By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
Milton outscored Elkhorn by nine points in the second half and won 58-47 Feb. 22 in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal at Milton.
The loss brings the Elks 2018-19 season to a close. Elkhorn finished with a record of 15-9. The Elks went 6-8 and finished fourth in the Southern Lakes Conference.
Elkhorn opened postseason play Feb. 19 at home with a 64-25 victory over Burlington. Elkhorn was seeded sixth in its sectional bracket and the Demons were seeded 11th.
Milton seeded third, beat Jefferson 55-34 Feb. 23 at Milton in the regional final. Milton plays No. 1-seeded Waterford tonight at Elkhorn in a sectional semifinal.
Coach Jeff Brown said the Elks played a competitive game against the Red Hawks (10-13). Elkhorn trailed by two points – 23-21 – at halftime after being down by as many as eight points.
“We came out fast in the second half and we started to get some layups against their press,” Brown said. “An 11-4 run to start the half got us our biggest lead for the night at 32-27.”
Brown said the Elks led 40-39 with eight minutes left in regulation, but it was the last time the Elks would hold the lead.
“We got cold and we had trouble scoring, and they had a few kids make some shots,” Brown said. “Their balance got to us. They had one player with 10 points and 3 with 9 points each.”
Milton outscored Elkhorn 35-26 in the second half.
“We ran out of gas a little bit and then had to foul late,” Brown said. “We played a good game. They were a little better at the right times.”
Haley Remington led the Elks with 19 points and Payton Christensen added 11.
Maddie Ivey grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and Dillyn Ivey finished with seven.
Grace Quade led Milton with 10 points. Shelby Mack-Honold, Chloe Bueschler and Carly Hanke each scored nine.
Elkhorn will say goodbye to five seniors who were a driving force in this year’s success: Christensen, Ryley Rand, Jena Jacobs, Hunter Breber and Chloe Ehrhardt.
See more Elkhorn sports in the Feb. 28 Independent.
