BEAVER DAM — Juda head coach Willie Nelson picked up his first career win after his team’s best performance of the year Dec. 8, topping Wayland Academy 73-50.
“It feels pretty good getting that first one,” Nelson said. “There are things that we obviously need to fix, but it’s good to get this one in the books.”
Nine different Panthers scored in the game, with three reaching double figures — Hannah Powers (18), Montana Steinmann (16) and Paige Price (10). Riese Price and Triniti Elmer each had eight and Taylor Golackson had nine for Juda.
“It was definitely a team effort. Everybody played hard and they all had fun,” Nelson said.
Juda (1-6) led 44-25 at halftime, with all four of its three splashing down in the frame.
Up next for the Panthers are two of the top teams in the conference — Argyle and Black Hawk.
“They will be rough ones, so it’s good to get this win out of the way first,” Nelson said.
Dec. 8
New Glarus 71, Mauston 22
WISCONSIN DELLS — The Glarner Knights jumped out to a 36-12 lead at halftime and closed strong to pick up their third win of the season in a nonconference game at JustAgame Fieldhouse.
New Glarus (3-3) was led by Lexi Krause and Lily Himmelman, who each scored 13. JayLynn Benson had 10 and Shea Klosterman-Havens had eight for the Knights, which were scheduled to play Dodgeville Dec. 11 in a nonconference game and then are off until a Dec. 21 matchup against Marshall (5-0) in the Capitol South opener.
Two days earlier, New Glarus lost to Poynette in a nonconference game 67-38. The Knights trailed by 10 at the half. Benson led all scorers with 23 points and Krause had eight.
Dec. 6
Darlington 67, Riverdale 43
DARLINGTON — Three Redbirds reached double figures as Darlington continued its stellar start to the season.
Kaylee Meyers had 16 points, Kathleen Mathias 14 and Reagan Crist finished with 12 for the Redbirds (5-1, 2-0 SWAL), which led 35-28 at halftime. Darlington’s defense dominated Riverdale in the second half, holding the visiting team to just 15 points.
Tess Johnson led Riverdale with 14.
McFarland 55, Brodhead 42
MCFARLAND — Madisyn Kail had 12 points, but the Cardinals couldn’t hang with the Spartans in the second half.
The two teams went into the break tied at 25, but McFarland (3-3, 3-2 Rock Valley) outscored Brodhead (4-3, 2-3) 30-17 over the final 18 minutes.
The Cardinals hit just 12 of 28 free throws in the game and finished with just two made 3-pointers. McFarland, meanwhile, hit five 3s and had three players each double-figures, led by Ashley East’s 15 points.
Kiarra Moe had nine for Brodhead, while Carissa Purdue had eight and Alexis Oliver seven.
Black Hawk 72, Argyle 30
ARGYLE — Hannah Butler led Black Hawk with 20 points. Bailey Butler and Natalie Leuzinger each had 18 and Kaylee Meyer had 13 as the Warriors had a statement win over the fifth-ranked Orioles.
Black Hawk, ranked No. 1 in the state in the WisSports.net Coaches Division 5 poll, barely held on earlier in the week against Platteville, a Division 3 school. The Warriors (5-0, 2-0) were able to re-focus for the Orioles (3-1, 0-1).
Black Hawk hit 7 of 10 attempts from deep and were 22 of 31 at the free throw line. Leuzinger had 11 rebounds, while Bailey Butler had seven steals and Hannah Butler had six steals and seven rebounds.
The Warriors led 36-14 at halftime and shot 55.8 percent from the field in the game. They also had 23 steals.
On Dec. 8, Argyle defeated North Crawford in a nonconference game 73-29.
Monticello 57, Pecatonica 17
MONTICELLO — After a slow first half, the Ponies picked up the pace and ran away from the Vikings.
Monticello (5-2, 2-0) led 23-10 at halftime but went on a 34-7 run over the final 18 minutes to stay unbeaten in conference play.
Alyssen Noriega led the Ponies with 15 points. Miah Brokopp (13), Harley Disch (12) and Mackie Errthum (11) each reached double-figures for Monticello.
Lily Busser and Erin Broshous led Pecatonica (2-5, 0-2) with four points each.
Elsewhere on Dec. 6, Albany defeated Highland in a nonconference clash 57-39.
