By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School girls basketball team played short-handed in the Fort Atkinson Holiday Tournament and lost two games by a combined total of 82 points.
The Elks lost 61-22 Dec. 30 to Fort Atkinson and 67-24 Dec. 29 to Milwaukee School of Languages (MSOL). Both non-conference games were played at Fort Atkinson High School.
The Elks played Westosha Central (1-9, 1-2 SLC) Tuesday in a Southern Lakes Conference game at Paddock Lake. Elkhorn (0-10, 0-4 SLC) plays SLC rival Delavan-Darien (3-5, 1-2 SLC) Friday at home.
Elks coach Todd Frohwirth said the Elks played short-handed at Fort Atkinson due to some players being on vacation over the holiday break from school.
“It did give a number of players more opportunities to play,” Frohwirth said. “Each day and each minute we get to play we see growth.”
It is no secret the Elks are in the process of building a program, and currently trail many opponents in aptitude and ability.
“Our program and girls are well behind other teams we are playing,” Frohwirth said. “So we continue to build a fundamental foundation from the ground up.
“It takes time to give the athletes the basic skills they need to compete when they are so far behind. In time, we will start taking those fundamentals and put them into varsity formations and concepts.”
Frohwirth is in his first season as the Elks’ coach, and has coached high school basketball in southeast Wisconsin for more than 20 years.
Elkhorn scored 11 points in each half against Fort Atkinson (7-4). The Blackhawks led 34-11 at halftime and outscored the Elks by 16 points in the second half.
Taylor Mair led the Elks with eight points. Fort’s Auhea Simmons scored a game-high 15 points.
“We continue to have a great experience as we grow as a team,” Frohwirth said. “The seniors are committed to helping the younger players grow. We have a number of freshman and sophomores playing big minutes.”
The Elks will soon finish the first half of their SLC schedule and begin their second run through the conference. The Elks play Jan. 15 at SLC foe Union Grove (8-2, 4-0 SLC) and then start playing conference teams for the second time this season.
