CASSVILLE — The Potosi Chieftains will remember last Thursday’s 62–54 Six Rivers West loss at Cassville as the one that got away.
Coach Brad Bierman’s smaller Potosi squad held a 49–41 lead with 9:15 to play, but went scoreless for nearly six minutes as the host Comets clawed back into the game, riding the hot hand of 5-foot-10 senior center Kennedy McMillan’s monster 32-point, 18-rebound performance.
"We played our most complete game of the season," said Cassville head coach Martin Kirschbaum. "Our defense in that seconds half was very good and the ball movement was great.
Three free throws and back-to-back McMillan baskets in the paint tied the game at 49–49 with 3:43 remaining.
Senior point guard Brooke McKillip ended the Chieftains’ dry spell with a basket as Potosi regained the lead at 51–49 with 3:27 left.
Cassville (3–5, 1–1 SRW) went back to McMillian in the post and the senior answered on back-to-back possessions to give the Comets a 53–51 advantage with 1:25 left. With Cassville in the double bonus senior Amber Iffert split a pair from the line to make it a three-point game with 65 seconds remaining.
Potosi leading scorer Abby Kaiser fouled out with just under a minute to play and just seconds later Bierman was assessed a technical foul with 52.8 seconds left disputing yet another call that went against the Chieftains.
Junior Madelyn Nix made 1 of 2 free throws from the original foul and Iffert made both technical foul freebies and on the ensuing possession after Potosi was forced to foul, Nix made 1 of 2 again to give Cassville a comfortable 58–51 cushion with 50.4 seconds left on the clock.
Bierman picked up his second technical foul with 37 seconds left and was ejected. Cassville tacked on four more free throws to close out the game.
Potosi was whistled for 18 second-half fouls, as well as the two bench technical fouls, compared to four fouls on Cassville. As a results, the Comets enjoyed a 27–2 advantage in free throw attempts during the final 18 minutes.
“McMillan played very, very well,” said Bierman. “But it was a poor game plan by me.”
Potosi doesn’t have the size to match McMillan in the post and even against the Chieftains’ 2–3 zone, the Comets were able to feed the Cassville center in the paint with good ball reversal.
McKillip shot the Chieftains to their early lead making five 3-pointers and finishing with a career-high 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kaiser had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds before fouling out, while fellow junior Sophie Langkamp added four points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Hannah Udelhoven made a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eights points. Junior Toni Pluemer chipped in a season-high seven points in the loss.
Potosi traveled to Shullsburg Monday night and suffered a 58–41 loss to the fourth-ranked Miners.
Shullsburg (4–1, 2–0 Six Rivers West) connected on 10 3-pointers in the victory, including five from senior sharp-shooter Hattie Rennert. Rennert finished with a game-high 24 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Junior center Brianna Leahy, who towered over the much shorter Chieftains at 6’2”, finished two blocks shy of a triple–double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight rejections.
Kaiser led the Chieftains with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Langkamp also posted a double–double in the loss with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Udelhoven (3-pointer), McKillip, Pluemer and Justice Udelhofen each had one basket for Potosi.
The Chieftains fell to 3–5 overall and 1–2 in the Six Rivers West with the loss. Potosi will return to action Thursday, Dec. 29 with a non-conference game at Pecatonica.
Last Tuesday night, the Comets came up short against visiting Benton, 70–35. In the loss, McMillian scored a game-high 19 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Nix added eight points, five rebounds and three steals. Iffert finished with six points, three assists and three rebounds.
In non-conference action on Monday evning, the Cometes picked up a 58–46 victory over visiting Argyle. McMillian once again led Cassville with a double–double of 22 points and 19 rebounds., while Nix added 13 points, 15 boards and three steals.
Following Tuesday night's road game at Wauzeka–Steuben, the Comets (4–5, 1–2 SRW) will host Highland (3–3, 0–2) Thursday night.
Cassville 62, Potosi 54
(from Thursday, Dec. 15 @ Cassville)
Potosi 37 17 — 54
Cassville 31 31 — 62
Potosi (3–4, 1–1) — Abby Kaiser 13, Brittany Horner 3, Brooke McKillip 19, Sophie Langkamp 4, Toni Pluemer 7, Hannah Udelhoven 8. Totals — 20 6-15 54.
Cassville (3–5, 1–2) — Madelyn Nix 6, Amber Iffert 10, Lydia Reynolds 1, Kasha Vogt 2, Kennedy McMillan 32. Totals — 20 11-27 62.
3-point goals — P: 8 (McKillip 5, Pluemer 1, Udelhoven 2); C: 0. Team fouls — P: 28, C: 15. Fouled out — P: Kaiser, Langkamp. Technical fouls — Potosi bench 2.
Shullsburg 58, Potosi 41
(from Monday, Dec. 19 @ Shullsburg)
Potosi 18 23 — 41
Shullsburg 20 38 — 58
Potosi (3–5, 1–2) — Abby Kaiser 19, Justice Udelhofen 2, Brooke McKillip 2, Sophie Langkamp 13, Toni Pluemer 2, Hannah Udelhoven 3. Totals — 15 9-17 41.
Shullsburg (4–1, 2–0) — Faith Ubersox 3, Kindle Cook 5, McKaliah Strang 8, Hattie Rennert 24, Brianna Leahy 11, Cora Holland 7. Totals — 19 10-16 58.
3-point goals — P: 2 (Langkamp 1, Udelhoven 1); S: 10 (Ubersox 1, Cook 1, Strang 2, Rennert 5, Holland 1). Team fouls — P: 13, S: 13. Fouled out — none.
