Basketball team loses three in a row

After starting off the season on a hot streak, winning five in a row, the UW-River Falls women’s basketball team cooled off a little bit, dropping their last two games which brings their record to 5-3.

Though they lost, the Falcons are nowhere near ready to give up hope for a strong second half of the season.

The Falcons fell to Platteville at home 54-52. Kim Sorenson scored a career-high 16 points and teammate Traci Reimann grabbed 14 rebounds, including 12 on the defensive side of the ball.

Prior to the loss to Platteville, the Falcons were on the road in Eau Claire where they lost their first game of the season.

“We have come into these two games not as mentally prepared as we should have been and the outcome was not in our favor for both,” Sorenson said. “We fought hard and have learned from our mistakes and can only move forward from them. Wednesday will be a different story.”

On Wednesday night the Falcons took on Macalester and lost their third consecutive game.

The Falcons fell to Macalester by a final score of 52-46. Chantele Melgaard lead the Falcons with 19 points.

Melgaard said she has been disappointed with the efforts as of late, but thinks that there’s nothing the Falcons can’t improve from.

“We know we are a better team than what we showed against Eau Claire and Platteville,” she said. “We haven’t been coming out strong in the first half like we normally would ... we’ll be alright though.”

While the Falcons were a strong team last year, this year they seemed to improve all-around. Team chemistry is a part of any successful program.

“Everyone on the team gets along very well,” Melgaard said. “We spend so much time together it’s hard not to be good friends. We do a lot of stuff together outside of basketball as well ... On the court we need to play better together.”

Following Friday night’s game with Northwestern, the Falcons will have a short break before returning to play.

“I think we need this break and it will help us get back on track. This week we have two non-conference games that are very important and we should win them both and then finals week we have off,” Melgaard said. “After that we go to Arizona for a trip. That’s always fun to travel and to play against some different teams.”

Sorenson agrees with Melgaard, but she said she thinks that after being away from the game for a few days, the team will be anxious to get back on the court.

Another reason for the team’s success may be the balance of players.

“Our team is pretty balanced in age with five seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen,” Sorenson said. “We all have a lot of fun and stick together. Whether you’re out on the court or on the bench cheering, we all play for one another and cheer each other on.”

Sorensen said the Falcons are a team to be reckoned with.

“Our team has a lot of potential and we really work hard,” she said. “We know we have the chance to be a great team this year, so with that mind-set, we know we can accomplish anything if we give it our all and put our hearts into it.”