Trailing 35-24 at the half, the Southwestern varsity girls basketball team was never able to regroup against a tough Fennimore squad, who left Hazel Green with a 65-41 victory and their perfect conference record intact.
While Fennimore improved to 5-0 in league play and 9-1 overall, the loss dropped coach Adam Hocking's squad to 2-3 in SWAL play and 5-6 overall.
After trailing by 11 points at the half, the Wildcats were outscored 19-9 in the third quarter, leaving them with a 21-point deficit going into the fourth.
While the Golden Eagles made 26-of-63 (41%) shot attempts from the field, Southwestern converted 15-of-37 (40.5%), which was nearly half as many shots attempted and made by Fennimore.
Leading the Wildcats in defeat was Katelyn Hoppman, who scored 18 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked four shots.
Abby Kunkel added 10 points, four boards and two assists, while Zoe Vaassen finished with six points.
Fennimore had three players score in double figures, with Breland Prochaska scoring 22, Allison Klug 18 and Alexi Needham 11.
In their most recent action this past Monday night, coach Hocking's squad pulled out a 52-42 victory over host Riverdale.
The win improved the Wildcats to 3-3 in league play and 6-6 overall.
Against the Chieftains, Katelyn Hoppman poured in 24 points to go along with 17 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Kunkel added 13 points in the win, while Vaassen dished out a team-high six assists and had four steals.
Southwestern knocked down 24-of-61 (39%) field goal attempts, including 2-of-8 (25%) from downtown, while putting in 2-of-5 (40%) free throw attempts.
In non-conference action last Tuesday night, Southwestern suffered a 55-43 loss to host Platteville, who got 19 points from Julia Lawinger.
Leading Southwestern with 23 points was Hoppman, while Kunkel added seven and Vaassen five.
This Friday night the Wildcats will meet up with Cuba City (10-1, 5-0 SWAL) at UW-Platteville.