River Valley girls basketball team resumes action

The River Valley High School varsity girls basketball team returned to play last week after a ten day recess due to COVID protocols. Many games were cancelled and rescheduled due to the recess. Last week the girls returned to play with four games in a single week.  The Blackhawks restarted their season with a home game against conference rival Dodgeville. Showing plenty of rust, due to the lack of practices during the recess, River Valley struggled to score and stumbled offensively throughout the game. Despite being down by a score of 28 to 13 at half-time, the Blackhawks battled the Dodgers fairly evenly in the second half and ended up losing by a final score of 49 to 28.  Leading the way were senior Sophia Haas and sophomore Charlotte Ferst with six points each. River Valley then traveled to Fennimore for a non-conference game against one of the better teams in the area. The game was similar to the previous game against Dodgeville as the Blackhawks looked to find ways to score. Unfortunately, the team struggled in the first half and only managed to score eight points compared to Fennimore’s 25. The Blackhawks found the second half to be a bit easier as they scored 16 points and fell by a final score of 50 to 25. Ferstl scored 10 points and fellow sophomore Katie Hahn added five points. Returning home for a conference game against top ranked Lancaster, the Blackhawks put together two halves and played a complete game. The game was close until the final buzzer. The Blackhawks got as close as four points away before bowing to the Fighting Arrows by a final score of 50 to 41.  Sophomore Brooke Anderson scored 13 points, including three 3 point baskets. Joining Anderson  in the scoring department were Ferstl with 13 points and senior Emilly Esser added nine points. Building off the momentum from the Lancaster game, the Blackhawks traveled to Pecatonica and pulled out a victory by a final score of 52 to 49. Despite trailing by four at half-time by a score of 20 to 16, River Valley scored 36 points in the second half, including going 15 for 17 from the free throw line.   “It was nice to see the ball go through the hoop this afternoon. We had balanced scoring and the kids really showed how resilient they can be as a team,” said River Valley head coach Brent Johnson. Senior Ava Liegel scored a career high of 16 points including hitting three shots from behind the three point arc. Ferstl chipped in 13 points and the backcourt duo of Anderson and Esser added eight and nine points to secure the victory. The Blackhawks traveled to Viroqua this Tuesday as they start WIAA tournament action in the first round of regional games.