Ellsworth hoopsters split doubleheader again

• Ellsworth's Michaela DeGross

Michaela DeGross puts up a shot for two-points against Amery.
• Ellsworth's Nick Taranto

Nick Taranto has the opposition facing in the opposite direction.

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For the second time this season Ellsworth High School's basketball teams split a home, Friday night doubleheader with the boys' team winning and the girls' team losing, this time to Amery.

The boys' squad held off the Warriors for a 59-52 win while the girls' team lost 52-33.

Ellsworth's boys team fell behind Amery 8-2 early on but Panther sharp-shooter Chrystian Kulow rallied the Panthers back to take a 16-12 lead after one quarter of play. Kulow had 10 points in that quarter alone and 16 in the first half. Ellsworth led 28-23 at halftime and expanded its lead to as many 10 points at 51-41 midway through the fourth quarter. Amery (6-10 overall and 3-6 in the Middle Border Conference) rallied late and came within three at 55-52 with :26 seconds remaining but EHS made four straight free throws and made several key rebounds of missed Amery shots in the last seconds to finally close out in a tight ballgame, something they have struggled to do this season. Kulow finished with a game high 23 points but the Panthers (5-11 overall and 2-7 in the Middle Border Conference) had balanced scoring with Alec Campbell finishing in double figures with 12 points while Will Huppert had eight points and Tyler Marson finished with six.

Ellsworth's girls played Amery close for much of their MBC contest (they were the first game of the evening) only trailing 14-13 after one quarter a 24-20 at halftime. Ellsworth stay within the four-point margin late within the third quarter down 32-28 when Warriors blitzed them with a 12-1 run. Ellsworth was held to just five points in the final 10 minutes of the game as Amery (10-7 overall and 6-5 in the MBC) outscored them 20-5. Both Courtney Pinger and Molly Stewart were in double figures for Amery. Tacia Kuhl led Ellsworth in scoring with 10 points and teammate Chelsey Strom finished with eight points. EHS still is searching for its first league win as they drop to 1-13 overall.

Tags: prep boys basketball, prep girls basketball, prep, ellsworth, sports