It’s been tough sledding for the Marshall girls basketball program this winter. With only three Capitol — South conference games remaining on the schedule, the Cardinals sit at 0-7 in conference play. Overall, they’ve lost seven straight as the end of the regular season draws nearer.
Perhaps their best chance to get it done came on Monday, Jan. 22 in a home matchup with Wisconsin Heights. Instead, the Vanguards, winless in conference play until that point, erased a double digit deficit to sneak out a 43-41 win. It was the first time Marshall had lost to Wisconsin Heights since February of 2017, snapping a 12-game winning streak over the Vanguards.
The Cardinals desperately needed that win, because things only got harder in the following weeks. Their next two opponents were the top two teams in the conference, a home matchup with New Glarus on Friday, Jan. 26 and a trip to Cambridge on Thursday, Feb. 1. Marshall lost both.
Friday’s contest with New Glarus offered another shot at the No. 9 ranked team in Division 4 of the wissports.net coaches poll. The Glarner Knights, also the defending conference champions, had already beaten Marshall 67-24 on their home court earlier in the season. The Cardinals kept things closer in the rematch but still fell, 62-33.
Junior sharpshooter Makayla Nemec paced Marshall with 12 points, all coming from behind the three point arc. Senior Wynn Held also contributed eight. The Cardinals just couldn’t stop defending Capitol — South Conference Player of the Year Lindsey Schadewalt, who poured in a game-high 31 points.
A similar story transpired in Marshall’s Thursday trip to Cambridge. The Blue Jays handed the Cardinals a 65-44 loss earlier in the season, and Marshall couldn’t avenge it in the rematch with a 62-37 loss. Held was the top contributor on the day with 14 points. Nemec was next behind her with six, all from three pointers.
Marshall’s current seven-game losing streak leaves it with an 8-13 overall record, including a 0-7 mark in Capitol — Conference play. Only three games stand between the Cardinals and the postseason. Up next, they’ll host rival Waterloo on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The Pirates have already beaten them once this season, 53-42 in mid January. To follow, Marshall will host Belleville on Friday, Feb. 9 and travel to Wisconsin Heights on Thursday, Feb. 15.
--
Capitol — South conference girls basketball standings
(overall records in parenthesis)
-as of Monday, Feb. 5
1. New Glarus, 7-0 (17-2)
2. Cambridge, 6-1 (14-7)
3. Belleville, 5-2 (13-6)
4. Waterloo, 2-5 (10-10)
5. Wisconsin Heights, 1-6 (4-13)
6. Marshall, 0-7 (8-13)
Most Popular
Comments / 0