BARNEVELD — In the 17th Annual Six Rivers All-Star Games on June 23, the East girls won 62-45 and the light jersey boys won 111-102. The event, which has raised over $23,000 in 17 years, collected another $1,500 for the UW Children’s Hospital.

“The boys and girls on both sides understand its bigger than a basketball game,” Albany girls head coach Derik Doescher said. “It’s about giving back to the Children’s Hospital. We are fortunate to have our health. Hopefully we can do something to help the children who suffer.”

The games, a vision of former Black Hawk coach Jerry Mortimer, combine regular-season east and west opponents into two teams, respectively, for a fun yet competitive game. 

“As an opposing coach, I would have never dreamt the three Barneveld girls to have the personalities that they did. They are super outgoing kids,” Doescher said. “The Black Hawk girls and us have been going at each other the last few years, so it was nice to see them in a different light. Chloe Schraepfer is an amazing athlete. To coach two of your own, too, was awesome.”

For the players, it gives them a chance to create new bonds.

“It was really nice. In season, we are always so competitive. Playing more relaxed and loose tonight, it brought out a different side of the girls, and I got to know them well,” Barneveld guard Elle Pechan said.

The event also gives seniors a chance to put on their hometown’s jersey one last time.

“It was good to put on the jersey one more time,” Monticello’s Jackson Eyler said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to put it on again.”

“It was wonderful. I really missed basketball during the track season,” Albany’s Ethan Koss said. “I was really looking forward to playing this one last game.”

In the girls game, the East and West were tied six different times before the East took the lead for good midway through the second half. 

The West took an early 10-4 lead with five points each from Belmont’s Kennedy Howell and Potosi-Cassville’s Emily Bierman. The East responded with a 10-point run to take a 14-10 lead. Six of the 10 points came on offensive rebounds from Barneveld’s Shelbi Marx and Pechan and Albany’s Gracie Freitag. 

In the final minutes of the first half, the West committed seven fouls, sending the East to the line. In that time, the East went 2-for-9, including a free throw from Schraepfer that tied the game at 19 going into halftime.

Just as they did in the first half, Bierman and Howell combined to give the West a 26-21 lead early in the second. The East attacked the basket, drawing another six fouls. This time, the East went 7-for-9 to close in, 32-30. Albany’s McKenna Broughton tied the game at 32, scoring through contact, and Marx gave the East the lead for good on a fast break. 

The East quickly reached double bonus, which led to a 10-point lead with a basket from Schraepfer. Although the West got back within single digits with a 3-pointer from Bierman, the East ended the game on a 9-1 run to win the game 62-45.

Barneveld’s Mya Baker led the East with 12 points, followed by Schraepfer and Pechan with 11 points each. Freitag tallied 10 points, while Black Hawk’s Raylin Peterson added eight points. Broughton scored four points.

Between the boys and girls games, the teams participated in a 3-point shooting contest. Two representatives from each team participated, with the boys following the girls. 

Black Hawk’s Tara Wellnitz and Peterson led 60-42 over Benton’s Kailey Fawcett and Highland’s Harper Drury after the first round. Ryan Gust of Barneveld and Rex Blaine of Benton overcame the deficit to give the dark jerseys the 138-129 win. Aidan Gage and Braden Crubel represented the light jerseys.

While the girls match up looked like a regular high school game, the boys game looked more like an NBA game, featuring 39 threes and just 13 fouls between both teams.

Eyler gave the dark jerseys the opening lead, but Potosi’s Dayton Udelhofen single handedly kept the light jerseys in the game with the team’s first eight points. A shot from Shullsburg’s Garrett Ray sparked a 9-2 run for the light jerseys, but the dark jerseys tied the game at 17 with three 3-pointers from Blaine, Eyler and Cassville’s Raz Okey. 

In the next possessions, the two teams tied the game seven times and exchanged the lead twice. An offensive put-back from Crubel gave the light jerseys the lead for good. His shot also sparked an 11-1 run. With a fast-break layup from Gage, the light jerseys had a 10-point lead with 5:20 remaining in the half.

Eyler put an end to the run, draining a 2-pointer and going 2-for-2 from the line to make it a 48-43 game. The light jerseys padded their lead to 16 again with threes from Highland’s Colton Frost, Koss and Crubel. The dark jerseys took the momentum going into halftime, though, as Benton’s Chad Brown hit a buzzer beater.

The dark jerseys opened the half on a 7-3 run to get within nine, but the light jerseys responded to extend their lead to 13. 

Each time the dark jerseys closed in, the light jerseys had a response. A 3-pointer from Blaine made it a 76-67 game, but Crubel went off for eight points to extend the light jerseys lead to 84-69. Offensive put-backs from Gust and Okey made it an eight-point game, but a pair of threes from Frost gave the light jerseys a 95-86 lead.

A three from Potosi’s Sam Udelhofen broke the 100-point mark, giving the light jerseys a 101-88 lead. With a 13-5 run to end the game, the dark jerseys also broke 100 points. Okey ended the game with a three to make it 111-102 in favor of the light jerseys. 

Crubel led the light jerseys with 32 points, 24 of which came from beyond the arc. Koss tallied 10 points, going 4-for-6 from the line with a pair of 3-pointers. On the dark jersey side, Okey led with 25 points. Eyler scored all eight of his points in the first half.