Eagles’ girls hit a rough patch

With the third annual Badger Challenge on deck for this week, Sauk Prairie girls’ basketball coach Amber Fiene is looking for her team to rebound from a rough ending to the first half of the Badger North Conference season. Sauk Prairie had its losing streak extended to three games last week. The Eagles dropped a 68-50 decision to visiting Waunakee on Jan. 7 and fell at DeForest, 78-57, last Friday. That dropped Sauk Prairie’s record to 5-6 overall, including a 2-5 mark in league play. But Fiene said the last three losses — which came against the top three teams in the conference — revealed the true character of her team at the midpoint of the season. “I like the level we’ve been playing at and the vibe of our team,” Fiene said. “We’re doing a lot of great things. I’m really proud with how hard they’re continuing to play. “When you get on tough stretches like we were just on, you’re waiting for teams to deflate and give up and have a lack of motivation in practice. That has not happened with this group.” The switch the Eagles made to a run and jump defense has increased the team’s defensive average to 22 steals per game. But while the extra possessions have created more scoring opportunities, Sauk Prairie has made just 36 percent of its two-point field goal attempts and is shooting just 32 percent overall from the floor this season. “We’re shooting poorly, but we’ve increased our scoring,” Fiene said. “I like how we’re attacking the rim and getting more opportunities. We just have to do a better job of finishing.” Following is a look at last week’s games. • Waunakee 68, Sauk Prairie 50 — Junior guard Naomi Breunig scored 16 points and finished with eight steals and six rebounds, but the host Eagles fell to the Warriors in a Badger North Conference game on Jan. 7. “We got down quite a bit early, but were able to work our way back,” Fiene said after the Eagles trailed 28-21 at halftime. “We were in foul trouble, and Waunakee was shooting in the bonus most of the first half.” Elena Maier scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half as the Warriors (8-3, 4-2 Badger North) pulled away, outscoring Sauk Prairie 39-29 after the break. “The story the last couple of games is that we’re getting teams to turn over the ball and doing a lot of good things,” Fiene said. “We’re getting to the basket and getting plenty of shots.” But the Eagles shot just 25.9% (15 of 58) from the floor, including 25.0% (4 of 16) from outside the arc. “We were 14 of 50 from two-point range, and we don’t shoot many from mid-range,” Fiene said. “So we’re missing too many shots in the paint, which is a killer. That’s a good number of shots to have inside the arc. Hopefully, they start falling.” Senior guard Ella Schad chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals for Sauk Prairie (5-5, 2-4 Badger North). She also sank 7-of-8 attempts at the free-throw line, all in the first half.  “She has been working really hard, and success has been coming her way,” Fiene said.  • DeForest 78, Sauk Prairie 57 — Sophomore forward Olivia Paukner led three Eagles in double figures with 15 points. But the host Norskies used an early surge to cruise to the Badger North Conference victory. DeForest (10-2, 6-1 Badger North) opened on a 23-5 run to put the game out of reach early. “We got it back within nine at halftime, but we need to stop putting ourselves in a deficit early and then playing teams evenly the remainder of the game,” Fiene said.  Magtgie Trautsch scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half and was 14 of 15 at the free throw line overall to pace the Norskies. Sauk Prairie shot 29.7% from the field (19 of 64), including 33.3% (5 of 15) from long range. But the Eagles shot 70 percent (14 of 20) at the free-throw line. Paukner grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and made a team-best five steals.  “We’ve been struggling in rebounding, especially allowing a lot of offensive rebounds and teams a lot of second opportunities,” Fiene said. “Olivia was getting rebounds and putbacks galore. She earned her playing time.”  Junior guard Olivia Breunig added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Naomi Breunig chipped in with 11 points, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals. • On deck: Following a non-conference game against Dodgeville on Tuesday, Sauk Prairie will compete at the Badger Challenge hosted by Beaver Dam this Friday and Saturday. Official pairings were due to be released on Wednesday.   Jan. 7 Waunakee 68, Sauk Prairie 50 Waunakee ….......... 29 39 — 68 Sauk Prairie ...….. 21 29 — 50 WAUNAKEE — Anne Dotzler 3 1-2 9, Brooke Ehle 3 0-0 8, Lauren Mendt 4 0-0 9, Melanie Watson 2 4-10 8, Elena Maier 7 4-6 21, Lauren Statz 2 2-4 8, Kylee Grabarski 0 0-0 0, Ebba Harrison 1 1-2 4, Caitlyn Lynch 0 0-0 0, Ava Bryan 0 0-0 0, Ashley Sawicki 0 1-2 1. Totals 22 13-26 68. SAUK PRAIRIE (fg ft-fta pts) — Lexi Tobias 1 0-0 2, Katelyn Fishnick 0 0-0 0, Naomi Breunig 5 6-9 16, Olivia Breunig 2 1-2 6, Faith Holler 2 0-0 4, Kassia Marquardt 1 0-0 2, Madi Pertzborn 1 0-0 3, Lauren Wideen 0 1-2 1, Ella Schad 2 7-8 13, Olivia Paukner 1 1-2 3, Makenzie Breunig 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 16-23 50. 3-point goals: W 11 (Dotzler 2, Ehle 2, Mendt 1, Maier 3, Statz 2, Harrison 1); SP 4 (O. Breunig 1, Pertzborn 1, Schad 2). Total fouls: W 15; SP 17.   Jan. 10 DeForest 78, Sauk Prairie 57, Sauk Prairie ……. 25 32 — 57 DeForest ………... 34 44 — 78 SAUK PRAIRIE (fg ft-fta pts) — Lexi Tobias 0 3-4 3, Katelyn Fishnick 1 0-0 2, Naomi Breunig 5 0-0 11, Olivia Breunig 5 0-0 14, Faith Holler 0 0-0 0, Kassia Marquardt 0 0-0 0, Madi Pertzborn 0 0-0 0, Lauren Wideen 1 1-2 3, Ella Schad 2 5-6 9, Olivia Paukner 5 5-8 15, Makenzie Breunig 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 14-20 57. DEFOREST — Natalie Compe 0 1-2 1, Grace Roth 7 0-0 15, Maya Pickhardt 3 3-4 9, Maggie Trautsch 2 14-15 18, Jaelyn Derlein 1 2-4 4, Sam Schaeffer 2 0-0 4, Taylor Tschumper 3 3-5 9, Megan Mickelson 6 1-1 14, Kendall Rauls 1 0-0 2, Brooke Buhr 0 0-2 0, Morgan Hahn 0 2-2 2. Totals 25 26-35 78. 3-point goals: SP 5 (N. Breunig 1, O. Breunig 4); D 2 (Ross 1, Mickelson 1). Total fouls: SP 21; D 15. Fouled out: Schad (SP).     GYMNASTICS Sauk Prairie returned to action in the new year and showed improvement from its previous meet. But Baraboo won three of the four events to defeat host Sauk Prairie 128.8-117.8 in a Badger Conference dual meet last Thursday. Baraboo improved to 2-0 in conference dual meets, while Sauk Prairie fell to 0-2. “With it being the first home meet, it was apparent that it was a little harder for the girls to get focused with all their friends and family in the stands,” Sauk Prairie coach Justine Anderson said. “But then we ended up with a decent night and our highest team score of the season. I’m hoping we can keep that trend up.” Junior Heidi Kuhnau was the Eagles’ lone champion, winning the floor exercise with a score of 8.8. She paced Sauk Prairie in every event and was also the all-around champion, posting a score of 32.5. “Though we had a slow start with lower vault scores and some falls on beam, Addie (Desroches) and Emily (Herbrand) had personal-bests on bars, and we had our highest bar score of the season,” Anderson said. Sauk Prairie’s lone event title was the floor exercise, where it posted a score of 32.95. Kuhnau led the way with an 8.8, while junior Carina Meixelsperger (8.3), sophomore Ava Putnam (7.95) and senior Addison Desroches (7.9) also had solid scores. “All five varsity athletes PRed on floor exercise giving us our highest floor score of the season,” Anderson. “Heidi (Kuhnau) had a fall and a missed bonus connection on beam, but still came out with a first place on floor and all-around.” • On deck: Following a Badger Conference dual meet at Waunakee on Tuesday, Sauk Prairie will compete at the Holmen Invitational on Saturday at 9 a.m.   Jan. 9 Baraboo 128.8, Sauk Prairie 117.8 Vault: 1, M. Reuter, B, 8.25; 2, tie, Burkhalter, B, 8.2; 2, tie, Fernandez-Hydzik, B, 8.2. Sauk Prairie – Heidi Kuhnau, 8.0; Ava Putnam, 7.95; Carina Meixelsperger, 7.75; Kylie Wilson, 7.4; Addie Desroches, 6.95. Uneven bars: 1, Burkhalter, B, 2, tie, B. Reuter, B, 7.7; 2, tie, Kuhnau, SP, 7.7. Sauk Prairie -- Meixelsperger, 5.85; Putnam, 5.4; Emily Herbrand, 5.3; Desroches, 5.1.  Balance beam: 1, Fernandez-Hydzik, B, 8.65; 2, B. Reuter, 8.3; 3, Peterson, 8.05. Sauk Prairie – Kuhnau, 8.0; Meixelsperger, 7.55; Putnam, 7.25; Kylie Wilson, 6.7; Desroches, 6.7. Floor exercise: 1, Kuhnau, SP, 8.8; 2, Fernandez-Hydzik, B, 8.35; 3, Meixelsperger, SP, 8.3. Sauk Prairie – Putnam, 7.95; Desroches, 7.9; Wilson, 7.7.  All-around: 1, Kuhnau, SP, 32.5; 2, B. Reuter, B, 32.2; 3, M. Reuter, B, 30.35.