Sauk Prairie rolls in opener

It’s been said first impressions are the most telling. Sauk Prairie’s girls basketball team is certainly hoping that’s the case. The Eagles got 21 points from Mallory Hartwig and 17 from Ava Brings and rolled past host Dodgeville, 66-36, on Nov. 21 in the season-opener for both teams. “I loved the intensity we played with all game,” Eagles coach Jacob Breunig said. “Every girl that was on the court contributed in a positive way.” The Eagles raced to a 34-21 halftime lead, but Breunig felt that advantage could have been even greater. Sauk Prairie then turned up its defensive intensity in the second half and more than doubled its halftime lead. “I thought our defensive intensity in the first half could have been better and we discussed it at half and in the second half it was much better,” said Breunig, whose team allowed just 15 second half points.  “I thought we took a lot of good shots vs. their zone and did not force or settle for contested shots.   “When we pounded the ball inside we got good inside-out looks and scored some easy layups on dives. We limited our turnovers and had 17 assists on the game, which shows how unselfish we can be this season.” Hartwig was tremendous in the win, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and two steals. “She was hard to guard in the paint area but also hit three 3’s, which sparked us in the first half,” Breunig said. “She’s a very athletic kid who will be a hard matchup for a lot of teams this season.” Brings also dominated inside and added 17 points. “Ava did a nice job in the post,” Breunig said. “She scored some great finishes in the second half to really help us push our lead and played good interior defense.” Macee Gulden added six points and Brooklyn Kaufman had eight assists, while playing terrific defense.   “It was a good start to the season and I am excited to see how we can build off of it going forward,” Breunig said. • On deck: Sauk Prairie was at Wisconsin Dells on Tuesday, then hosts Baraboo Friday at 7:15 p.m.