Back-to-back losses to the top two teams in the league has dropped the Lancaster varsity girls’ basketball team to a Southwest Wisconsin Conference record of 2-3, and has also created some separation between them and unbeatens Richland Center (4-0) and Prairie du Chien (4-0).
Last Thursday night the Flying Arrows hosted the Richland Center Hornets, who pressured Lancaster all night long to collect a 51-39 victory.
Unable to overcome the Hornet’s pressure, coach Brett Rollins’ squad committed 21 total turnovers and made just 12 total field goals in 32 minutes of action.
They trailed just 10-8 after one quarter of play, but by the time the two teams went into the locker room at halftime, Lancaster was behind, 28-17.
Outscored 10-6 in the third quarter, coach Rollins’ squad took a 38-23 deficit into the final eight minutes, where they were unable to make a comeback.
Lancaster finished the night making 12-of-27 (44%) total field goal attempts, including 2-of-6 (33%) from long range. They were 13-of-17 (76%) from the charity stripe compared to Richland Center’s 15-of-28 (53.5%) performance.
Senior guard Emily Martin led Lancaster with 17 points, while fellow senior Tricia Petrowitz added seven to go along with five rebounds and two assists.
The following Saturday night, Lancaster traveled to Prairie du Chien for a make-up game that was originally scheduled to be played on Jan. 20.
After being outscored 15-5 in the first quarter, the Arrows actually made a game of it and wound up losing, 37-31.
Petrowitz finished with a team-high 13 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double, while Martin added 11 points and three assists.
As a team, Lancaster made 12-of-45 (27%) field goal attempts, 2-of-8 (25%) from 3-point range. They were 5-of-8 (62.5%) from the free throw line, committed 14 turnovers and came away with three teams steals.
This Friday night the Lady Arrows (6-7, 2-3 SWC) travel to River Valley (3-9, 1-3 SWC), then host La Crosse Central in a non-conference contest next Tuesday night.
Richland Center 51,
Lancaster 39
(from Thursday, Jan. 26)
Richland Center 10 18 10 13 - 51
Lancaster 8 9 6 16 - 39
Richland Center - Wilson 2, Anderson 12, Collins 14, Ewing 2, Beranek 5, Schauf 2, Gunderson 1, Deets 2, Lynch 5, Schultz 7. Totals - 12 15-28 51.
Lancaster - Jenna Vesperman 2, Andrea Duncan 2, Emily Martin 17, Kate Noble 5, Shelly Morgan 4, Katrina Polkinghorn 2, Tricia Petrowitz 7. Totals - 10 13-17 39.
3-point goals - RC: Anderson 2, Collins 2; L: Martin 1, Noble 1. Team fouls - RC: 18; L: 19. Fouled out - None.
Prairie du Chien 37,
Lancaster 31
(from Saturday, Jan. 28)
Lancaster 5 7 5 14 - 31
PdC 15 6 7 9 - 37
Lancaster - Vesperman 4, Martin 11, Noble 3, Petrowitz 13. Totals - 11 5-8 31.
Prairie du Chien - Skemp 2, Taylor Moret 7, Morgan Banasik 9, White 3, McKenzie Banasik 3, Nicholson 5, Brooke Moret 4, Rickleff 4. Totals - 15 4-8 37.
3-point goals - L: Martin 1, Noble 1; PdC: Taylor Moret 1, Morgan Banasik 1, White 1. Team fouls - L: 14; PdC: 13. Fouled out - None.
