MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Jan. 14–21)
SWC GIRLS BASKETBALL: #7 Platteville 55, #5 Prairie du Chien 47
By Steve Prestegard, The Platteville Journal
#7 Hillmen hand #5 Blackhawks their first loss
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — Platteville and Prairie du Chien have decided the Southwest Wisconsin Conference girls basketball title most seasons, and some seasons who goes the farthest in the postseason, in the past decade.
In 2016 Platteville won the SWC title only to lose to Prairie du Chien in the sectional semifinal. In 2019 Prairie du Chien suffered only two losses all season — both to Platteville, in the last regular-season game and then in the sectional semifinal.
Platteville had to beat Prairie du Chien three times to get to state in 2020. Prairie du Chien beat Platteville three times in 2022, the last time in the sectional semifinal.
The Hillmen took 2025 round one Friday night, handing the Blackhawks their first loss of the season 55–47.
A 10–0 run in the first half got the Hillmen (13–1, 5–0 SWC) the lead, and stout defense kept the lead.
“We all knew this was a big game and the girls had been working very hard to prepare for games like this,” said Hillmen coach Brandon Temperly, whose team won at Prairie du Chien for the second consecutive season. “It was a fun game to compete in. The crowd was great, it was two good teams going back and forth with tremendous effort.
“This puts us in a good position at this point but we need to keep improving each day to make our goals a reality. I am very proud of our team for where we are at this point.”
Platteville trailed 13–10 with 11:21 left in the first half. Soraya Stone hit two free throws, then Rianna Dye scored, Avery Richard and Macie Noble hit three-point shots — Noble’s second of five three-pointers on her way to 15 points — and the deficit became a 20–13 lead with 7 minutes left in the first half, as the Blackhawks alternated between missed shots and turnovers for 6½ minutes.
“Our defense was solid at Prairie du Chien,” said Temperly. “It was our best defensive performance of the season so far. Girls played their roles spectacularly and were determined to get the win. We got off to a good start and never flinched when Prairie went on their runs.”
The biggest single moment might have been the last 12 seconds of the first half after the Blackhawks had cut the lead to 23–22, when Prairie was setting up a last shot that never happened due to a five-second possession call. Richard then drove the lane and scored just before the buzzer to extend the lead to 25–22.
Tessa Czajkowski-Higgins hit a three-pointer less than two minutes into the second half to tie the game at 25–25, but Dye and Jaxcyn Berntgen scored to give Platteville a 29–25 lead. After a basket by the Blackhawks’ Karly Kramer, Noble hit her last two three-pointers and Richard hit two free throws to extend the lead to 37–27 five minutes into the second half.
Despite three three-pointers in a row to whittle down and a basket to whittle down an an 11-point deficit down to 49–45 with 2:45 left, the Blackhawks never got closer than that the rest of the way.
“Macie caught fire in the game and really got our offense going,” said Temperly. “It would have been great to get her some more touches but Prairie would not help off her, which opened opportunities for her teammates. She also was tough on the defensive end and rebounded well. She really created the spark that we needed to be successful.
“Rianna and Avery were very gritty defensively and had some dominant moments within the game, especially in the second half. Jaxcyn Berntgen continues to give our team exactly what we need for success. Addie McNeill, Soraeya Stone, and Maggie Grabandt only scored two points combined but they were incredible defensively and took care of the ball well. They were the primary defenders against the reigning player of the year, Tannah Radloff, and we were able to hold her to 6 points,” less than half of her 14.4-points-per-game average.
Dye had 14 points, Richard 12 and Berntgen 10. Greenlee Krahn led all scorers with 21 points.
The rematch will be in Platteville Feb. 20, the last scheduled day of the regular season. The two teams are as usual in the same half-sectional, with the brackets determined the weekend before the regular season finale.
Platteville goes to Lancaster Thursday night, then heads to Reedsburg Saturday for a 2 p.m. game. The Hillmen’s game at Mount Horeb Tuesday was postponed after school was closed throughout the area Tuesday due to bitter cold weather.
#7 Platteville 55, #5 Prairie du Chien 47
(from Friday, Jan. 17 @ Prairie du Chien)
Platteville..............25 30 — 55
Prairie du Chien...22 25 — 47
Platteville (13–1, 5–0) — Soraeya Stone 2, Jaxcyn Berngten 10, Macie Noble 15, Avery Richard 14, Rianna Dye 14. Totals — 19-37 11-18 55.
Prairie du Chien (14–1, 4–1) — Greenlee Krahn 21, Tessa Czajkowski Higgins 12, Tannah Radloff 6, Rita Achenbach 2, Karly Kramer 6. Totals — 17 7-8 47.
3-point goals — Pla: 6-14 (Noble 5, Richard 1); PdC: 6 (Krahn 4, Higgins 2). Team fouls — Pla: 11; PdC: . Fouled out — none.
