The River Falls High School girls’ basketball team displayed signs of maturity and elevated basketball IQ throughout the 58-46 win at home against the Chippewa Falls Cardinals on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

Last year’s young and inexperienced Wildcats team took what River Falls head coach Ian Sticht called “sophomore lumps” as they battled through the constant turnovers and fouls that every youthful varsity team experiences. The 2022-23 Wildcats roster returned every player from last year’s team and now River Falls is starting to play more efficient, smarter team basketball – especially against Chi-Hi on Tuesday night.

Throughout the game, River Falls limited turnovers, didn’t commit senseless fouls that would have sent important players to the bench and forced Chi-Hi to make mistakes that ultimately led to the Wildcats’ 12-point victory. Coach Sticht spoke about what he saw from his team.

“We did a really good job of rebounding, limiting second chance opportunities and we didn’t pick up a lot of bad fouls,” Sticht said after the win. “I think we’re getting smarter with how we defend stuff and not picking up unnecessary fouls.”

Throughout the majority of the first half, River Falls and Chi-Hi battled back and forth as both teams played sound defense and limited high-quality looks for the opposition. River Falls made a run in the closing minutes of the first half to take a four-point lead, 2824, into the halftime intermission.

River Falls continued playing smart, team basketball and began the second half on a 9-0 run. Senior guard Olivia Pizzi got the action going with a corner three-pointer and shortly thereafter senior guard Ella Peters made a wing three. On the ensuing possession, Pizzi buried another corner three which gave River Falls a 37-24 lead and forced a Chippewa Falls timeout.

“When they started the second half in zone, obviously the end result was we hit a couple of threes, but before that, we got good action,” Sticht said. “I thought we did a good job adjusting to their zone without having to call a timeout or cut into our flow.”

With approximately 10 minutes to play in the second half, River Falls had built an 18-point lead over the Cardinals, due largely to the Wildcats’ dominant interior defense and success on the glass. The double-digit lead ultimately proved to be too much to overcome as River Falls cruised to a 58-46 win, the Wildcats’ first conference victory of the season.

With the win, River Falls improved to 3-5 overall and 1-5 in Big Rivers Conference games. River Falls junior Keyah Strop led all scorers with 15 points, junior forward Jordan Schwantz tallied 13 on an efficient 6-9 from the floor, and Pizzi had 12 points while shooting 50% from beyond the three-point line.

While the shooting from beyond the arc was certainly important, it was the interior battle on the boards that proved to be the deciding factor. River Falls tallied 39 rebounds compared to Chi-Hi’s 28 total boards. The aforementioned Peters led all players with 10 rebounds while Schwantz grabbed nine, the second most by any player Tuesday night.

Both Peters and Schwantz have seen more time on the floor this season because they’ve limited turnovers, fouls and have played clean, high-quality defense. Coach Sticht spoke about how two of his best players have played more minutes this season.

“I think it’s just maturing and playing more games,” Sticht said. “Part of it is just as simple as if you get fouls, you’re going to sit on the bench, and they don’t want to sit on the bench.”

While Peters and Schwantz have made a jump this season, the entirety of the roster is simply playing smarter, more efficient basketball than they did last season. Players are executing well, creating open looks and limiting turnovers which has led to success offensively. He spoke about how the offense has changed.

“We’ve limited turnovers and I think we’re just getting smarter on offense,” Sticht said. “For a long time, we just tried to attack when there was nothing to attack and then there were too many hands on the ball and it got turned over. It’s just better shot selection.”

River Falls has an extended two-week break over the holidays before they are back in action for a non-conference game on the road against Osceola on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Tipoff for that game is slated for 7 p.m. at Osceola High School.

River Falls senior guard Olivia Pizzi dishes a pass into the post during the home victory against Chi-Hi on Tuesday night. Pizzi finished with 12 points while shooting 50% from beyond the three-point line.Photo by Reagan Hoverman