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MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (SWC Girls Basketball): #5 Prairie du Chien 53, #7 Platteville 48
Blackhawks get even to earn SWC split
Tannah Radloff
Prairie du Chien senior Tannah Radloff had six points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in the Blackhawks' 53–48 SWC win at Platteville last Thursday night (Feb. 20). - photo by Jason Nihles
Updated: Feb 28, 2025, 5:03 PM
Published: Feb 28, 2025, 5:02 PM

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 18–25)
SWC GIRLS BASKETBALL: #5 Prairie du Chien 53, #7 Platteville 48

By Jason Nihles

SWC three-peat: Ludlum, Langmeier lead Hillmen to SWC title-clinching win at Lancaster

PLATTEVILLE — The Platteville girls basketball team was forced to settle for a share of this year’s Southwest Wisconsin Conference title.

Prairie du Chien used a key 15–2 midway through the second half and held on for a 53–48 victory Thursday night (Feb. 20) at Platteville High School.

The Blackhawks improved to 22–2 with the win and finished 9–1 to win a share of its fifth straight SWC title after sharing last year’s crown with the Hillmen.

Platteville has now won four conference titles under head coach Brandon Temperly (2016, 2017, 2024, 2024) in his eight seasons, and also won the 2020 SWC title when Temperly was an assistant coach, after not coaching in 2019.

Platteville (20–4, 9–1) led most of the first half Thursday night, thanks to a 10-point effort from senior Jaxcyn Berntgen in the opening 18 minutes, but the D3 #5-ranked Blackhawks (22–2, 9–1) got momentum boost heading into the locker room when senior Tessa Czajkowski Higgins hit a 3-pointer with four second left to draw the visitors within a point a 20–19.

The team’s traded baskets in the early part of the first half with PdC tying the game at 25 on a bank shot by senior Tannah Radloff, before sophomore Rianna Dye scored on a nice spin move to give the Hillmen a 27–25 lead with 15:14.

Senior Greenlee Krahn hit a 3-pointers moments later, and Platteville countered with a driving layup by sophomore Avery Richard to give the Hillmen their final lead of the game at 29–28.

From there it was a Prairie du Chien avalanche. Sophomore Claire Kennedy scored her only points of the game on a 3-pointer at the 14:31 mark to begin the Blackhawks’ game-winning 15–2 run. Sophomore Karly Kramer scored two minutes later and Prairie coach Paula Shedivy called a quick timeout with her team up 33–29.

The Blackhawks forced a turnover out of the timeout and Krahn drilled a triple, then after another Platteville turnover, Krahn split a pair of free throws.

Higgins converted a fastbreak layup after a steal and assist by Radloff to make it 39–29 before Platteville senior Addison McNeill hit a pair of free throws, to make it an eight-point game with 10:45 left. Two minutes later Radloff scored on an inbound play, and Kramer added a driving layup to cap the 15–2 run and give the Blackhawks a 43–31 lead with 7:34 left.

 “We did not capitalize on our opportunities well enough,” said Brandon Temperly. “We missed some shots that we normally make, we missed some passes that would have led to opportunity and to Prairie’s credit, they capitalized on our mistakes. Our effort was top notch and we were able to stay in the game but against a good team, we cannot let those opportunities slip out of our hands. We fought very hard and still had a chance but we ran out of time.”

Richard hit Platteville’s only 3-pointer of the game, before PdC’s lead ballooned to 47–34 with five minutes left after back-to-back layups.   

Platteville scored 10 straight points over the next four minute and got as close three points on two occasions in the final minute, 47–44 and 49–46, but Krahn (4 of 4) and Kramer (2 of 2) combined to go 6 of 6 at the free throw line in the final 32.2 to close out the win.  Krahn finished the game with 15 points, Higgins had 11 and Kramer added 10 for the winners.

Prairie’s 2–3 zone defense was keyed to limit Dye’s touches in the paint and keep senior Macie Noble, who made five 3-pointers in Platteville’s 55–47 win at PdC Jan. 17.  Dye posted 10 points and seven rebounds, while Noble was held to two points Thursday night. Richard scored a team-high 19 points, and Berntgen added 13 to lead the Hillmen.

“We were able to make some shots and they could not stay in the zone as much the first time around,” said Temperly. “This time, we were 1 of 15 from the 3-point line and our only make came in the later part of the game.

“They definitely keyed on Macie and Rianna and both players have earned that attention due to their play this season. They are both great players. We will need to play better if we get the opportunity to meet again. Everyone will need to step up.”

Platteville and Prairie du Chien could meet for a third time in this Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 regional final.

The No. 2 seed Hillmen had a first round bye when the WIAA Division 2 playoffs began Tuesday night, as did the No. 3 seed Blackhawks. Platteville will host either No. 7 Brodhead (12–12) or No. 10 Richland Center (2–22) in Friday night’s regional semifinal.

With a win Friday night, Temperly’s Hillmen would host the regional final Saturday night.

D3 #5 Prairie du Chien 53, D3 #7 Platteville 48
(from Thursday, Feb. 20 @ Platteville)
Prairie du Chien....19 34 — 53
Platteville..............20 28 — 48  
Prairie du Chien (22–2, 9–1) — Greenlee Krahn 15, Tessa Czajkowski-Higgins 11, Tannah Radloff 6, Camryn Knapp 2, Rita Achenbach 6, Karley Kramer 10, Claire Kennedy 3. Totals —18 12-16 53.
Platteville (19–4, 9–1) — Addison McNeill 4, Jaxcyn Berntgen 13, Macie Noble 2, Avery Richard 19, Rianna Dye 10. Totals — 18 11-13 48.
3-point goals — PdC: 5 (Krahn 3, Higgins 1, Kennedy 1); P: 1 (Richard 1). Team fouls — PdC: 13; P: 16. Fouled out — P: Berntgen.
MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (Six Rivers Baseball): #10 River Ridge 5, #5 Belmont 2
#11 Timberwolves upset #4 Braves to win a share of first baseball conference title
Blake Reynolds
Sophomore Blake Reynolds collected the win on the mound, limiting #4 Belmont to two runs, one earned, on four hits, while striking out five batters and walking four over six innings to lead River Ridge to a 5–2 win over the Braves last Thursday. - photo by A.J. Gates
Updated: May 29, 2025, 5:54 PM
Published: May 29, 2025, 5:55 PM

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (May 20–27)
SIX RIVERS BASEBALL: #10 River Ridge 5, #5 Belmont 2

By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent

#10 Timberwolves upset #5 Braves to win a share of first baseball conference title
PATCH GROVE — Coming into the 2025 prep baseball season, coach Andrew Redman had a hunch his Timberwolves would be a strong contender for this year’s Six Rivers Conference baseball title.

“We have big goals to compete for our first-ever conference title,” coach Redman said this past April in the Grant County Herald Independent’s Spring Sports Preview.” We expect to finish high in the conference standings and rely on our experience from last season to lead us to a successful season.”

After finishing fourth in the conference standings a year ago with a league record of 4-8, the Timberwolves did in fact secure a share of this year’s conference baseball title with a victory in their final regular-season game of the year played last Thursday night.

With a 5–2 victory over visiting Belmont last Thursday night, coach Redman’s Timberwolves (16–7) team concluded the regular season with a league record of 14–2, claiming a share of this year’s conference title along with the Braves (17–5, 14–2).

Belmont, who entered the contest with a league mark of 14–1, could have taken sole possession of the conference crown for themselves with a win Thursday night, but the Timberwolves had other ideas.

“Coming out on top is a great feeling, knowing how much work our players and coaches have put into this,” said third-year head coach Andrew Redman. “My first two years as a head coach we won a total of seven conference games combined. This season alone we doubled that total with 14 conference wins, which was good enough to tie for the top spot.”

“The Six Rivers conference is loaded with great teams, and for us to claim one of the top spots is truly remarkable,” Redman added.

Aside from winning the first conference baseball title since the school’s inception in 1995, this year’s baseball team has also won the most games in a single season, and currently holds an overall record of 16-6 heading into the WIAA postseason tournament.

As they have done all season long, the trio of Blake Reynolds, Carter Copsey and Cael Koenig were at the forefront of last Thursday night’s win over Belmont, doing with their bats, their fielding and their arms.

Reynolds, who pitched the first six innings and collected the win on the mound, limited the Braves to two runs, one earned, on four hits, while striking out five batters and walking four.

Copsey came in to finish the game, pitching a scoreless seventh, striking out one batter and walking one.

At the plate, it was Koenig who led the Timberwolves, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. The team’s other four hits were scattered among Carter Copsey, Andre Nies, Noah Copsey and Brandon Davis.

After a scoreless tie for two and a half innings, the Timberwolves got on the board in the bottom of the third when Koenig’s one-run single scored Carter Copsey, who led off the inning with a double. Noah Copsey then followed with a one-run single of his own to score Koenig.

The Braves plated a run in the top of the fifth to make it a 2–1 River Ridge lead, but the Timberwolves responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Following back-to-back singles by Nies and Koenig, and an intention walk to Reynolds, Brandon Davis came up big with a bases-loaded two-run single to right field, scoring Nies and Koenig. Reynolds later scored on a wild pitch to give River Ridge a 5–1 lead.

The Braves added one run to their total in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t put anything together in the seventh with Copsey on the mound and the River Ridge defense behind him.

The Timberwolves are no strangers to close games this season, and have won a total of five conference games this season by one-run. They have also proven that, while Reynolds, Copsey and Koenig are undoubtedly the leaders of this team, they also have a stable of other role players that have come up big throughout the season.

“What makes this team special is that everybody takes their turn coming through in big moments,” said coach Redman. “We rely heavily on Blake, Carter and Cael, but three players alone doesn’t make a team. We’ve had several players who took on new or bigger roles this year and they contributed in big time spots.”

“This year our guys really focused on doing their jobs and accepting their roles on the team, which led us to having a successful season,” Redman added. “I’m proud of all our players and this program.”

Heading into the WIAA postseason tournament, the Timberwolves (16–7) hold the No. 2 seed in their division 4 sectional bracket. Following a first-round bye, coach Redman’s squad will host the winner between No. 7 seed North Crawford (10–9) and No. 10 seed Hillsboro (10–7) next Tuesday, June 3. The No. 1 seed in the bracket belongs to Seneca (20–2).

River Ridge 5, Belmont 2
(from Thursday, May 22, at Patch Grove)
Belmont..........000 011  0 — 2 4 2
River Ridge....002 030  x —  5 8 1
Leading hitters - RR: Cael Koenig 4x4. 2B — Carter Copsey (RR). W — Blake Reynolds (6IN,4H,1ER,5K,4BB). L — Austin (4IN,7H,5ER,4K,3BB). Other pitchers - RR: Carter Copsey (1IN,0H,0ER,1K,1BB).