The Ellsworth Panthers girls’ basketball team sent a message to the rest of the Middle Border Conference with a 46-35 win over the Altoona Railroaders on the road in the league opener on Tuesday, Nov 22.

While it’s only one win, Ellsworth exercised some of last season’s demons, as the Railroaders swept the 2021 -22 season series against the Panthers with scores of 62-30 and 50-36. With the win, Ellsworth improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in league play this season. Ellsworth head coach Jason Janke spoke about the win.

“It’s just one win, but it’s a big one for sure,” Janke said. “To beat a team as good as Altoona with their almost statewide respect as sectional finalists with everybody back and picked to win the league along with Prescott, to go into their place and win with

See ELLSWORTH GBB, Page B-3 the way they handled us twice last year, we feel good about being competitive. It lets us know what we can do.”

Ellsworth junior Molly Janke led all scorers for the night with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and five steals in the winning effort. The Panthers made 22 of 28 free throw attempts against Altoona, which included Molly Janke’s perfect 10-10 at the line.

In addition to the success at the free throw line, Ellsworth’s success was in large part because of the efficiency from the field. The Panthers shot 12-26 (46%) from the floor and only took two three-pointers, compared to Altoona’s 13-45 (28%) from the floor and 3-17 from deep.

Coach Janke credited his roster with a smart, efficient offense that led to success on the scoreboard. He spoke about what made the difference and how his team secured the victory.

“We were really patient and waited for good looks,” Jason Janke said. “That’s a very, very good defensive team. So we made sure that offensively we got a really good look every time and by and large we did a good job of that.”

While Ellsworth had success offensively against a strong Altoona team, the Panthers also hampered a notoriously potent Railroaders offense and held them to 35 points for the night. Ellsworth’s success on the boards helped limit Altoona’s 6’5” junior center Alyssa Wirth – who is actively being recruited D1 by Minnesota – off the offensive glass.

Wirth finished the game with zero points, only two rebounds, two turnovers and four personal fouls. The Panthers contained one of the best players in the conference and won the overall rebounding battle 27-20. Jason Janke spoke about his team’s defensive performance.

“Our rebounding in the second half was particularly strong,” Jason Janke said. “We did a really good job of frustrating them. They didn’t hit some threes that they sometimes hit, and you have to get a little bit lucky when you bring an upset, but I don’t want to take anything away from our kids. Kayla Kressin was battling with the 6’5” Gopher recruit. She did great and Molly (Janke) helped clean the boards.”

Ellsworth took an 18-15 lead into the halftime intermission and then began building momentum throughout the early minutes of the second half. Around the nine-minute mark, the Panthers led by 16 points and looked like they were going to run away with it.

That’s when Altoona junior Josie Rondestvedt got hot and began chipping away at Ellsworth’s lead with a couple of jumpers and a three-point play the old-fashioned way. Rondestvedt finished the game with a teamhigh 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

With about five minutes left, Rondestvedt and the Railroaders had cut the lead to seven points, 37-30, which was as close as it was the rest of the game. Ellsworth responded with a small scoring run to put the game away. Molly Janke led the charge – both verbally and through her play – that helped secure the win. Coach Jason Janke spoke about her contribution against Altoona.

“I thought Molly’s leadership was above and beyond what she’s done. She did a really good job of having our kids maintain poise,” Jason Janke said. “We had an 11-point lead and we turned the ball over a couple of times and we didn’t let it sink us, she’s a big reason for that.”

Coach Janke also credited juniors Aubrey Wittenberg, Ava Brookshaw and Kayla Kressin as playing pivotal through the first three games of the season. He spoke about how some players fly under the radar, especially Kressin as the team’s starting center.

“Kayla Kressin defensively might be one of the most valuable kids around,” Jason Janke said. “She is unselfish on offense and understands her role and is very good from the free throw line. She plays with such confidence and smarts.”

With the win, Ellsworth improved to 2-1 for the season and 1-0 in Middle Border Conference play. Ellsworth joins Prescott, Saint Croix Central and Baldwin-Woodville as the only undefeated teams in the MBC.

The Panthers are back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at home against the Amery Warriors in another MBC battle. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Ellsworth junior Jillian Griggs leaps to contest a shot during a game earlier this season. Griggs has been a defensive force off the bench this year and helped stunt Altoona’s potent offense in the MBC opener on Tuesday night. Photo by Reagan Hoverman