-0/0-3-0, Schank 0/0-0/1-3-0, Golden 9/15-4/4-11-24, Schaffner 0/2-0/0-3-0, Pehler 6/15-5/9-7-18.

G-E-T (field goals-free throws/attempts-fouls-points)—Lettner 10-1/2-1-23, Braunreiter 1-0/2-1-2, Hunter 4-0/0-4-10, A. Bratberg 1-0/0-1-3, K. Bratberg 4-0/0-4-9, Schmitz 1-2/3-0-5, O’Neill 3-0/0-1-7, Nelson 1-0/1-3-2, Kokott 0-0/0-1-0, Kirkey 2-1/2-0-5.

Logan 59 G-E-T 48

A Monday home game against La Crosse Logan was added for the G-E-T girls basketball team after another game was canceled earlier this winter, and coach Louis Hurd said his team came out sluggish in the 59-48 loss.

He felt that was his fault for lack of preparation and not necessarily on the girls.

Logan had a big advantage in rebounds and led by seven at the break before opening up a lead in the second half. G-E-T still managed to get the lead down to single digits late before the Rangers shut down the Red Hawks.

Lettner and Bratberg co-led the Red Hawks with 15 points.

“Logan, I give them credit. They’re kind of rolling right now,” Hurd said. “I talked to their coach and they’ve battled some injuries and some things, but the Davis girls are very tough to handle, and we didn’t match up very well.”

G-E-T (field goals-free throws/attempts-fouls-points)—Lettner 5-3/6-3-15, Braunreiter 1-0/0-1-3, Hunter 2-0/2-4-5, K. Bratberg 7-1/2-3-15, Schmitz 1-0/0-0-2, O’Neill 2-1/3-2-6, Nelson 1-0/0-4-2, Kirkey 0-0/0-1-0.