MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 6–13)
SWC GIRLS BASKETBALL: Prairie du Chien 65, Dodgeville 55
By Derrick Kelly, Courier Press
Prairie girls earn two wins while community shows its support for Coach Sjoberg
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — The Prairie du Chien girls basketball team picked up two big conference wins over the weekend, while the community came out to support longtime assistant coach Jeff Sjoberg and his family on Friday Night.
Prairie du Chien Basketball used the girls home game with Lancaster to hold a fundraiser benefit for assistant coach Jeff Sjoberg, who was bitten by an infected mosquito and contracted West Nile encephalitis while on vacation in North Dakota last August. Sjoberg spent over 100 days in the hospital before being released right before Christmas.
Looking to help raise money for the Sjoberg family as Jeff works to recover and rehabilitate, many members of the Prairie du Chien community donated items for baskets that were raffled off after Friday night’s game.
A slow first half ended with the Hawks taking a 25–18 lead into halftime. The second half however was a different story as the Hawks defense held Lancaster to just nine points as the Prairie offense executed a 38 to 9 second half to claim a 63–27 victory over the Flying Arrows.
The leading scorer for the Hawks was Karly Kramer with 19 points. Tannah Radloff (15 points) and Greenlee Krahn (10 points) also reached double figures. Rounding out the Hawks scoring attack was Tessa Czajkowski Higgins (nine points), Claire Kennedy (six points), Rita Achenbach and Brecklynn McCumber (two points each). Leading the team in rebounding was Achenbach (seven rebounds) and Kramer (five rebounds), while Krahn and Czajkowski Higgins both dished out seven assists. Czajkowski Higgins also collected seven steals.
The Hawks faced a quick turnaround for their next game as they hosted Dodgeville the following night in a make up game from last month. In a flip from the previous night, the Hawks jumped out to a 31–18 halftime lead before withstanding a Dodgeville second half rally to earn the 65–55 victory.
Krahn led all scorers with a game high 29 points, which included shooting 7-for-12 from the three-point line. The seven made three point shots tied her sister Lily’s career high that was set in a game at Dodgeville on Jan. 23, 2021.
Radloff was the only other Hawk to reach double figures in scoring as she collected 16 points. Rounding out the Hawks scoring during the game was Achenbach and Czajkowski Higgins with seven points each, Kramer with five points, and Kennedy with one point. Achebach (eight rebounds) and Kramer (seven rebounds) led the team in rebounds, while Czajkowski Higgins dished out 11 assists to lead the team.
Prairie du Chien improved to 17–4 overall and 8–1 in the SWC with the two victories. The Hawks and Dodgers will conclude their conference seasons against each other on Thursday night in Dodgeville.
The two teams could play each other a third time in just 13 days if sixth seed Dodgeville defeats eleventh seed Richland Center in a Division Three Regional Quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The Hawks received the third seed in the half sectional grouping and earned a bye in the regional quarterfinal round. If Prairie wins their semifinal matchup, they will face either Madison Edgewood or the winner of seventh seed Big Foot and tenth seed River Valley.
