BELMONT – The Shullsburg Miners girls’ basketball team opened up defense of their Six Rivers West championship by beating the host Belmont Braves, 43-32, at BHS on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
    Junior center Brianna Leahy struck for 14 of her game-high 20 points in the opening half to lead the Lady Miners (4-1 overall, 2-0 SRW) out to a 29-13 halftime lead on the Braves (5-4, 1-1). Senior guard Hattie Rennert dropped in a pair of 3-pointers and added nine points in the first half for the Miners.
    Belmont, who was held to just three field goals in the entire first half, put up a fight in the second half getting baskets from seven different players on offense to cut into the Shullsburg lead while holding the Miners to just four field goals themselves on the defensive end of the court.
    However, the Miners did enough to hang on for an 11-point victory in the conference opener. Leahy pulled down 14 rebounds, blocked four shots and had three steals in the win, while Rennert finished with 10 points, three assists and two steals.
    Senior guard McKailah Strang chipped in with seven points and a team-high four assists for the Miners.
    Senior center Caitlyn Gilbertson led Belmont with seven points. Junior forward Briana Ernst tallied six points, while junior forward Kassandra Palzkill and sophomore guard Abby Althaus netted four points apiece for the Braves, who opened this week by falling to Galena, 64-47, in a non-conference game at Belmont on Monday, Dec. 19. No other information on this game was available at press time.
    Belmont’s SRW contest against River Ridge on Friday, Dec. 16, was postponed due to snow and cold temperatures. The Braves have rescheduled the game for Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Patch Grove.
    Belmont hosts Boscobel in a non-conference game on Thursday, Dec. 22, and then takes a two-week break for the holidays.
    At Shullsburg, on Monday, Dec. 19, senior Hattie Rennert exploded for 18 of her game-high 24 points in the second half to help the Lady Miners put away visiting Potosi, 58-41, in a Six Rivers West clash.
    The Chieftains (3-5, 1-2) stuck with Shullsburg throughout the first half behind a strong defensive effort and junior wing Abby Kaiser’s 12-point performance.
    The Miners went into the halftime intermission sporting a 20-18 lead after hitting five 3-pointers, including a pair of treys from Rennert.
    Rennert added three more triples in the second half as the Miners outscored the Chieftains 38-23 to run away for the victory and remain alone atop the West standings. Shullsburg finished the night with 10 treys.
    Rennert grabbed six rebounds and had four steals along with her 24 points. Brianna Leahy notched her fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds, and she also blocked eight shots.
    McKailah Strang netted eight points, while senior guard Cora Holland chipped in with seven points and four assists and junior forward Kindle Cook tallied five points.
    Kaiser finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead Potosi. Sophie Langkamp added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Chieftains.
    The Miners’ game against Galena as part of the 2016 Wendy’s/American Trust Classic was cancelled due to snow and cold temperatures on Saturday. Shullsburg will now face the Pirates at Galena on Thursday, Jan. 19, in a make-up game.
    Shullsburg will compete at the 2016 La Crosse Aquinas Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 27-28. The Miners will play La Crosse Logan (1-5) on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then face host Aquinas (5-0) on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 3 p.m.

Shullsburg…… 29    14 – 43
Belmont………. 13    19 – 32
    Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 2, Kindle Cook 3, McKailah Strang 7, Hattie Rennert 10, Reva Spillane 1, Brianna Leahy 20. Totals – 15  10-17  43.
    Belmont – Abby Althaus 4, Trinity Rucker 2, Nicole Knebel 3, Kassandra Palzkill 4, Briana Ernst 6, Elsie de Haan 2, Callie Wiegel 2, Caitlyn Gilbertson 7, Paige Nolan 2. Totals – 11  9-12  32.
    3-point goals– S 3 (Cook 1, Rennert 2), B 1 (Knebel 1). Total fouls– S 15, B 18. Fouled out– B: Palzkill.

Potosi…………. 18    23 – 41
Shullsburg…… 20    38 – 58
    Potosi – Kaiser 19, J. Udelhofen 2, McKillip 2, Langkamp 13, Pluemer 2, H. Udelhofen 3. Totals – 17  9-17  41.
    Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 3, Kindle Cook 5, McKailah Strang 8, Hattie Rennert 24, Brianna Leahy 11, Cora Holland 7. Totals – 28  10-16  58.
    3-point goals– P 2 (Langkamp 1, H. Udelhofen 1), S 10 (Ubersox 1, Cook 1, Strang 2, Rennert 5, Holland 1). Total fouls– P 13, S 13. Fouled out– none.