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MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (SWC Girls Basketball): Platteville 63, Prairie du Chien 52
Hillmen snap Blackhawks' 30-game SWC winning streak
Berntgen
Platteville junior Jaxcyn Berntgen scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Friday’s 63–52 SWC win at Prairie du Chien. (photo by Derick Kelly / Prairie du Chien Courier Press)
Updated: Dec 7, 2023, 5:33 PM
Published: Dec 7, 2023, 5:22 PM

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Nov. 28–Dec. 5)
SWC GIRLS BASKETBALL: Platteville 63, Prairie du Chien 52

By Steve Prestegard, The Platteville Journal

Hillmen snap Blackhawks' 30-game SWC winning streak

CPRAIRIE DU CHIEN — Any basketball team with only two players back from its previous season’s rotation figures to have growing pains.

The first four games of the Platteville girls basketball season were occasionally painful to watch, with the roles of six departed seniors taken by one senior, three juniors and two freshmen.

But the Hillmen are feeling much better now after getting their first win, 63–52 over Prairie du Chien in both teams’ Southwest Wisconsin Conference opener Friday.

Platteville’s first win over Prairie du Chien since the 2020 postseason, it also ended Prairie du Chien’s 30-game SWC winning streak, which began after the Hillmen’s sweep of the Blackhawks on the way to Platteville’s undefeated 2020 season with a 66–46 win at PdC on Feb. 14, 2020. It was the second longest winning streak in the conference since the formation of the SWC in 2005–06. The Richland Center girls won 36 straight between Feb. 2, 2007 (a 42–41 win by Lancaster) and Jan. 28, 2011 (a 33–30 win by Lancaster).

“This was a big win for our team,” said Platteville coach Brandon Temperly. “We played a tough opening schedule and the girls stuck together through adversity. I am very proud of this group and incredibly happy for the team to get the SWC win against a rival. If this group stays hungry, together, and focused, they can really make some noise.”

Two players had career nights for the Hillmen. Jaxcyn Berntgen had 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. Freshman Avery Richard had 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, plus nine rebounds and five assists. Fellow freshman Rianna Dye came off the bench to add 10 points and seven rebounds.

Baskets by Macie Noble and Berngten and a Blevins free throw in the last 1:12 of the first half gave Platteville what turned out to be the lead for good, 27–24 at the intermission. Prairie du Chien never got closer than four points in the second half, and the Hillmen kept the Blackhawks to one point and no field goals in the last 4:11 of the game.

“We did a much better job of taking care of the ball, particularly in the second half,” said Temperly in comparing the Pointer loss to the Blackhawk win. “We only had five turnovers in the second half and we went 9 for 10 from the free throw line.”  

“Jaxcyn Berntgen, Avery Richard, and Rianna Dye did a lot of the heavy lifting with great scoring nights. They also defended and rebounded well. We got great contributions from the entire team to earn the road win. This was a true team win as each girl was a star in their role.

“We were a connected group and the leadership from Alyssa Blevins was a calming influence on our young team. She made good decisions all night.”

Tannah Radloff led Prairie du Chien, which has seven freshmen and no seniors, with 15 points.  

Platteville 63, Prairie du Chien 52
(from Friday, Dec. 1 @ Prairie du Chien)
Platteville..............26 37 —  63
Prairie du Chien...24 28 —  52
Platteville (1–4, 1–0) — Jaxcyn Berntgen 24, Macie Noble 6, Avery Richard 19, Alyssa Blevins 4, Rianna Dye 10. Totals — 22-47 15-24 63.
Prairie du Chien (2–3, 0–1) — Greenlee Krahn 4, Tessa Higgins 9, Tannah Radloff 15, Rita Achenbach 9, Karly Kramer 9, Claire Kennedy 6. Totals — 21 7-15 52.
3-point goals — Pla: 4-13 (Berntgen 1, Noble 1, Richard 2), PdC: 3 (Radloff 3). Team fouls — Pla: 17, PdC: 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).