BLANCHARDVILLE — Pecatonica used a big run in the first half to gain some separation against Benton in a nonconference game Dec. 15. It was needed, as the Zephyrs mounted a second-half rally, with the Vikings barely holding on, 55-51.
“It was an ugly game, but we got the win,” Vikings coach Linda Hendrickson said.
Pecatonica jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first two minutes of the game and then went on a 12-0 run in a four-minute stretch to go ahead 17-4. The final basket in the stretch came on a steal by Maddie Hirsch, who then fed Anna Tisch for a triple.
Benton held the Vikings to just one field goal over nearly five minutes of action, but only could bring the deficit back to eight with 6:54 left. Chloe Schraepfer then added a bucket on a baseline drive and assisted Lexi Peterson in the post for a score. Hirsch added a drive of her own at the 5:37 mark to put Pecatonica ahead by 14. Two minutes later, Tessa Green fed Peterson in the paint for a basket, and the lead was stretched to its largest at 31-15.
Peterson led Pecatonica with 19 points total, including 13 in the first half. The Vikings found success feeding the ball to Peterson in the post, who then used a single drop step and bank off the glass from the block time and time again.
Green added 12 points, nine of which came in the first half. Tisch added eight points, including two 3-pointers. The Vikings were just 6 of 17 from the free throw line, while Benton finished just 3 of 4. The Zephyrs also went 8-for-19 from the 3-point line. Benton also turned the ball over 28 times.
Albany 57,
Big Foot 26
ALBANY — Coming off a disappointing overtime loss to Six Rivers East rival Black Hawk, the Albany Comets dominated visiting Big Foot in a nonconference game Dec. 14.
The Comets led 28-11 at halftime, and outscored the Chiefs by 14 in the second half.
Seniors Kaiya Zurfluh and Brianna Dahl each had 12 points for Albany. Dahl, who has averaged nearly 14 points per game combined over her four years on varsity, is just 60 points away from tying Amy Golz as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Against Big Foot, Dahl added six rebounds, six assists and six steals to her stat line. The Comets had 15 turnovers, but had 16 steals on defense.
In other area action, Oregon blew out Monroe 76-40 after taking a 31-point lead into halftime. The same night, Darlington edged Fennimore 42-38. On Dec. 13, Lancaster turned an 11-point halftime advantage to a 55-39 victory over New Glarus. Black Hawk postponed games on back-to-back days against Platteville and Dodgeville.
