The Week in Review SPASH Boys basketball: SPASH (5-1 overall, 4-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference) got off to a slow start, but woke up in the second quarter to top D.C. Everest 68-41 on the road last Friday. The Panthers trailed 15-14 after one quarter before doubling up on the Evergreens in the final three quarters, outscoring them 54-25. The assault started in the second quarter, when SPASH held a 21-6 scoring advantage. Casey Taggatz had 21 points and Nick Bennett scored 18 to lead the Panthers. Gymnastics: Neenah-Menasha scored 137.375 points to top SPASH (130.55) for first place at the Oconomowoc Cooney Invite Saturday. Nicolet was a close third with 130.20. "We did fairly well improving our team score as well as our beam from Thursday's competition," SPASH coach Mary Olszewski said. "The routines are starting to come together. We had less falls on the beam and we rearranged a few things on Friday to help clean up routines." Individually, Anne Simonis finished eighth in the all-around competition. Other placewinners were Raenee Bugarske (fourth in floor exercise), Tracy Knippel (fifth in bars), Kim Klosno (sixth in floor exercise) and Simonis (sixth in bars). Without Kimberly Jo Barden and Knippel for all or most of last Thursday's competition with Wisconsin Rapids, the Panthers fell to the Red Raiders 131.5-127.5. Simonis finished third in the all-around, while Klosno was second in the vault and the free exercise. Knippel was second in the uneven parallel bars. "I feel we had enough depth and talented gymnasts to win the meet even without Barden and Knippel, but I guess we still need some cleaning up," Olszewski said. "This meet was an eye opener and we are determined to make the necessary improvements so we won't come up short again." Hockey: Three second period goals gave SPASH a 3-2 victory at Fond du Lac Saturday. After the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead into the second, Zach Irons got SPASH (7-1 overall) on the board 2:14 into the period. Fond du Lac answered back, but Eric Anderson scored two straight goals (at 4:03 and 9:24) to give the Panthers the win. SPASH goalie Shaun Kruzitski made 28 saves in the victory. Adam Kostichka's third period goal gave SPASH a 2-1 win at Northland Pines last Thursday. The senior broke the tie with 7:13 left in the third period and Kruzitski sealed the win in the net. The Panthers' Josh Pagel scored the game's first goal 10:13 into the second period, and Northland Pines struck back just 16 seconds later to tie the game. Kruzitski finished with 23 saves. Boys swimming: A quartet of third place finishes helped the Panthers take fifth at the Eau Claire Santa Clause Invite Saturday with 143 points. Corey Prince (100-yard backstroke), Geoff Thill (500 freestyle), Jon Ronzani (100 butterfly) and the 200 medley relay of Prince, Thill, Ronzani and Ted Conachen all grabbed third place finishes. Two SPASH relays were fourth - Prince, Ronzani, Thill and Matt Trautschold in the 400 freestyle, and Trautschold, Ryan Burhite, Jacob Nantell and Conachen in the 200 freestyle. Wrestling: Steve Bachinski (103) and Ty Pope (145) won their divisions as the Panthers finished third at the Stoughton Invite Saturday. Adam Kurzynski (130) and Rob King (140) both were second, while Jim Louis (112), Jed Haas (171) and Robb Kolodziej (275) all took third. Perennial WVC power Wisconsin Rapids handed SPASH a 46-16 defeat last Thursday in Rapids. Brandon Biddle (130) and Haas (171) both won by decision while Pope (145) won by major decision and Kolodziej (275) won by forfeit. Pacelli Boys basketball: A late rally forced overtime, but the Cardinals fell short in the extra session and dropped a 60-50 Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference game at Wisconsin Rapids Assumption Saturday. The Cardinals (1-5 overall, 1-1 CWCC), who outscored the Royals 13-7 in the fourth quarter, saw the tables turn in the overtime period. That's when Assumption connected on 7-of-11 free throws and outscored Pacelli 15-5. Josh Owens had 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting (6-of-13 from 3-point territory) to pace the Cardinals. Girls basketball: Pacelli opened a 29-5 halftime lead and never looked back in a 49-27 CWCC trouncing of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption at home Saturday. The Cardinals (3-5 overall, 1-1 CWCC), who led 17-1 after the first quarter, held the Royals to just 1-of-20 shooting in the first half and created numerous turnovers with its pressure defense. Kim Schulist had 13 points for Pacelli and Kristin Mitchell added 11. Almond-Bancroft Boys basketball: Kent Dernbach scored 24 points and Trevor Dernbach had 18 in A-B's 69-48 home win last Friday over Gresham. The Eagles, who improved to 4-0 in the Central Wisconsin Conference small division (4-1 overall), took control in the second quarter and grabbed a 27-18 halftime lead. Trevor Dernbach also led A-B with 11 rebounds, six assists, eight steals and two blocks while he shot 7-of-10 from the field. Brian Warner also got in double figures for the Eagles, scoring 12 points. Girls basketball: A-B (5-3 overall, 4-1 CWC small) dropped its first conference game last Friday to Gresham, 39-33 as the Eagles struggled from the field. The Wildcats outscored A-B 12-6 in the third quarter to take a 24-15 lead into the fourth. The Eagles battled back and got within a point with 40 seconds to go, only to see Gresham seal the game at the free throw line. Amherst Boys basketball: Bench help and a big second quarter catapulted the Falcons to a 72-44 win over Manawa last Thursday. Amherst (5-0 overall, 2-0 CWC large) trailed 17-14 after the first quarter but then exploded in the next period, outscoring the Wolves 20-7 to take a 34-24 halftime lead. The Falcons also had a 23-10 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter. "We got nice help off the bench from Travis Stuczynski, Jesse Konkol and Mike Borgan early in the game when we had starters that were having hard times," Amherst coach Gregg Jensen said. Dylan Page had another big game, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Jason Heinz and Eden Weller both had 17 points. Girls basketball: A strong third quarter allowed Amherst to open up a close game as the Falcons dumped Manawa 62-36 last Thursday. After holding a 25-19 halftime advantage, Amherst (7-0 overall, 3-0 CWC large) blew the game open by outscoring the Wolves 24-9 in the third quarter. Jenni Orsund paced the Falcons with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Meghan Simkins added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Rosholt Boys basketball: Ryan Zdroik had a big night as the Hornets beat Wild Rose 43-35 last Friday. Zdroik poured in 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Rosholt turned a 33-28 deficit into an eight-point win by outscoring the Wildcats 15-2 in the fourth quarter. Randy Printz, a freshman also had 10 rebounds for Rosholt. Girls basketball: Manawa had a long night against the Hornets last Friday, as Rosholt (5-2 overall, 3-1 CWC small) routed the Wolves 75-29 at Rosholt. The Hornets jumped to a 23-8 first quarter lead and doubled up on Manawa in each of the final three quarters. Emily Steines led Rosholt with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Amy Scott had 12 points. Christine Check just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. The Hornets cruised to a 52-23 win over Wild Rose last Thursday at home. Rosholt jumped to an 11-2 lead after one quarter and Scott went on to post 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jenna Eschenbauch added 12 points and Steines grabbed 13 rebounds. Wrestling: Rosholt was 3-2 and grabbed a fourth place Saturday at the Tomahawk Dual Meet Classic. The Hornets were second in their five-team pool and faced Racine Case in the third place match, falling 42-28. Aaron Yenter (160) and Jon Betker (171) both finished 5-0 on the day while Geoff Yenter (130), Scott Walenski (140) and Dustin Wiza (189) were 4-1. Senica Omernik was 3-2 at 275.