Falls girls drop last two

The Sheboygan Falls Falcons girls basketball team dropped its last two regular season games to enter the post season on a down note last week.

Falls lost a chance to finish the season undefeated in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference, as Kewaskum pulled an upset 57-51 Friday, March 5, at Kewaskum.

The Falcons completed the regular season as EWC champions at 13-1 (15-7 overall). Kewaskum took second place in the EWC, with an 11-3 record (14-8 overall).

“We didn’t come to play,” said Falcons head coach Leroy Hamilton. “We were flat. We were lucky to be in this game.

“We gave up too many points in the fourth quarter,” he said. “I’m not happy with our mental focus. That has to change if we’re going to do anything in the playoffs.”

No.1 seed Falls will play No. 8 seed Mayville Tuesday, March 9, in a first-round WIAA Division 2 regional playoff game.

Kewaskum trailed by four points going into the fourth quarter at 37-33, but the Indians went on a 12-2 run to start the final period to take a 45-41 lead.

Falls had to play the last minutes of the game playing without senior starter Lauren Carman, who left the game, after being elbowed in the third quarter.

Freshman Staci Hasler gave the Falcons a big 3-pointer with three seconds left in the third to propel Falls to its biggest lead of the game.

After Indians put together a strong start to the fourth quarter, Hasler and senior Emilie Leffin kept the game close for the Falcons. Leffin’s steal off an offensive rebound cut the Kewaskum lead to 45-43.

Falls missed the front end of two free throws, which helped the Indians keep the score close. Nearly every time Falls scored, Kewaskum answered with a field goal, pushing its lead to 51-45, with 2:05 left in the game.

Hasler was determined to keep the Falcons within striking distance, with a big put back off a rebound to cut the lead to 51-47.

With 1:23 left, time ran out on Falls, as the Indians built the lead to eight points 57-49.

A late field goal by Falcons junior Amanda Milne wasn’t enough, as the Falls unit struggled at the end of the game.

Falls had its struggles to start the game as well. Jenna Buker scored 10 points in the first quarter to give Kewaskum a 14-7 lead.

Back-to-back 3-point shots from Milne kept the Falcons from being down big, going into the second quarter.

Falls didn’t take advantage of Kewaskum fouls in the second quarter, missing three straight shots. After the Indians pushed the lead to 22-15, Hamilton called his team aside for a pep talk.

“We took extra practice on free throws this week,” Hamilton said. “This was frustrating.”

The Falcons recovered with a 12-3 run to end the first half. Milne and Hasler made huge 3-point shots, and Leffin took a pass from Hasler to give Falls a 27-25 halftime lead.

Hamilton felt that the play of Milne and Hasler were positives in a poorly played defensive game by the Falcons. Milne led the team with 15 points and Hasler finished with 14. Both totals were career highs for each player. Leffin also had 14 points for the Falcons.

Buker led Kewaskum with 17 points and Haley Rauch added 15.

Freedom, the No. 1 Division 2 team in the state, used a combination of speed and good defense to topple the Falcons 63-42 in a non-conference contest in Sheboygan Falls Monday, March 1.

Falls hung with the top-ranked Irish, taking a 19-14 lead in a fast-paced first quarter. Carman led the way with six points and Hasler added five.

Freedom stormed into the second quarter with 18 straight points to take a 32-19 lead. The Falcons fell apart, getting into foul trouble, and at one time they had only one starter on the floor.

Falls cut into the lead 37-31 in the third quarter, when junior Cassie Quirt scored inside, giving the Falcons some hope.

The rally was short-lived, as Freedom finished on an 11-3 run to extend the lead back to 50-34.

The Falcons cut the lead to 12 in the fourth quarter on a Brooke Buehler steal, but then the Irish finished the quarter with a 12-4 run.

Freedom had a potent 1-2 scoring punch, as Katie Gonring put up 22 points and Jessica Kiecker knocked down 19 points.

Carman had a strong game with 14 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots for the Falcons. “After their defense stopped us, we didn’t play well and gave up too many baskets,” said Hamilton. “They were a tough team too match up with.”

The Falls junior varsity team lost 27-26 in its final game of the season against Kewaskum.

Coach Sandy Duda said that the Falcons missed 13 free throws. Falls finished 8-6 in the EWC (11-11 overall). Olivia Warpinski had 11 points in the loss.

Freedom held off Falls 32-27, with Erica Duda leading the way, with 11 points for the Falcons.

GIRLS
BASKETBALL
SHEBOYGAN
FALLS 51
KEWASKUM
	57

Scoring by Quarters
Sheboygan Falls……13 14 10 14 - 51
Kewaskum……..…….14 11 8 24 - 57
Sheboygan Falls scorers: Alyse Hucke 1, Cassie Quirt 4, Emilie Leffin 14, Staci Hasler 14, Lauren Carman 3,
Amanda Milne 15.
Kewaskum scorers: Elissa Miller 10, Anna Butler 12, Jenna Buker 17, Haley Rauch 15, Candace Beine 3.
Three-point goals: Sheboygan Falls - Milne 3, Hasler 3. Kewaskum - Miller, Rauch.
Statistics: Sheboygan Falls - field goals 20-35 (57 percent), free throws 5-11 (45 percent), rebounds 20, turnovers 9.
Kewaskum - field goals 24-48 (50 percent), free throws 11-24 (46 percent) rebounds 38, turnovers 10.

FREEDOM
	63
SHEBOYGAN
FALLS 42

Scoring by Quarters
Freedom………………14 19 17 13 - 63
Sheboygan Falls……19 4 11 9 - 42
Freedom scorers: Kelsey Kolb 7, Katie Gonnering 22, Alissa Schuh 8, Jessica Kiecker 19, Bri Garvey 4, Erin Higgins
3.
Sheboygan Falls scorers: Alyse Hucke 4, Cassie Quirt 7, Lizzy Graumann 2, Brooke Buehler 3, Emilie Leffin 2, Staci
Hasler 7, Lauren Carman 14, Amanda Milne 3.
Three-point goals: Freedom - none. Sheboygan Falls - none.
Statistics: Freedom - field goals 21, free throws 21-35 (60 percent). Sheboygan Falls - field goals 12-41 (29 percent),
free throws 18-37 (49 percent), rebounds _______________________ 32, turnovers 16.