Neillsville wraps up Cloverbelt title with win over Spencer

MarshfieldAreaSports.com

SPENCER – Neillsville wrapped up the outright Cloverbelt Conference East Division championship with a 44-29 win over Spencer in girls basketball action Monday at Spencer High School.

Spencer kept it close early, trailing 9-8 after the first quarter and was within three at 25-22 heading into the fourth quarter. However, the Warriors outscored Spencer 19-7 in the fourth quarter to hand the Rockets (14-7, 10-6 Cloverbelt East) their second straight loss.

Spencer will play in a fourth-place Cloverbelt Conference East-West crossover game at Altoona on Friday to close out its regular season. The Rockets, a No. 3 seed in their Division 3 regional, will host Chetek in a quarterfinal game Tuesday, March 9.

Krystal Weier scored 12 points, hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range, to lead Spencer. The Rockets made just 15 of 49 shots from the field, while holding Neillsville to 15 of 48. The difference came at the free-throw line, where Neillsville hit 13 of 18 and Spencer as 2 of 6.

Should Spencer and Neillsville win their first playoff game, the teams will meet against at Neillsville on March 11 in a regional semifinal.

Caitlin Courtney scored 19 points and Angela Meshnick added 12 for Neillsville (18-3, 15-1 Cloverbelt East.).

Warriors 44, Rockets 29
Neillsville 9 10 6 19 – 44
Spencer 8 4 10 7 – 29
NEILLSVILLE (44): Tia Opelt 0-5 0-1 0, Stephanie O’Leary 0-3 4-4 4, Sammie Pfeiffer 1-5 0-0 3, Alyssa Anding 2-3 2-4 6, Mackenzie Trunkel 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Opelt 0-4 0-0 0, Casandra Craig 0-3 0-0 0, Caitlin Pavlac 0-0 0-0 0, Katrina Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Poeschel 0-0 0-0 0, Caitlin Courtney 7-13 5-7 19, Angela Meshnick 5-12 2-2 12, Corina Craig 0-0 0-0 0, Noelle Fitzmaurice 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 15-48. FT: 13-18. 3-pointers: 1-6 (Pfeiffer 1-2, Opelt 0-2, Ca. Craig 0-1, Courtney 0-1). Record: 18-3, 15-1 Cloverbelt East.
SPENCER (29): Deanna Szybowicz 1-8 0-0 2, Krystal Weier 4-15 1-1 12, Jenna Hagen 0-0 0-0 0, Danica Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Stacey Baumgartner 0-6 0-2 0, Courtney Schulz 1-7 3-4 5, Tara Matter 1-2 0-0 2, Kyleigh Hebert 1-5 0-1 2, Alyssa Brostowitz 0-0 0-0 0, Aubrie Bissonette 3-6 0-0 6. FG: 15-49. FT: 2-6. 3-pointers: 3-9 (Weier 3-5, Szybowicz 0-3, Bissonette 0-1). Rebounds: 15 (Weier 4). Record: 14-7, 10-6 Cloverbelt East.