SHULLSBURG — Senior Nicole Teutschmann buried a 3-pointer with under two minutes remaining to put Shullsburg into the lead to stay and then added a pair of clutch free throws late in the closing minute to seal the deal as the host Lady Miners grabbed a share of first-place in the Six Rivers West by knocking off the #9-ranked Potosi Chieftains, 55-51, in a down-to-the-wire thriller at SHS on Friday, Jan. 12.
    “Nicole really stepped up in a way today. We’ve been waiting for that. I knew she had it in her. I have trust in her to make those shots,” said Shullsburg head coach Nathan Russell. “From where she’s come from the last three years to where she is now, I couldn’t be more proud of a kid.”
    The Chieftains (9-2 overall, 6-1 SRW) came into the night leading the West by a game, but the Miners (11-2, 6-1) used a late rally to split the season series with Potosi and forge a tie atop the conference standings to start the second half of the SRW season. Other than the losses to each, the only other defeats for these two teams came at the hands of #1-ranked Black Hawk.
    “Both teams came out and played really well. I thought it was two really good teams going at one another. At one point, when we were down three or four I said this is fun. I don’t say just because we came out on top. I thought it was a really well-played game,” added Russell.
    It was a seesaw battle in the first half as the teams swapped the lead on seven occasions and were separated by no more than four points at any time in the half.
    A three-point play by Potosi senior Abby Kaiser put Potosi up 27-26 with 35.2 seconds remaining, however Shullsburg freshman Kayla Klotz scored with just nine ticks to go to send the Miners into the intermission up 28-27.
    Shullsburg senior Faith Ubersox sank three timely 3-pointers to lead the Miners with nine points in the first half, while Klotz came off the bench to net seven for the hosts. Kaiser scored nine points in the opening half and senior Hannah Udelhoven hit a pair of 3s and added eight for the guests.
    “They hit a few more outside shots than they normally do. We tried to pack the lane, and they took advantage of that by hitting some threes, especially in the first half,” noted Russell.
    The Miners built up their largest lead at 41-32 on a basket by senior center Brianna Leahy with under 11 minutes to play, but the Chieftains fought back and grabbed a 48-47 advantage with 2:45 remaining. After back-to-back 3s by sophomore Justice Udelhofen and junior Amber Udelhoven, Kaiser dropped in the go-ahead shot to put Potosi ahead for the first and only time in the second half.
    Teutschmann got the lead back for the Miners by swishing a 3 with 1:56 to go to make it 50-48, and she added two free throws with 25.8 remaining to extend the lead to 53-49.
    Kaiser brought the Chieftains back within two with 10 seconds to go, and then the guests had a chance to have a final possession for a possible lead when Leahy missed the front end of a bonus opportunity with :04.2 to play.
    However, freshman Madison Russell forced Kaiser to turn the ball over in the backcourt with :01.8 remaining. The Miners inbounded the ball to Leahy, who sank a layup at the buzzer to seal the victory.
    “I was really proud of our kids to persevere and comeback. We had the lead and then let them come back. When they made their runs, our kids didn’t flinch,” remarked Russell.
    Leahy scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half to lead the Miners to the win, and she pulled down 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Leahy also blocked six shots in the game.
    Teutschmann finished with 11 points and freshman point guard Layla Alt tallied 11 points, four assists and two steals for the Miners. Ubersox scored all nine of her points in the first half, and Klotz finished with a career-high nine points in the win.
    “We had really good balance and got a variety of scoring from several kids, which was key,” said Russell.
    Russell had six rebounds and three assists, while senior Kindle Cook chipped in with four boards and three assists and sophomore Calli Jerry added three assists and two steals.
    “We were also able to get key contributions from up and down the bench. Even the kids who didn’t get in the scoring column made some large contributions to this win,” Russell commented.
    Kaiser poured in a game-high 18 points with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead Potosi. A. Udelhoven scored 10 points, and Lilly Post pulled down 11 boards for the Chieftains.
    At Shullsburg, on Tuesday, Jan 9, Nicole Teutschmann sank six 3-pointers en route to a career-best 18-point performance to shoot the Lady Miners over Highland, 58-19, in a SRW contest.
    The Miners held a 25-12 lead at the half, and then used a 33-7 second-half scoring run to pull away from the Cardinals (3-9, 2-5).
    Faith Ubersox followed with 13 points and had five rebounds and two assists, while Brianna Leahy tallied eight points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocked shots for the Miners. Layla Alt also scored eight points for the hosts.
    Maddie Drury led Highland with eight points.
    Shullsburg has key upcoming Six Rivers West games at Cassville (1-11, 0-7) on Thursday, Jan. 18, and at home against Benton (8-5, 3-4) on Tuesday, Jan. 23. The Lady Miners will also host Shullsburg native Eric Wiegel’s Kickapoo Panthers (9-2) in a non-conference game on Saturday, Jan. 20, starting with the junior varsity game at 1 p.m. The varsity game will follow at 2:30 p.m.
 
Potosi……......... 27   24 – 51
Shullsburg……. 28   27 – 55
    Potosi – Kaiser 18, J. Udelhofen 7, Post 2, A. Udelhoven 10, Langkamp 6, H. Udelhoven 8. Totals – 17  11-17  51.
    Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 9, Kayla Klotz 9, Reva Spillane 2, Calli Jerry 1, Nicole Teutschmann 11, Brianna Leahy 12, Layla Alt 11. Totals – 21  7-16  55.
    3-point goals– P 6 (J. Udelhofen 1, A. Udelhoven 2, Langkamp 1, H. Udelhoven 2), S 6 (Ubersox 3, Teutschmann 3). Total fouls– P 15, S 16. Fouled out– none.

Highland……… 12     7 – 19
Shullsburg…… 25   33 – 58
    Highland – Mueller 2, M. Kosharek 1, C. Kosharek 4, Esser 2, Drury 8, Welsh 2. Totals – 13  1-4  29.
    Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 13, Kayla Klotz 3, Madison Russell 1, Calli Jerry 5, Nicole Teutschmann 18, Brianna Leahy 8, Megan Greenfield 2, Layla Alt 8. Totals – 20  8-13  58.
    3-point goals– H 2 (Drury 2), S 10 (Ubersox 2, Jerry 1, Teutschmann 6, Alt 1). Total fouls– H 13, S 9. Fouled out– none.