‘Cats rebound from loss to Raiders

Guden nets 1,000 career points at start of playoffs

By Casey Krautkramer

Edgar junior guard Makenna Guden created school history by becoming the first junior to already score 1,000 career points. She accomplished the milestone at the beginning of the second half in Edgar’s 67-32 WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal win against Plainfield Tri-County on Tuesday at home. Guden needed to score 14 points against the Penguins and she finished the game with 24 points. She joins former Edgar girls basketball players Holly Denfeld and Tianna Borchardt who also scored over 1,000 points in their high school careers. Guden was home sick with the flu during her team’s 53-38 home loss to Marathon on Thursday in the regular-season finale, but she was able to compete on Tuesday.

“It feels really good to become the first junior in Edgar history to score 1,000 career points,” Guden said. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Edgar head coach Betty Urmanski is proud of Guden’s huge basketball career accomplishment.

“Makenna is just a pure outside shooter and she’s worked on improving her skills since last season,” Urmanski said. “She’s working on her step back move and she’s made a couple of baskets off of it; she is just working toward being a good all-around basketball player.”

Next season, Guden has a good chance at becoming the Edgar girls basketball program’s all-time career scoring leader. She only needs to pass former Wildcat players Tianna Borchart, who has 1,105 points, and leader Holly Denfeld with 1,258.

But for the time being, Guden and her Edgar teammates are focused on their regional semifinal game against Rosholt (17-6) at 7 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 28, at home. Should the Wildcats beat the Hornets, then they would likely play at Wild Rose (19-3) in the regional championship game at 7 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 29. If Wild Rose would lose to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption (13-10) at home on Friday, then Edgar (16-7) would have a home regional final on Saturday.

Raiders upend Wildcats

Marathon’s girls basketball team won seven consecutive games to end the regular season, including a 53-38 road victory against archrival Edgar on Thursday.

Senior Elizabeth Boehm scored a game-high 22 points and sophomore Allison Wokatsch added 14. Sophomore Skylee Manecke paced Edgar with 15 points.

Boehm explained after the win how the Red Raiders were able to score nearly 80 points in recent wins against Phillips and Colby.

“Our team starts out games slow but lately we’ve been scoring about 50 points in the second halves,” Boehm said. “I think we’ve been playing more together as a team and we are finally figuring everything out.”

Marathon (15-7) received a first round bye in Tuesday’s playoffs. Marathon will now play a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal game at 7 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 28, against Princeton/ Green Lake (14-9) at home. Should Marathon win on Friday, it would play in a home regional championship game at 7 p.m this Saturday, Feb. 29, against Friday’s winner between Westfield (15-6) and Necedah (16-7).

Tigers win playoff opener

Stratford’s girls basketball team pounded Spencer, 50-20, in a WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal game on Tuesday at home. Junior Breanna Ackley led the Tigers with 21 points and four blocked shots, while junior Emily Hughes added 13 points. Stratford (10-13) advances to play at Auburndale (16-6) in a regional semifinal game at 7 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 28.

Should Stratford win on Friday, it would play in an away regional championship game at 7 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 29, against either Colby (13-9) or Stevens Point Pacelli (14-8).

Stratford easily beat Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 41-23, in its final regular- season game on Thursday at home. Ackley paced the Tigers with 18 points and five blocked shots. Senior Tanaya Schillinger collected five assists.

Athens boys playing well

The Athens boys basketball team has won a pair of tough road games within this past week at Rib Lake, 63-56, on Friday and against Spencer, 74-60, on Monday.

Rib Lake won the Marawood North Conference and Spencer is tied with Neillsville for first place in the Cloverbelt East this season.

Athens sophomore guard Cooper Diedrich led the team with 23 points in the victory against Rib Lake. Senior center Cameron Ford added 16 points and senior guard Javon Penney 12.

Ford paced the Bluejays with 10 rebounds and Diedrich had nine. Penney led the team with six assists. Ford led Athens with 19 points, 18 rebounds and three steals in the team’s victory against Spencer. Ford and Diedrich paced the team with five assists each. Diedrich added 15 points and Penney 13.

Athens (15-6) concludes its regular season at Prentice this Thursday, Feb. 27. Athens would then play a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal home game against Northland Lutheran (7-11) at 7 p.m. this Tuesday, March 3.

Raider boys keep winning

Marathon’s boys basketball team easily beat Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 64-42, in Friday’s road game.

Sophomore guard Jaden Koeller led the Red Raiders with 14 points. Senior wing Clarke Mouw contributed 13 points, junior Mike Hahn 11 and senior Nathan Trawicki 10.

Hahn and Mouw paced Marathon with 11 rebounds apiece, and Mouw collected four assists.

Jaden Koeller led Marathon with 26 points in the team’s 63-57 road win against Wausau West on Monday. Junior Brock Warren added 15 points. Hahn paced the Red Raiders with 10 rebounds and Mouw with six assists.

Marathon (11-10) concludes its regular season with a road game against archrival Edgar at 7:15 p.m. this Thursday. It’s a special Taco Cancer night, in which Edgar volunteers will attempt to reach a goal of selling 1,000 smoked pork tacos, beginning at 5 p.m., to Wildcats and Red Raiders basketball fans. All proceeds will be donated to Maddy Lang and the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Marathon will then play a WIAA Division 4 home regional quarterfi nal game against Chequamegon (5-16) at 7 p.m. this Tuesday, March 3.