Girls perform all the way, beat Abes by seven

• Morgan Zabel blocks a Chippewa Falls player's shot

Morgan Zabel blocked this shot in the lane by a Chippewa Falls player. Photo by Joe Winter

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The Raider girls basketball team, bolstered by a great week of practice, finally put together four complete quarters of ball and beat Eau Claire Memorial by seven.

Earlier in the week, they lost a lead in the late-going and dropped a home contest to Chippewa Falls 51-47. Kait Haag was the main Raider who figured out the Cards, scoring 19 including about half on free throws, and Sofi Iverson added eight. Hudson had led 28-21 at halftime and by one at the end of the third quarter.

In the 53-46 victory over Memorial, Hudson had four girls in double figures and the guards really stepped up their play, said Coach Beth Graskewicz. Those scorers who did their thing in a closely knit batch were Haag with 13, Molly Krohn with 12, Katie Ecker with 11 and Morgan Zabel with 10.

“We handled their press well, even though they are very quick,” Graskewicz said. Hudson also contained their two best scorers, even though those twin sisters did make it into double figures.

Memorial made a run in the fourth quarter. “This time we didn’t rush it, we had fewer turnovers and was sustained what we had built up,” Graskewicz said.

The Raiders rebounded well against a Memorial lineup that wasn’t too tall, and all three of Hudson’s bigger girls grabbed many caroms and kept the Old Abes from getting second shots.

Graskewicz cited the headway made by her guards as they pulled away, since the foes were not tall enough to stop their progress in the lane.

This week, Hudson is slated to travel to Menomonie on Tuesday, play host to River Falls at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and head across the river to Henry Sibley on Saturday.

Menomonie likes to drive and create offense via its movement, but Hudson had them figured and trounced them by 15 the first time through the schedule. However, Menomonie is a better team this second time around, Graskewicz said.

The River Falls game was one that Hudson should have won in the initial go-round, Graskewicz added, and they will again need to control the Wildcats one good scorer.

“They give people fits and they’re quick,” Graskewicz said, adding that if these games are won, Hudson could find itself tied for second place in the Big River Conference with that part of the slate nearing its finish.

Tags: sports, hudson, girls, basketball, raiders