Hwy. 10 rivalry games mark this week's prep basketball action
It's Rivalry Week II as the boys and girls basketball teams of Prescott and Ellsworth high schools play each other this weekend.
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It's Rivalry Week II as the boys and girls basketball teams of Prescott and Ellsworth high schools play each other this weekend.
Tonight the Highway 10 rivals meet in an important boys' basketball game in the Middle Border Conference. Both teams are tied for fourth place with a 6-4 record, two-games out of first place. The losing team will probably be eliminated from contention for the league title. The 13-5 Cardinals are hoping to fare better at home against the MBC's top teams than they have on the road. When the two teams met at Ellsworth last month the 10-6 Panthers thumped them 59-41.
The girls contest between EHS and PHS at Ellsworth Friday night is important too but for different reasons. Prescott is hoping to win to start some momentum in their favor for upcoming playoffs while Ellsworth is just looking for their first win period in conference play. PHS is coming off a big 44-29 win over Somerset Thursday but the 9-8 Cardinals have not won more than one game in a row since back in December and have not won more than three games in a row this season.
"We're emphasizing now that every game we play is the most important game on our schedule," Prescott head coach Luke Kjelland said. "And with in the game itself we're stressing winning every possession on offense with a basket and every possession on defense with a stop."
Kjelland lauded his team's backcourt play, especially that of Emily Bayer, who scored seven points in the Cards' win over Somerset and is averaging nine points the past two games.
Ellsworth's defense will no doubt target this backcourt to keep them from setting up Prescott's frontcourt scorers and look to keep the team score low to have a chance to pick off PHS.
"We certainly need easy baskets now and then we hope to put pressure on them with Lydia and Tadcia Kuhl and Halle (Hatch) to force turnovers," EHSZ head coach Dave Berg said. "But for us to win we have to score in the halfcourt against their zone. They play very good defense and are very physcial but we were able to get good shots against them the last time we played. We just have to knock them down."
Other hoops' games this weekend involving county teams in the Dunn-St. Croix include Boyceville at Elmwood, Elk Mound at Spring Valley and Plum City at Mondovi in boys' action tonight while Spring Valley will be at Boyceville, Elmwood at No. 11 Colfax and Plum City at Glenwood City in girls' play on Friday. PC's girls team will be at Eau Claire Immanual Lutheran in a non-conference game Saturday.
Tags: prep boys basketball, prep girls basketball, sports, prep
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