Edgewood KO’s Sauk Prairie

Following a bounce-back victory of its own just two days earlier, Sauk Prairie’s girls basketball team faced a Madison Edgewood squad in search of its own redemption last Saturday. The Crusaders got what they were looking for, and in the process, dealt the host Eagles their second loss in three games.   Senior forward Sarah Lazar scored 17 points and senior forward Baluck Deang added 11 points to help Edgewood overpower host Sauk Prairie 62-35 in a non-conference game. The Crusaders dropped a 38-20 decision at Watertown four days earlier. But whatever problems they had on offense were erased by the time they met the Eagles. “The key was their offensive rebounding early,” Sauk Prairie coach Aaron Andres said of Edgewood. “We got a couple of stops, then we couldn’t box off on the boards and it kept them on the offensive.” Edgewood (10-5) opened a 17-2 lead and held Sauk Prairie (7-3) without a field for nearly 8 minutes to set the tone early. “They came out with an aggressive game plan,” Andres said. “We just got buried in the post multiple times. They got some easy finishes early, just physically burying us. Then when we didn’t make shots, we kind of backed off to their ball pressure. It made it hard to stem the tide and their momentum.” Lazar, a Saint Louis University basketball signee, drained a three-pointer on the game’s opening possession to give Edgewood the lead for good. Eagles’ junior forward Olivia Paukner made one of two free throws before Deang found the bottom of the net with a layup 2 minutes into the game. Senior guard Naomi Breunig, who paced the Eagles with 15 points, made the second of two free throws with 15:09 remaining in the first half to pull Sauk Prairie within 5-2. But Edgewood used a 15-0 surge capped by junior guard Ellie Meriggioli’s three-pointer to take a commanding 17-2 lead with 10:32 left before halftime.  “They’re a good team. They do all the right things at the right time,” Naomi Breunig said. “I’m not sure what happened against Watertown, but they’re definitely a good and aggressive team and a deep team, too.” Junior forward Amber Grosse added 10 points for Edgewood, including two of the Crusaders’ eight 3-pointers. “Offensively, Sarah (Lazar) hit some shots, and Amber (Grosse) hit some shots. We had a nice flow going,” Edgewood coach Lora Staveness said. “Bee (Deang) had some real good looks transition-wise. We had been missing that. Whatever it takes to get her in that set, we’ve got to keep pushing.” Meanwhile, Sauk Prairie missed its first 10 field goal attempts and committed four turnovers before freshman McaKayla Paukner sank a field goal in the lane at the 10:17 mark of the game to break the ice for the Eagles. “By that time, they were up by a handful,” Andres said. “Then you miss a rebound, you miss a gap help, you miss a box out, and it just snowballs.” Added Staveness: “Defense sets the tone. Your offense can come and go. But we were much better on defense. This was step one after a terrible loss for us. It was a bounce back win.” Edgewood followed with an 11-2 run for a 28-6 lead before junior forward Makenzie Breunig hit a short jumper off an assist from McKayla Paukner for the Eagles’ second field goal of the game with 3:25 remaining in the period.  “Once their bigs started to score more points, we were too quiet on the offensive side,” Makenzie Breunig said. “We have to learn from this and then forget about it. “We have to work hard on our post defense, fight through the screens and anticipate what they are trying to do better.” Sauk Prairie made just one of its first 19 field goal attempts before sinking four of its last six shots to end the first half. That proved to be too little, too late. Sauk Prairie shot just 22.5% (11 of 49) for the game. “They were physical and aggressive and did what they were supposed to do, and we didn’t answer,” Andres said of the Crusaders. “They just came out and physically dominated us. “We knew they were going to hit the post. They have two really good bigs. They shoot the ball around them pretty well. We knew what to expect. We just didn’t meet their level of readiness and intensity.” Despite two tough losses last week, including a 63-44 setback to Beaver Dam, Andres said he likes the mettle and resiliency of his team. “We’ll go back to practice, and continue to practice hard,” he said. “What we’ve been focusing on is consistently raising our level of intensity and competition in practice so that when we get to games, we’re not overwhelmed by the intensity.”  • Beaver Dam 63, Sauk Prairie 44 — Sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig scored 12 points to pace the host Eagles, who fell to the Golden Beavers, in a non-conference game on Jan. 19. Beaver Dam (14-1), ranked No. 1 in Division 2 by The Associated Press, was led by Paige Yagodinski and Natalie Jens, who scored 21 and 17 points, respectively. The Golden Beavers didn’t waste any time taking charge, surging out to an 18-2 lead. “They came out with great energy and intensity,” Andres said of Beaver Dam, which sank 10 3-pointers, including six by Yagodinski. “We battled back and got it to three right before half. But when you dig yourself that kind of hole, you’ve got to spend a ton of energy to get back.” Sauk Prairie, which had its five-game winning streak snapped, pulled within 30-25 at halftime. But the Eagles, who finished with 24 turnovers and shot just 33 percent (16 of 48), never got the lead in second half. • Sauk Prairie 60, Dodgeville 53 — McKayla Paukner scored 17 points to power the Eagles past the host Dodgers. Naomi Breunig added 12 points, including a 3-pointer. “Dodgeville is a solid team with two really good senior scorers,” Andres said. “They attack pretty hard. But we responded to any run they made.” The Dodgers grabbed an early 8-2 lead, and Sauk Prairie trailed until the 8-minute mark of the opening period when it grabbed its first lead. The Eagles’ defense forced Dodgeville into 21 turnovers and recorded 14 steals. Jojo Heimerl led Dodgeville (7-3) with a game-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers. “We finished some possessions and hit some big free throws late,” Andres said. “We made the plays down the stretch and held them off.” • On deck: Following a home game against Reedsburg on Tuesday, Sauk Prairie will host Edgewood on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. before traveling to Beaver Dam on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game. The Eagles are then scheduled to host Monroe on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7:15 p.m.   Jan. 12 BEAVER DAM 63,  SAUK PRAIRIE 44 Beaver Dam ......… 30 33 — 63 Sauk Prairie .....… 25 19 — 44 BEAVER DAM (fg ft-fta pts) — Jens 6 3-4 17; Salettel 1 0-2 3; Wittnebel 2 4-8 8; Hodgson 1 0-0 2; Kuenzi 0 2-2 2; Yagodinski 7 1-2 21; Lapen 2 2-2 7; Czarnecki 1 1-2 3. Totals 20 13-22 63. SAUK PRAIRIE — Naomi Breunig 4 0-1 9; Olivia Breunig 2 2-2 6; Kassia Marquardt 1 0-0 2; Maggie Hartwig 5 2-2 12; Annika Braund 1 0-1 2; McKayla Paukner 0 4-4 4; Olivia Paukner 3 3-7 9. Totals 16 11-17 44. 3-point goals: BD 10 (Yagodinzki 6, Jens 2, Lapen 1, Salettel); SP 1 (N. Breunig). Total fouls: BD 16; SP 13.   Jan. 14 SAUK PRAIRIE 60,  DODGEVILLE 53 Sauk Prairie .....… 30 30 — 60 Dodgeville ......…… 27 26 — 53 SAUK PRAIRIE (fg ft-fta pts) — Alexis Klemm 1 0-0 2; N. Breunig 4 4-4 12; O. Breunig 3 0-0 6; Hartwig 1 2-6 4; Braund 2 3-7 7; M. Paukner 5 7-10 17; Makenzie Breunig 3 2-2 9; O. Paukner 1 1-3 3. Totals 20 19-32 60. DODGEVILLE — Philips 1 0-0 2; A. White 1 0-0 2; Heimerl 7 0-2 19; M. White 0 4-6 4; Busch 3 2-3 8; Argall 7 2-2 16; Blume 1 0-1 2. Totals 20 8-14 53. 3-point goals: SP 1 (M. Breunig); D 5 (Heimerl 5). Total fouls: SP 16; D 23.   Jan. 16 MADISON EDGEWOOD 62, SAUK PRAIRIE 35 Edgewood ….......... 38 24 — 62 Sauk Prairie …… 15 20 — 35 MADISON EDGEWOOD (fg ft-fta pts) — Klitzke 0 2-2 2; Nwankwo 2 0-0 5; Foley 1 0-2 3; Andes 1 0-0 2; Barth 2 0-1 4; Iglar 1 2-6 4; Deang 5 0-0 11; Grosse 4 0-0 10; Olson 0 1-2; Meriggioli 1 0-0 3; Lazar 7 1-2 17. Totals 24 6-15 62. SAUK PRAIRIE — Klemm 2 0-2 4; N. Breunig 5 4-6 15; O. Breunig 1 0-0 3; Faith Holler 0 2-2 2; Hartwig 1 3-4 5; M. Paukner 1 1-2 3; M. Breunig 1 0-0 2; O. Paukner 0 1-4 1. Totals 11 11-20 35. 3-point goals: ME 8 (Nwankwo 1, Foley 1, Deang 1, Grosse 2, Meriggioli 1, Lazar 2); SP 2 (N. Breunig 1, O. Breunig). Total fouls: ME 19; SP 16.