PECATONICA — The Pecatonica girls’ basketball team opened up its season with a 41-39 win over Iowa-Grant on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Had the Vikings shot better than 11-for-37 from the charity stripe, they would have easily defeated Panthers. 

“Well, a win is a win,” head coach Linda Hendrickson said. “I would have never guessed we would miss 26 free throws tonight, but we did. Lots of things to work on and always room for improvement.”

The teams were knotted 17-17 at half, with the Vikings victorious in the second. Chloe Schraepfer led the team with 13 points, include two 3-pointers. She was 5-for-12 at the line. Anna Tisch was the next highest scorer with 8 points. For Iowa-Grant, Ashley Runde collected 14 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc.

The Vikings play again on Monday, Nov. 21 against Shullsburg.

BRODHEAD 54, POYNETTE 38

BRODHEAD — The Cardinals opened its 2022-23 season with a solid win over Capitol North contender Poynette.

Brodhead opened the game strong, scoring 35 points. Addison Yates accounted for nine of those points, with three jumpers and a 3-pointer. The Cardinals fell off in the second, scoring only 19. Dix, who scored six points in the first half, added another six to her total in the second with three free throws and a 2-pointer.

Yates, Dix and Alecia Dahl finished in double digits with 13 and 11, respectively. As a team, Brodhead was 11-for-19 from the free throw line. Poynette’s leading scorer totaled 12 points by going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals travel to Evansville on Tuesday, Nov. 22 for a 7 p.m. game.

ALBANY 68, BENTON 21

ALBANY — The Comets jumped right into the new season, scoring 49 points in the first half. Based on that performance alone, Albany would have defeated Benton.

Abby Hollis had 16 first-half points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. She drained another three 3-pointers in the second half for a game total 27 points. At the line, the Comets were 12-for-16, as Gracie Freitag went 6-for-8 and Alana Durtschi 5-for-6. For Beton, Zoe Stluka led with six points.

Albany takes to the road this weekend with a game against Williams Bay Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m.

ORANGEVILLE 42, MONROE 12

ORANGEVILLE — In a Wisconsin-Illinois border battle, the Cheesemakers fell to the Broncos on the road. For Monroe, it was the team’s season opener, while Orangeville already had a 49-26 win under its belt against Morrison.

Sydnee Conway and Lindsay Leuzinger drained a 3-pointer each, but those were the only points Monroe scored in the first half. In the third quarter, Leuzinger tacked on two more points followed by a pair of free throws from Sophie Golembiewski. Taylor Jacobson closed out the game with a 2-pointer.

The Broncos had two players in double digits, at 17 and 11 points. Orangeville outscored Monroe in each quarter 11-6, 8-0, 11-4 and 12-2. 

The Cheesemakers are back on the road for a game against Stoughton on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

BELLEVILLE 61, ARGYLE 31

BELLEVILLE — The Orioles scored evenly in both halves, but their defense was unable to stop the Wildcats in the season-opening loss.

Senior leader Hannah Gierhart finished with 13 points, followed by Mya McNett with seven. Meanwhile, Belleville had three players in double digits: Edge (17), Winkers (13) and DeSmet (12). 

Argyle continues its road trip with a game against Belmont on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

TURNER 65, JUDA 23

BELOIT — In their opening game of the season, the Panthers fell to Rock Valley’s Tuner.

Juda scored 11 points in the first half, three of which came from Lavinia Rufer at the free throw line. In the second half, Rufer produced again with five more points. She finished the night as the team’s leading scorer with eight points. The next highest scorer was Ciarrah Davis, who made all five of her points from the charity stripe.

Tuner had three different scorers in double digits: Mariya Babilius (13), Nadilee Fernandez (11) and Nevayah House (10).

Juda returns home for a game against Benton on Thursday, Nov. 17.