The Oriole girls varsity played Black River Falls at home on Monday, Feb. 2, coming away with a 64-58 win against the Tigers. Top point scorer against Black River Falls was Alaina Nitz with 25 points, followed by Caitlin Ketterhagen with 18. Ella Nitz scored eight points, Stella Chwala made six, Amanda Lew four, and Lucy Wundrow three.
Oriole girls varsity head basketball coach Ryan Wundrow shared more after results.
“Black River Falls posed quite a challenge to us despite their record,” he said. “They really battled hard and shot way beyond what their statistics and prior games showed. We really fought back for the win with some great second half defense and rebounding. We were down 13 at the beginning of the 2nd half and came all the way back to win by 6. I give the girls a lot of credit for not losing faith in what we were doing and continued to give great effort.”
Following Black River Falls with Regis, the team came away with a loss 54-69, but cutting in half the point deficit from last time. Top point scorer against Regis was Ketterhagen with 24, followed by Stella Chwala with nine and Alaina Nitz with eight. Lew made six points, Ella Nitz four, and Lula Chwala three points.
Wundrow shared more after the game.
“Regis was a great measuring stick for us,” he said. “The first time we played they won by 30. We were able to cut that deficit in half this time. It is just a true testament to how much better the girls have improved as a team despite our low numbers and young players. We are so proud of them. Regis is ranked 3rd in the state in their division and tied for 1st place in our conference. Despite them pulling away on us later in the 2nd half we competed the entire game. If we get a couple less turnovers and make a couple more shots that game gets very close. Caitlen Ketterhagen had a career high 24 points that night including 5 three point makes. We did a much better job on Ella May Cooper this time around holding her under her scoring average. They were able to hit some jumpshots in the second half and we were not able to respond.  We have 3 conference games left as well as the crossover. We have already eclipsed our win total from last year despite having 4 new starters.” 
Playing Cadott Feb. 6, the Orioles came away with a 47-53 finish in the Hornet’s favor. Top point scorer against Cadott was Ketterhagen with 13 points, followed by Ella Nitz with 11, and Lew with eight. Lula Chwala contributed seven points, Wundrow made five, Alaina Nitz two, and Stella Chwala one.
“The girls really did some fantastic execution in the game versus Cadott we just didn’t finish enough plays with a basket,” Coach Wundrow said. “We got in foul trouble in the first half and had people playing in different lineups and out of position for parts of the game. We scrambled on defense without a couple of our taller players. Despite that we had a chance at the end of the game but just didn’t make enough plays. It was another hard fought game that shows we keep improving. The first time we played Cadott we lost by nearly 20 and to be honest it never felt that close. This game was tight from beginning to end. Our effort and chemistry is starting to pay off for many of our players.”
The Orioles next play McDonell Central this Friday at Chippewa Falls. Game start is 7:00 p.m.