The Week in Review SPASH Boys basketball: The Panthers (2-0) had their way in their Wisconsin Valley Conference opener against Wausau East in an 86-61 win. The offense led the way again, as SPASH shot 52 percent for the game and took a 41-21 halftime lead. Casey Taggatz scored 18 points and Nick Bennett added 17. John Allee also had 17 points and nine rebounds. The Panthers exploded in the second quarter and cruised to an 81-52 season-opening win at Eau Claire Memorial Saturday. Taggatz poured in 22 points and was 9-of-10 shooting while Josh Hall (16) and Bennett (14) both scored in double figures. After taking an 11-9 first-quarter lead, SPASH outscored the Old Abes 26-14 in the second quarter and then scored 22 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Girls basketball: SPASH opened the defense of its WVC title by topping Wausau East 45-25 Tuesday night. While the Panthers (2-1) struggled offensively, the defense forced 33 Lumberjack turnovers. SPASH woke up in the second and third quarters, outscoring East 28-10. Rachel Kreuser led SPASH with 11 points while Janel McCarville added 10. Hockey: SPASH held off a second period comeback attempt by Wisconsin Rapids to top the Red Raiders 6-3 in its season opener Tuesday. The Panthers took a 2-0 lead after the first period only to see Rapids respond with two goals to tie the game seven minutes into the second period. The two teams then traded goals before Justin Danielski gave the Panthers the go-ahead goal 12:33 into the second. Marty Schultz (14:38 in the second period) and Ben Roth (10:24 into the third period) gave SPASH a pair of insurance goals. Adam Kostichka, Noah Johnson and Joe Pavelski scored the first three goals for the Panthers. SPASH goalie Shaun Kruzitski saved 11 shots. Boys swimming: SPASH opened its bid for a WVC title with a convincing 108-50 win over Wausau West. The Panthers won 8 of 11 events, led by double-winners Geoff Thill (200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle) and Jon Ronzani (200-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly). Corey Prince (100-yard backstroke) and Jacob Nantell (50-yard freestyle) also won individual events. The 200-yard freestyle relay (Ryan Burhite, Nantell, Thill and Ted Conachen) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (Prince, Matt Trautschold, Matt Schrader and Ronzani) were victorious as well. Pacelli Boys basketball: Pacelli got behind early and dropped to 0-3 on the season Tuesday night as the Cardinals fell 55-37 at Minocqua Lakeland. Lakeland jumped to a 24-8 halftime lead behind strong outside shooting (6-of-7 3-point attempts) while Pacelli couldn't find the bottom of the net. In the second half, the Cardinals kept pace, as Lakeland outscored Pacelli 31-29 in the final two quarters. Josh Owens led the way with 15 points and Kurt Kramer added eight. Pacelli dropped its two games in the Shawano Tournament last weekend, including the consolation championship to Clintonville, 75-47. The Cardinals bounced back from an early 19-7 deficit and got within eight, 29-21, at halftime. The Truckers increased their lead to 44-34 through three quarters before exploding for 31 points in the final period. Jim Czlapinski scored 13 points and Kyle Corrigan added 10 for Pacelli. The Cardinals fell to Amherst, 55-43 in their first game of the tourney. Girls basketball: Laura McCorkell scored 24 points and added 13 rebounds as Pacelli picked up its first win of the season, 50-32 over Shiocton Monday. The Cardinals (1-2) ended the second quarter with a 9-1 run to take a 28-18 halftime lead. Pacelli then blew the game open by outscoring the Chiefs 19-7 in the third quarter. Lindsey Radomski added 12 points for Pacelli. Wrestling: Nobody can accuse the Cardinals of opening their season with a cupcake opponent. Pacelli kicked off its season Tuesday night against Division 1 Medford and fell to the Red Raiders 47-18. "Overall, I think we wrestled very well," coach Jay Yenter said. "We just ran into one of the top teams in Division 1. "We were overmatched and nobody gave up. We stayed off of our backs." The Cardinals fell behind 41-0 as Medford won the first nine matches. Seniors Tim Snow (160), Neil Jurgella (171), Wayne Zelhofer (189) and Ben Kissel (275) then won four straight matches for Pacelli, all by pins. "Tim Snow just dominated a kid that beat him last year," Yenter said. "Neil's been on a roll since the second half of last year." Amherst Boys basketball: The Falcons kicked off their season with a championship at the Shawano Tournament. Amherst's Paul Konkol found Dylan Page underneath the basket and Page scored with one second left to lift the Falcons to a 58-56 victory over Shawano in the title game. Amherst topped Pacelli 55-43 in its first round game. Page scored 26 points and added eight rebounds against the Hawks while Jason Heinz added 12 points and six boards. "We were much improved over the night before," Amherst coach Gregg Jensen said. "This was a good win over a good team." In their season opener, Page poured in 31 points and added 14 rebounds as the Falcons topped Pacelli, 55-43. "I thought we played tight," Jensen said. "We had the first game mistakes. We also did some nice things to get us through." Almond-Bancroft Girls basketball: The Eagles improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the Central Wisconsin Conference with a down-to-the-wire 43-40 win over Plainfield Tri-County. A-B connected on 2-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds and the Penguins missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Sarah Berry finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds in the see-saw battle. Rosholt Boys basketball: The Hornets (1-0) started strong and hung on for a 53-49 overtime victory Tuesday night against Manawa. Rosholt jumped to a 12-2 first quarter lead only to see the Wolves charge back by outscoring the Hornets 22-9 in the third. In the overtime session, a Ryan Zdroik steal and ensuing Randy Printz layin sealed the victory. Zdroik finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Printz added eight points. Girls basketball: Rosholt (2-0 overall, 1-0 in CWC) rallied in the fourth quarter to top host Port Edwards 37-34 Tuesday night. Tami Scott's layin off of a Hornet steal and pair of free throws in the closing seconds rallied Rosholt from a 33-32 deficit. The Hornets shot 12-for-26 from the floor as the Blackhawk defense made it tough for Rosholt to get open looks. Amy Scott paced Rosholt with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Christine Check also hauled in 10 boards.