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MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (Girls Basketball): Platteville 58, #9 Mineral Point 50
STREAK BUSTERS: Hillmen end Pointers’ 34-game winning streak
Lizzie Poller
Platteville junior Lizzie Poller looks for a driving lane during Thursday’s 50–39 SWC loss to Prairie du Chien. Poller also scored a game-high 15 points in Platteville’s 58–50 win at Mineral Point last Tuesday night.
Updated: Jan 19, 2023, 6:18 PM
Published: Dec 16, 2022, 5:13 PM

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Dec. 6–13)
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Platteville 58, Mineral Point 50

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal

Platteville girls end reigning D4 state champion Mineral Point’s 34-game winning streak

MINERAL POINT — Platteville snapped Mineral Point’s 34-game winning streak, which dated back to last season, with a 58–50 non-conference victory over the Division 4 9th-ranked Pointers last Tuesday night.

Turnovers, poor shooting and bad decisions, forced by Platteville’s 2–2–1 full court pressure plagued the Pointers in the first half.

After a fastbreak layup up and a deep 3-pointer by senior Camryn Nies gave the Hillmen an early 14–5 lead just eight minutes into the game. Another three by senior Lizzie Poller made it 19–8 and Platteville pushed its lead to 32–20 at intermission.

The first 12 minutes of the second half was more of the same, but the Pointers’ cut their double–digit deficit to nine at 50–41 on a long 3-pointer by Laci Lindsey with 6:38 left. 

The Pointers (4–1) , who went a perfect 30–0 to win the WIAA D4 state title a year ago, got as close as four at 54–50 on a jumper by senior Katelyn Cox with just under a minute to play, but the Hillmen 4 of 6 at the line in the final 45 seconds to close out the eight-point win.

Poller led all scorers with a game-high 15 points despite a tough shooting night (4 of 18), and grabbed three rebounds. Nies finished with 14 points , six rebounds and five assists for the winners, while sophomore Jaxcyn Berntgen added 11 points off the bench, and senior Gwyneth Erickson grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in a winning effort.

Lindsey finished with a team-high 13 points to lead three points in double figures.

Platteville will host Lancaster (5–2, 1–0 SWC) in a key SWC matchup Friday at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to Fennimore (3–4) Monday night for a non-conference game.


Platteville 58, Mineral Point 50
(from Tuesday, Dec. 6 @ Mineral Point)
Platteville.........32 26 —  58
Mineral Point...20 30 —  50
Platteville (4–1) — Lizzie Poller 15, Camryn Nies 14, Gwyneth Erickson 4, Jaxcyn Berntgen 11, Maddison Carl 6, Alyssa Blevins 3, Ellie Temperly 2, Hailey Weigel 3. Totals — 20 14-25 58.
Mineral Point (4–1) —Laci Lindsey 13, Belle Watters 11, Breanna Goninen 2, Maddy Kabat 1, Eliza Ingwell 2, Ella Kroll 11, Katelyn Cox 7. Totals — 17 8-16 50.
3-point goals — P: 4 (Poller 1, Nies 2, Weigel 1); MP: 8 (Lindsey 3, Watters 2, Goninen 1, Kroll 1, Cox 1). Team fouls — P: 16, MP: 20. Fouled out — none.
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).