Hornets come up with a couple big league wins

Eva Enestvedt, Cadott senior, took a rare three-point attempt on her home court Feb. 2, as the Hornets faced off with conference foe Bloomer. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

The magic number seems to be 67 for the Cadott girls basketball program, as their matching scores brought in a pair of West Cloverbelt Conference wins over the week.

Feb. 2 vs. Bloomer conference (W 67-51)

Bloomer was first up on the schedule, but they gave Cadott a run for their money, despite the Hornets taking a nine-point lead into halftime.

“It was a tough conference game,” said coach Dave Hazuga. “Took us a while to find some rhythm and offense.”

Although the second half started out shakily for Cadott on offense, the team pulled together and started playing the brand of ball they know best. In the final minutes of the match-up, the Hornets pulled away from the Blackhawks to take a 67-51 victory.

“We had to make some adjustments along the way,” said Hazuga.

Junior Emma Kowalczyk was hot from three-point land, knocking down four of the shots, to finish with 17 points, while seniors Lauryn Goettl and Elly Eiler were also on-point offensively, scoring 15 points each. Senior Laken Ryan followed that up with 11 points, nine of those from three-point land.

Also getting on the board for Cadott, was junior Bradee Burish, with 5 points, while senior Eva Enestvedt and freshman Taylor Hager each added 2 points.

“We got really well-balanced scoring, it was a good night for the girls,” said Hazuga.

Feb. 3 vs. Stanley-Boyd conference (W 67-53)

With no time to rest, the Hornets made the short trek to Stanley-Boyd, in what shaped up to be a battle for who would come out on top.

“Playing at their place is always tough,” said Hazuga. Going in with momentum from the game the night before, Cadott took a 10-point lead into halftime and knew the Orioles would come out on a tear, to make it a closer game than the score reflected.

However, the Hornets refused to be bested and held on for a 67-53 win over their rivals, giving Cadott an improved record of 17-4 on the season and to stay second in the league at 10-2.

Eiler came up big on the night, racking up 28 points, with Goettl right behind for 24, while Ryan and Kowalczyk each nailed a three-pointer, and Burish added 3 points of her own.

“Coming off playing the night before, I thought the girls showed good energy,” said Hazuga. “It was a game we needed.”