Cadott takes out Rails, overcome by Macks

The Cadott girls basketball team split a pair of tough conference games over the week, taking on Altoona at home, before heading to McDonell.

Feb. 11 vs. Altoona conference (W 53-37)

“We gave up too many points in the first half, but we played good offense in the first half and scored quite a bit,” said coach Dave Hazuga.

The Hornets were up 11 points at the halfway mark and both teams saw limited points in the second half.

“Our defense was solid in the second half and we pulled away,” said Hazuga. “We were still able to score inside, even though they were focusing on that. Elly (Eiler), our freshman point guard, had a big night driving against their defense, which worked out great, because we knew we needed to drive.”

Cadott walked away with the home game, earning a 53-37 conference win.

Leading the way, Eiler ended the night with 19 points and knocked down a three. Junior Meadow Barone was next with 11 points, while fellow junior Jada Kowalczyk finished with 9.

Senior Autumn Bremness had 5, junior Hailey Wellner added 4 points to the mix and senior Abby Eiler chipped in with a three-pointer. Rounding things out, was junior McKenzie Prokupek, with 2 points.

“Everyone chipped in, it was a nice win,” said Hazuga.

Feb. 14 vs. McDonell conference (L 58-33)

A few days later, Cadott took on McDonell on the road, but the Valentine’s Day match-up didn’t go as the Hornets planned.

“Friday’s game was a tough one,” said Hazuga. “We played hard, but got off to a slow start.”

With foul trouble early and poor shooting, Cadott was down 36-18 at halftime.

“[We] came out at halftime a little better, but overall, not one of our better games,” said Hazuga.

The Hornets were outscored in the second half, 22-15, and saw the game go to the home team, 58-33.

Kowalczyk led for Cadott, with 18 points, followed by Barone with 7. E. Eiler scored 4 points, and A. Eiler and freshman Lauryn Goettl each had 2.

Cadott’s record sits at 11-9 overall and 6-8 in the West Cloverbelt Conference.

“We got big games coming up, getting ready for the playoffs,” said Hazuga. “We can learn and be better from our last game; that’s our only focus at this point.”