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Potosi girls open with a 62-23 win over Albany
...but drop back-to-back games to ranked D5 teams
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Junior Abby Ames fires a three-pointer in Potosi's loss to Juda last Friday night.

     Potosi’s varsity girls’ basketball team is the preseason favorite to win the Six Rivers West Conference (SRW) this winter according to wishoops.net, so naturally expectations in Chieftain country are running high.
     A quick look at the schedule reveals it won’t be long before we know what this year’s team is made off.
     The Potosi girls opened the season with a dominating 62-23 non-conference victory over Albany last Tuesday, then faced a pair of Six Rivers East powers in Juda, currently ranked sixth in the AP Division 5 poll, and Black Hawk, the second-ranked team in D5, last Friday and this past Monday night.
     The Chieftains  fell to visiting Juda on Friday, 51-41, then dropped Monday’s contest at Black Hawk by the identical score of 51-41.
     Despite the 1-2 start Potosi will have a chance to prove its metal with four more games against top flight competition, including a pair of conference games, before we even reach the new year.
     The Chieftains will face an improved Belmont team and a Six Rivers West dark horse this Friday, Galena on Dec. 20, defending Division 5 state runner-up and SRW champion River Ridge on Dec. 22 and perennial SWC contender Lancaster on Dec. 29.
     In last Tuesday’s lopsided victory at Albany Potosi jumped out to a 28-11 halftime lead it never relinquished. Senior center Rylie Bausch scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the victory.
     Friday night Potosi hung tough and trailed by just three at the half, 23-20, after junior Abby Ames drained a 3-pointer from just inside the halfcourt stripe as the second-quarter buzzer sounded.
     But the Chieftains couldn’t contain 6-foot-2 center Ellen Kiser in the second half. The talented and lanky Kiser scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the first nine minutes of the second half as the Panthers (4-0) established a 41-26 lead just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter.
     Kiser also converted a key three-point play with 1:21 remaining to make it 49-41 after Potosi had cut the deficit to five points on an Ashley Flesch floater in the lane.
     Potosi had three chances to cut the lead to three before Kiser’s three-point play. The Chieftains missed their final six shots. Flesch finished with a team-high 12 points.
     On Monday night Potosi went toe-to-toe and actually led the host Warriors, 28-26 early in the fourth quarter. But after Abby Ames’ basket gave the Chieftains their last lead, Katie Powers hit a 3-pointer and Chaesta Shager converted a three-point play as Black Hawk took the lead for good.
     Sophomore Jen Wellenitz finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the winners, while senior Katie Quinn added 17 points and eight boards. Flesch’s 16 points paced Potosi.

Potosi 62, Albany 23
(from Tuesday, Dec. 6 @ Albany)
Potosi    15    13    12    22     -   62
Albany    6      5      6      6     -   23
Potosi (1-0)
- Ashley Flesch 6, Haley Flesch 6, Maleach Mumm 2, Rylie Bausch 14, Bridget Curtis 9, Kylie Meier 6, Abby Ames 2, Tiffany Langmeier 8. Totals - 28 6-10 62.
Albany (1-2) - Kauk 3, Bump 12, Farley 8. Totals - 7 9-17 23.
3 point goals - P: 0; A: 0. Team fouls - P: 20, A: 13. Fouled out - none.

Juda 51, Potosi 41
(from Friday, Dec. 9 @ Potosi)
Juda    10    13    16    12     -   51
Potosi    9    11     6    15     -   41
Juda (4-0)
- Dunwiddie 11, Devoe 4, Moison 5, Rackow 3, Kiser 25, Ramos 3. Totals - 19 11-16 51.
Potosi (1-1) - Ashley Flesch 12, Rylie Bausch 4, Bridget Curtis 9, Kylie Meier 3, Abby Ames 9, Tiffany Langmeier 4. Totals - 15 6-10 41.
3 point goals - J: 2 (Dunwiddie, Moison 1; P: 5 (Curtis 1, Meier 1, Ames 3). Team fouls - J: 7, P: 19. Fouled out - P: Ames.

Black Hawk 51, Potosi 41
(from Monday, Dec. 12 @ Black Hawk
Potosi              11      8      7    15     -   41
Black Hawk    10    14    12    15     -   51
Potosi (1-2)
- Ashley Flesch 16, Haley Flesch 2, Maleah Mumm 8, Rylie Bausch 2, Kylie Meier 6, Abby Ames 5, Clara White 2. Totals - 14 14-19 41.
Black Hawk (3-0) - Powers 6, Flanagan 1, Wellnitz 19, Quinn 17, Shager 5, Meier 3. Totals - 21 12-30 51.
3 point goals - P: 1 (Ames); BH: 3 (Powers 2, Wellnitz 1). Team fouls - P: 23, BH: 17. Fouled out - none.