Eagles girls on the rise

It was a bittersweet moment for Ella Schad when it sunk in that she had just played her final game on the Sauk Prairie Eagles’ home court. But it was also a time of joy for Schad, who scored nine points in helping sixth-seeded Sauk Prairie cruise to a 68-37 victory over 11th-seeded Portage in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal game on Feb. 25. “It’s kind of sad,” said Schad, who plans to play soccer at Coastal Carolina University next year. “But it was great. I don’t know the last time (the Eagles) won a regional game or had a game at home.” That would be in 2014 when Sauk Prairie hosted Baraboo in a regional quarterfinal game and earned a 52-46 victory. After notching a season sweep of Portage, Sauk Prairie advanced to the regional semifinals last Friday where it then dropped a 63-33 decision to third-seeded and host Reedsburg to end a memorable season. Although her prep basketball career is over, Schad said the best is yet to come for a youthful Sauk Prairie squad that posted a winning record for the first time since the 2009-10 season.  “There is going to be a lot of growth the next few years,” Schad said. “This year is the first year it started to show how much we’ve improved with a winning record. That’s the first time that’s happened in a while and is a real positive thing. It’s just going to keep building from there.”   Freshman Maggie Hartwig recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in her first varsity start for Sauk Prairie. Junior Naomi Breunig scored 10 points, including seven in the first half, as the Eagles used a 14-3 surge to jump out to a 16-7 lead with just under 12 minutes left in the first half. After Brianna Brandner sank a jump shot for Portage (2-21), Sauk Prairie went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 25-9 lead with 6:07 left before halftime. The Eagles didn’t let up at halftime, outscoring Portage 33-19 in the second half. Sophomore point guard Faith Holler also had a productive game for Sauk Prairie, finishing with four points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.  The Eagles had 11 players reach the scoring column as their depth proved to be too much for Portage, which was led by Katelyn Belleau with 15 points. “That was our goal, to have a good, team basketball game tonight,” Sauk Prairie coach Amber Fiene said. “We did. Everyone contributed. That’s always fun when you can do that.” Sauk Prairie finished with a 13-11 record, including 5-9 in the Badger North Conference, posting the most wins overall in a season for the Eagles since the 2009-10 team went 20-5 and won the Badger North Conference title with a 10-2 mark. “I’m excited. This year was a step in the right direction,” Naomi Breunig said. “Next year, I’m hopeful for even better. It’s fun to be part of that and know that you helped make that happen.” The Eagles’ two Junior Varsity teams also finished with winning records as well. It was also the first time the Eagles’ varsity program finished with at least a .500 record since the 2013-14 team was 12-12. The five conference victories also marked just the third time the program reached that number in the last decade — the 2010-11 team went 5-7 and the 2017-18 squad was 5-9. Fiene said the switch to a run-and-jump scheme impacted the Eagles’ fortunes on offense and defense. “It has given us so many opportunities on both ends of the floor,” Fiene said. “Our offense has picked up. Our scores are so much high because of it. It picks us up energy-wise because you’ve got to be active in it. Our defense is more active. Our offense is more active.” • Reedsburg 63, Sauk Prairie 33 — Naomi Breunig scored seven points for the Eagles, who were held to a season-low scoring by the host Beavers. Reedsburg (15-8) jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead and used a 40-point second half to secure the victory. Trenna Cherney led the Beavers with 16 points.   Feb. 25 WIAA Division 2  Regional quarterfinal Sauk Prairie 68, Portage 37 Portage …......……. 18 19 — 37 Sauk Prairie …..... 35 33 — 68 PORTAGE (fg ft-fta pts) — Brianna Brandner 4 0-4 8, Katelyn Belleau 7 0-2 15, Genna Garrigan 0 2-2 2, Hilary Nelson 1 0-3 2, Elizabeth Fick 0 1-2 1, Leena Middleton-Harris 1 0-0 2, Emma Kreuziger 2 1-3 5, Payton Woodhouse 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 4-16 37. SAUK PRAIRIE — Lexi Tobias 2 1-2 5, Naomi Breunig 4 2-5 10, Claudia Miller 0 0-0 0, Olivia Breunig 0 1-2 1, Faith Holler 2 0-0 4, Kassia Marquardt 4 0-0 8, Madi Pertzborn 0 0-0 0, Lauren Wideen 1 0-0 3, Ella Schad 4 0-0 9, Ruth Baker 0 0-0 0, Olivia Paukner 0 0-0 0, Kaya Wilson 2 0-0 4, Makenzie. Breunig 2 0-0 4, Annika Braund 3 2-4 8, Maggie Hartwig 4 4-6 12. Totals 28 10-19 68. 3-point goals: P 1 (Belleau 1); SP 2 (Wideen 1, Schad 1). Total fouls: P 15; SP 19. Fouled out: Brandner (P), Hartwig (SP).   Feb. 28 WIAA Division 2  Regional semifinal Reedsburg 63, Sauk Prairie 33 Sauk Prairie …...... 18 15 — 33 Reedsburg …....…. 23 40 — 63 SAUK PRAIRIE (fg ft-fta pts) — Lexi Tobias 0 0-0 0, Naomi Breunig 3 0-0 7, Claudia Miller 0 0-0 0, Olivia Breunig 0 0-0 0, Faith Holler 0 2-2 2, Kassia Marquardt 2 0-1 5, Madi Pertzborn 0 0-0 0, Lauren Wideen 0 2-2 2, Ella Schad 2 1-2 5, Ruth Baker 0 0-0 0, Olivia Paukner 0 0-0 0, Makenzie Breunig 1 0-0 2, Annika Braund 2 0-5 4, Maggie Hartwig 2 2-2 6. Totals 10 7-14 33. REEDSBURG — 0 2-2 2, Cunningham 1 0-0 3, Bestor 2 3-4 7, Klitzke 0 2-2 2, Stieve 0 2-2 2, Trenna Cherney 4 7-8 16, Macie Wieman 1 0-0 3, Dietz 3 3-6 9, Mahra Wieman 3 7-10 13, Benish 3 0-0 6. Totals 17 26-34 63. 3-point goals: SP 2 (N. Breunig 1, Marquardt 1); R 3 (Cunningham 1, T. Cherney 1, Macie Wieman 1). Total fouls: SP 22; R 16.