Girls hoops falls at Chippewa

The Raider girls’ basketball team couldn’t sustain a strong first quarter at Chippewa Falls last Friday night and the eighth-ranked Cardinals pulled away in the second half for a 58-30 victory.

Chippewa Falls improved to 11-1 with the victory, 4-1 in Big Rivers Conference play, while Hudson fell to 3-7 overall, 0-5 in the BRC.

Raider coach Ed Johnson said his team couldn’t keep its early momentum going. The Raiders had an 11-9 first quarter lead before being outscored 14-4 in the second quarter.

“We got off to a good start and hit some shots early,” Johnson said. “We had good momentum at the end of the first quarter. Unfortunately, throughout the second half Chippewa Falls made the plays they had to.”

The Cardinals opened up leads of 23-15 at halftime and 38-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Jessie Kirkwood hit three three-pointers and led the Raiders with 12 points while Sarah Krier finished with eight points. Kindra Witthus scored four in the loss while Maggie Koehler and Maddie Drewiske finished with three apiece.

The Raiders are off this week and don’t return to action until Tuesday, Jan. 31, when they host Eau Claire Memorial (7-5, 3-2). Johnson said the break comes at a good time for his team.

“We had a tough stretch coming out of Christmas break,” he said. “But it’s only halfway through the season. I’m looking forward to the end of January and February to see how much we improve. I’d be a lot more concerned right now if it was the end of February.”

Tags: sports, basketball, raiders, prep