The Eagles’ future looks bright

Their season had just ended, and Sauk Prairie’s girls basketball team was already thinking about next year. Those thoughts were filled with hope, excitement and optimism. The Eagles dropped a thrilling 60-51 decision to host Reedsburg in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal on Feb. 23. Reedsburg star Sydney Cherney, an NCAA Division II Grand Valley State University recruit, had an eye-popping 48 points for the Beavers. Sauk Prairie finished the year 13-12 overall, and as the Eagles looked ahead, coach Jacob Breunig and the rest of his team were extremely optimistic. “I think we can be competitive again, but we cannot wish to be competitive,” Breunig said. “We need to work hard this offseason and grow as players and athletes.” These Eagles certainly grew throughout an up and down season. For the third time this year, though, fifth-seeded Sauk Prairie couldn’t stop Cherney and the fourth-seeded Beavers. Cherney had 111 points in those three meetings, an average of 37.0 per game. “Sydney is a once-in-a-lifetime player for a coach,” Breunig said. “She can do it all.   “She has a reputation for being a star, and at times I think she got some favorable calls her way. We never expected her to shoot 33 free throws and I know how physical we were with her.  “She earned a lot, but she got a lot of calls her way when she just ran girls over as well. That may sound like I am complaining and I am not doing so, but from my vantage point that is what I saw.” While Cherney went wild, Breunig was thrilled how his team handled the rest of the Beavers. Only two other Reedsburg players scored, and Addy Meister — who averages 11 points per game — was held scoreless. “This was the game we thought it was going to be,” Breunig said. “I felt that we game planned really well both offensively and defensively for the game. We looked to be patient with the ball and not force quick shots, but instead get great looks that were in rhythm.   “As the season has gone … we shot the ball pretty well and that kept us in it. I could not be more proud of the girls for believing in the game plan, executing the game plan, and playing incredibly hard.” The Eagles will lose seniors Ava Andres, Erelyn Apel and Alexis Atkinson. But a solid group will return, led by post players Ava Brings, Macee Gulden and Gracyn Meyer.  “I am excited for next year,” Breunig said. “This was a long season. We lost more games that I thought we would to be honest.   “We had a lot of adversity and injuries at times we needed to overcome. Losing the three seniors — Ava, Alexis and Erelyn — is going to be tough next year. I have nothing but respect for them all, and they have had a great career here at Sauk Prairie. They leave with 46 wins in three seasons and have shown that Sauk can be competitive in girls basketball.   “I am excited about what we have coming back if they put the time in during the offseason to grow as players. I hope a loss like Friday leaves them wanting more next year.” The Badger Small will lose a tremendous group of seniors, led by Cherney and McFarland’s Teagan Mallegni — a University of Iowa recruit. That means the league will be wide open — and teams like Sauk Prairie will have a terrific chance of climbing the conference ladder. “We have a great group of bigs back … and our guards got to play this year and will be a year older with Mallory (Hartwig), Brooklyn (Kaufman), and Audrey (Brickl),” Breunig said. “We return a couple girls from injuries we missed this past season in Kennedy (Breunig) and Stella (Pacholke). I am excited to see some girls off our JV team push hard this Summer for minutes and roles next year as well.  “There are going to be some solid teams again in the Badger next year with Edgewood, Stoughton, and Mount Horeb. I will never count out McFarland or Reedsburg even with losing their stars because they are so well coached. It will not be easy but I hope the girls are excited for a new challenge next season.”