SHULLSBURG – A 22-7 scoring run to close the first half was the spark the #7-ranked Shullsburg Miners needed to get past the visiting Belmont Braves in a Six Rivers West girls’ basketball game at SHS on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
    Senior center Caitlyn Gilbertson gave the Lady Braves (8-9 overall, 3-5 SRW) their lone lead of the night at 8-7 on a basket with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half, but the Miners (13-3, 8-0) used an 8-0 run to pull back on top to stay and rolled to a 58-39 victory.
    Junior Faith Ubersox knotted the score at eight all with a free throw at the 9:34 mark. Neither team scored over the next three and a half minutes until back-to-back baskets by junior Brianna Leahy and a 3-pointer by senior Cora Holland gave the Miners a 15-8 advantage.
    Shullsburg closed the half on a 14-7 run to increase the lead to 29-15 at the intermission, and the Miners used some dead-eye 3-point shooting in the second half to put the Braves away.
    The hosts connected on nine treys on the night, including six in the second half. Junior Nicole Teutschmann sank four 3s on her way to a season-high 12 points. Senior Hattie Rennert added two 3s and finished with 13 points, while Holland (nine points), Ubersox and senior McKailah Strang each had one 3.
    Leahy scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Miners
    Gilbertson led Belmont with 11 points. Sophomore Abby Althaus hit two treys on her way to eight points, and junior Briana Ernst tallied seven points for the Braves.
    Shullsburg kept its winning streak going by defeating Highland, 62-24, in SRW action at SHS on Friday, Jan. 27, and then taking down Coach Dave Wiegel’s River Ridge/Scales Mound squad, 53-33, also at SHS on Monday, Jan. 30.
    Leahy, who became the program’s all-time leading rebounder in Tuesday’s game against Belmont, registered a game-high 22 points along with nine rebounds, five blocked shots and two assists against Highland (3-12, 0-9); and she tallied a team-high 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the win over the Hornets.
    Rennert chipped in with 15 points, five assists, three steals and two blocks in Friday’s game; and she added 18 points, four assists and two steals on Monday. With three 3-point baskets against the Cardinals and four more against the Hornets, Rennert has shattered the team’s single-season 3-point mark.
    Strang recorded 10 points and four assists against Highland and had six points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals against RR/SM. Ubersox tallied eight points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals against Highland, while Holland netted seven points versus RR/SM.
    Belmont put a seven-game slide to rest by posting three hard-earned victories over a span of four days to pull back within a game of .500 on the season.
    The Braves edged River Ridge, 44-43, in a SRW contest at home on Friday, Jan. 27, and returned to the home court less than 24 hours later to roll over the Highland Cardinals, 71-54, in a make-up SRW game on Saturday evening. Then, on Monday, Jan. 30, the Lady Braves made it three wins in a row by nipping the Albany Comets, 57-55, in a non-conference contest at AHS.
    Belmont used a balanced attack to defeat the Timberwolves (11-4, 5-3) with senior Paige Nolan leading the way with 10 points. Althaus added nine points, while Gilbertson and sophomore Elsie de Haan netted eight apiece.
    Gilbertson led the Braves with 19 points against the Cardinals on Saturday. Ernst tallied 16 points, while junior Kassandra Palzkill chipped in with 10 points and Nolan added nine.
    At Albany on Monday, Gilbertson went 10-of-12 at the foul line on her way to a team-high 18 points as the Braves used a 15-to-10 advantage at the free throw stripe to pull out a come-from-behind victory over the Comets (2-16).
    Ernst scored 13 of her 16 points in the first half to keep the Braves close. Palzkill scored nine points and Althaus added eight in the victory.   
    Shullsburg has upcoming SRW games at Potosi (8-8, 4-4) on Thursday, Feb. 2, and at home against Cassville (8-10, 3-6) on Tuesday, Feb. 7, starting at 7:30 p.m.
     Belmont hosts Bellevue Marquette Catholic in a non-conference make-up game on Thursday, Feb. 2, and will stay at home to host Potosi in a SRW contest on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Belmont………….. 15    24 – 39
Shullsburg………. 29    29 – 58
    Belmont – Abby Althaus 8, Nicole Knebel 2, Kassandra Palzkill 2, Briana Ernst 7, Elsie de Haan 5, Maddie Rand 2, Caitlyn Gilbertson 11, Paige Nolan 2. Totals – 13  11-15  39.
    Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 4, Kindle Cook 2, McKailah Strang 3, Hattie Rennert 13, Nicole Teutschmann 12, Brianna Leahy 15, Cora Holland 9. Totals – 19  11-20  58.
    3-point goals– B 2 (Althaus 2), S 9 (Ubersox 1, Strang 1, Rennert 2, Teutschmann 4, Holland 1). Total fouls– B 14, S 15. Fouled out– None.
 
Highland…………. 17      7 – 24
Shullsburg………. 33    29 – 62
    Highland – J. Kosharek 7, C. Kosharek 3, Esser 4, M. Kosharek 6, Drury 4. Totals – 9  3-8  24.
    Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 8, Kindle Cook 1, McKailah Strang 10, Hattie Rennert 15, Reva Spillane 1, Nicole Teutschmann 2, Brianna Leahy 22, Cora Holland 2. Totals – 28  1-5  62.
    3-point goals– H 3 (J. Kosharek 1, C. Kosharek 1, M. Kosharek 1), S 5 (Strang 2, Rennert 3). Total fouls– H 7, S 7. Fouled out– None.
 
RR/SM……………. 21    12 – 33
Shullsburg………. 27    26 – 53
    River Ridge/Scales Mound – Lehman 3, Frey 1, Miller 1, Thomas 21, Winter 3, Kruger 4. Totals – 11  7-9  33.
    Shullsburg – McKailah Strang 6, Hattie Rennert 18, Nicole Teutschmann 3, Brianna Leahy 19, Cora Holland 7. Totals – 20  7-9  53.
    3-point goals– RR/SM 4 (Lehman 1, Thomas 2, Winter 1), S 6 (Rennert 4, Teutschmann 1, Holland 1). Total fouls– RR/SM 14, S 12. Fouled out– None.
 
River Ridge……… 17    26 – 43
Belmont………….. 19    25 – 44
    River Ridge– White 8, Langmeier 11, Herrick 5, Sturmer 15, Breuer 4. Totals – 13  16-19  43.
    Belmont – Abby Althaus 9, Kassandra Palzkill 5, Briana Ernst 4, Elsie de Haan 8, Caitlyn Gilbertson 8, Paige Nolan 10. Totals – 13  16-20  44.
    3-point goals– RR 1 (Herrick 1), B 2 (Althaus 2). Total fouls– RR 16, B 20. Fouled out– B: Gilbertson.
 
Highland……….. 24    30 – 54
Belmont………… 21    50 – 71
    Highland – Mueller 3, J. Kosharek 7, Esser 22, M. Kosharek 13, Drury 9. Totals – 19  13-22  54.
    Belmont – Abby Althaus 6, Nicole Knebel 10, Kassandra Palzkill 2, Briana Ernst 16, Elsie de Haan 6, Sadie Willborn 2, Caitlyn Gilbertson 19, Paige Nolan 9, team 1. Totals – 31  4-11  71.
    3-point goals– H 3 (J. Kosharek 1, Esser 1, M. Kosharek 1), B 5 (Althaus 2, Knebel 2, Nolan 1). Total fouls– H 16, B 20. Fouled out– None.

Belmont………… 24    33 – 57
Albany………….. 27    28 – 55
    Belmont – Abby Althaus 8, Nicole Knebel 1, Kassandra Palzkill 9, Briana Ernst 16, Caitlyn Gilbertson 18, Paige Nolan 5. Totals – 20  15-23  57.
    Albany – Kahler 11, Freitag 7, Halvorson 7, Anderson 6, Beck 4, Zurfluh 20. Totals – 20  10-13  55.
    3-point goals– B 2 (Althaus 2), A 5 (Kahler 1, Anderson 2, Zurfluh 2). Total fouls– B 12, A 14. Fouled out– None.