Grotjahn finds rhythm for Arcadia, Raider girls lock up second in Coulee

Arcadia girls basketball coach Evan Pagel was optimistic that his team would be competitive in the Coulee Conference this winter despite breaking in numerous young players to the varsity level.

Fast forward to today, and Arcadia has outpaced even its own hopes for this winter. Arcadia beat Viroqua 60-28 last Friday in its conference finale, finishing the season with a 10-2 run in the Coulee to finish second behind only unbeaten West Salem (12-0).

Pagel thinks his team’s maturity is better than one might expect from a team with numerous young starters.

“They’ve exceeded expectations,” Pagel said. “And when you do that you can either look back and be happy about the one year or really focus in on the future, and our future right now is one more week of tough nonconference games and then playoffs. Yeah, it’s awesome what we’ve done, but we’re not finished and we want to see what else we can accomplish.”

The Raiders (14-8 this season) finish the regular season this week. They hosted Durand-Arkansaw (16-6) on Monday and visit La Crosse Logan (5-17) this Thursday.

Arcadia earned a fifth seed in the WIAA Division Three playoff bracket that was released on Sunday and will travel to play fourth-seeded Wisconsin Dells on Friday, Feb. 23.

Against Viroqua, Arcadia zeroed in on its defense as they looked to restrict Viroqua’s second chances. The Raiders held Viroqua to 18 points in the first half and allowed even less offense after halftime.

“We did what we wanted to going in,” Pagel said. “We just limited them on offense. Thankfully it was a game where they weren’t getting multiple shot attempts each possession, and we were able to box people out, get the rebound and push the ball down the court, and that’s what we want our games to look like.”

Freshman Madison Grotjahn scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Raiders.

Teams are running zone defenses against Arcadia to try to stop senior Casidi Pehler and freshman Tatum Drazkowski, who have been offensive leaders for the Raiders this winter.

Grotjhan took advantage of her extra space with those adjustments on Friday, Pagel said.

“Madison, what she’s really good at is weaving through traffic and getting into the lane and she was able to do that multiple times to get good finishes at the rim. But when she’s on, she’s on from outside, and she hit two threes. So she’s a real versatile player for a freshman.”

Viroqua (6-15, 3-9 Coulee) was led by seven points from Alana Christianson.

Arcadia’s offense has been spread more evenly in recent weeks, and the Raiders hope that means success when the postseason kicks off next week. Pagel said more defensive efforts such as Fridays will be important to combine with that offense.

“We have a tough regional, and it’s evident from the teams you see. … We had one of our best defensive games last night, and that has to be the constant for us,” Pagel said. “Offense will come and go. … but our defense is a constant and that has to carryover to whoever we’re playing.”

Arcadia (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-points)—Walters 1/2-0/1-2-0-3; Grotjahn 6/9-3/4-8-0-17; Lockington 1/1-0/1-3-0-2; Drazkowski 2/7-0/0-6-0-4; Pehler 4/13-0/0-8-0-9; Anderson 2/5-0/0-0-0-5; Boland 1/3-0/0-2-0-2; Aspen 0/2-0/0-1-0-0; Schlesser 4/7-0/0-7-0-9; Schlosstein 0/0-1/2-2-0-1; Sonsalla 2/7-2/2-6-0-8.

Bangor 58 Arcadia 35

The top team in the Scenic Bluffs Conference beat the Raiders last Monday.

Despite leading by a point at halftime, the Raiders were unable to take down the Cardinals (18-3, 13-0 Scenic Bluffs) last Monday.

The hosts held the Raiders to only 10 points after the break to overcome a 25-24 Arcadia lead.

Anna Front led Bangor (18-3 this season) with 25 points, while Arcadia got 12 points from both Pehler and Amaya Schlesser.

Arcadia (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-points)—Walters 0/0-0/0-0-0; Grotjahn 0/7-2/2-4-2; Lockington 1/2-0/0-0-2; Drazkowski 1/7-3/5-12-5; Pehler 4/7-4/8-9-12; Boland 0/0-0/2-0-0; Aspen 0/2-0/0-0-0; Schlesser 4/11-2/2-5-12; Sonsalla 0/2-2/2-5-2.