By NATE BEIER | For the County Line
The Royall girls basketball team is even at 5–5 in its last 10 games. But the Panthers are looking to make a final push in the regular season, which has three important games on the slate.
The Panthers split a pair of league games last week, as they topped Wonewoc-Center 56–31 but fell at Bangor 4–37. On Monday, Royall finished nonconference play by defeating Mauston 44–30, recording a 6–2 mark against non-Scenic Bluffs teams this year.
The Panthers travel to Brookwood on Thursday, and then host Cashton on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and Hillsboro on Friday, Feb. 21.
The Royall girls basketball team is 13–6 overall and is the lone team in third place in the league with a 7–4 mark. Bangor leads the Scenic Bluffs with an 11–0 record, and Cashton trails at 10–1.
Royall 56, Hillsboro 43
Royall built a 12-point lead by halftime and went on to finish off rival Hillsboro 56–43 on Jan. 21.
De’yona Jones led the way with 15, while Emma Gruen had 13; Jessica Brueggeman, 12; and Madeline Wainwright, 11.
Necedah 45, Royall 32
The Panther offense struggled to get going, and Necedah forced a series split on Jan. 24.
Royall was held to just 16 points in each half, while Necedah outscored the Panthers by 6 and 7 points in each half, respectively.
Miah Hansen led Necedah with 13.
Royall 52, Ithaca 35
Eight different players scored in the nonconference win on Jan. 27 as Royall topped Ithaca by 17 points.
Emma Gruen had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way, but the team had other contributors, too. Cheyenne Harris scored on a trio of 3-pointers for 9 total points. Tenley Wopat also added 9. Jessica Brueggeman tallied 7; Megan Retzlaff, 6; Kaylin Gruen, 4; Deyona Jones, 4; and Cailey Simmons, 1.
Royall 59, New Lisbon 38
The Panther defense held one of the league’s top scorers, Mya Delgado, to just 4 points in a 59–38 win over New Lisbon on Jan. 30. Royall came up with 19 steals as a team, led by 7 by Cheyenne Harris and 5 by Jessica Brueggeman.
Brueggeman led the way offensively, scoring 22 points. The junior was 10–15 from the floor and 2–2 at the free throw line.
Emma Gruen added 14 and 12 boards. Kaylin Gruen chimed in for 8.
Blair-Taylor 47, Royall 40
The Royall girls basketball team threatened, but could not upset Blair-Taylor on Feb. 1 at JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells.
The Panthers trailed 28–24 at halftime and were outscored by only 19–16 in the second half.
Blair-Taylor’s freshman duo of Abby Thompson and Lindsay Steien finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
De’yona Jones paced Royall with 12 points, while Emma Gruen had 11. Brueggeman had 6. Brueggeman and Jones each had eight rebounds.
Royall 56, Wonewoc-Center 31
Another balanced night of scoring helped the Panthers add another win to their collection, as they bested Wonewoc-Center 56–31 on Feb. 4.
Cheyenne Harris led the way with 19 points after dropping in five 3-pointers in seven tries.
De’yona Jones, Molly Crneckiy and Kaylin Gruen each had 8 points in the win. Gruen recorded nine rebounds, and Maycie Vierck had four steals.
Royall led 28–8 at halftime and never let the Wolves back into the contest.
Bangor 41, Royall 37
For the second time this season, Royall gave the five-time defending conference champs all they could handle on Friday, Feb. 7.
The Panthers fought for a first-half lead, taking a 20–16 advantage into halftime. Bangor responded with enough offense in the second half to reclaim the lead and the win.
Bangor’s Haley Jones scored 10 of her team-high 17 in the second half.
Royall’s Cheyenne Harris posted a team-high of 12. De’yona Jones added 7; Jessica Brueggeman, 6; and Emma Gruen, 6.
Royall 44, Mauston 30
The Panthers battled to keep Mauston winless on the season Feb. 10 and managed to do so with a 14-point win.
Despite riding a 26-game losing streak, the Golden Eagles weren’t deterred by their situation. They gave Royall all it could handle, trailing the Panthers 13–10 at halftime. Royall managed to outscore its cross-county neighbors by 11 in the second half for the win.
De’yona Jones ended with 10 points, while Tenley Wopat had 9. Brueggeman and Harris each had 6. Megan Retzlaff had 5; Emma Gruen, 4; Molly Crneckiy, 2; and Kaylin Gruen, 2.