POTOSI — On a snowy Friday night, the Potosi girls basketball team was red hot during the first half.
The Chieftains outscored visiting River Ridge 37–22 en route to a 63–43 bounce back win one night after a frustrating 71–50 Six Rivers West loss at Shullsburg.
Three Chieftains scored in double figures, led by a game-high 20 points from sophomore Abby Kaiser. Senior point guard Maddie Hawes added seven points, seven rebounds and a season-high 11 assists.
Potosi improved to 6–2 overall 3–1 in conference play, while Ridge fell to 3–3, 1–2.
Kaiser also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and had two steals.
Senior guard Calie Gibson scored 16 points and had four rebounds. Sophomore Sophie Langkamp added 13 points and three rebounds.
Taylor Langmeier scored 10 points to lead the Timberwolves in defeat.
One night earlier, Hattie Rennert scored a game-high 24 points to lead undefeated Shullsburg to a 21-point win on their home court.
The Miners drew 23 Potosi fouls in the game and converted 14 of 21 free throw attempts. Both Bloyer and Langkamp fouled out. The Chieftains were also whistled for two technical fouls in the game.
Shullsburg scored seven straight points early on to grab a 10–4 lead.
Potosi got it back within a point at 14–13 on a 3-pointer by Hawes with 10:37 to play in first half, but the Miners used a 14–3 run to open up a 28–16 advantage and the Chieftains never got closer than three possessions the rest of the way. McKailah Strang hit two 3-pointers and Nicole Teutschmann added one 3-pointer during the run.
Shullsburg led 33–24 at the half on the strength of six 3-pointers (three by McKailah Strang, two by Nicole Teutschmann and one by Rennert). The Miners handled the Potosi press for the most part except for a brief period at the end of the first half when center Brianna Leahy went to the bench with foul trouble.
A technical foul on Potosi allowed the Miners to extend their lead from nine to 13 early in the second half.
The Chieftains got back within eight at 39–31 on a 3-pointer by Hawes with 14:16 remaining, but Rennert hit back-to-back threes over the next minute to keep momentum tilting in Shullsburg’s favor.
Rennert scored 19 of her game-high 23 points in the second half, while senior forward Paige Hauser added 12 of her 13 points in the second half as well. Those two combined for 31 of the Miners 38 points in the second half. With Leahy limited due to foul trouble, Hauser (14 points), Strang (11 points) and Cora Holland (8 points) each had season-high outputs for Shullsburg.
Hawes scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half including two of Potosi’s four 3-pointers in that half. She also had six rebounds and five assists. Kaiser finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Coach Brad Bierman’s Chieftains will now have 17 days off before hosting Pecatonica on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
Shullsburg 71, Potosi 50
(from Thursday, Dec. 17 @ Shullsburg)
Potosi 24 26 — 50
Shullsburg 33 38 — 71
Potosi (5–2, 2–1) — Abby Kaiser 11, Maddie Hawes 17, Taylor Bloyer 5, Brittany Horner 1, Sophie Langkamp 2, Harmony Jantzen 2, Calie Gibson 9, Hannah Udelhoven 3. Totals — 20 5-12 50.
Shullsburg (7–0, 3–0) — Kindle Cook 3, McKaliah Strang 11, Hattie Rennert 23, Paige Hauser 13, Nicole Teutschmann 6, Brianna Leahy 7, Cora Holland 8. Totals – 24 14–21 71.
3-point goals — P: 5 (Hawes 3, Gibson 1, Udelhoven 1); S: 9 (Strang 3, Rennert 4, Teutschmann 2). Team fouls — P: 23, S: 14. Fouled out — P: Bloyer, Langkamp; S: Leahy. Technical fouls — P: bench, Bloyer.
Potosi 63, River Ridge 43
(from Friday, Dec. 18 @ Potosi)
River Ridge 37 26 — 63
Potosi 22 21 — 43
River Ridge (3–3, 1–2) — Darion Brooks 4, Taylor Langmeier 10, Brigette Myers 9, Rachel Herrick 8, Nicole Sturmer 4, Sierra Schier 8. Totals – 17 4–14 43.
Potosi (6–2, 3–1) — Abby Kaiser 20, Maddie Hawes 7, Taylor Bloyer 5, Sophie Langkamp 13, Calie Gibson 16, Hannah Udelhoven 2. Totals — 28 8-11 63.
3-point goals — RR: 5 (Herrick 2, Schier 2, Langmeier 1); P: 3 (Kaiser 1, Hawes 1, Bloyer 1). Team fouls — RR: 12, P: 16. Fouled out — P: Bloyer.
