FVL girls aiming to win conference title outright

APPLETON - Entering Thursday's game with Waupaca, the Fox Valley Lutheran girls basketball team has won 24 of its last 26 Eastern Valley Conference games and shared the league title a season ago.

This season, FVL is 10-0 in league play but is looking for more.

"Oh, we're so excited," said senior Abby Huntington. "We really want this by ourselves."

Fox Valley Lutheran shared the Eastern Valley Conference title last season with Freedom with a 14-2 record, but this year the Foxes are not in a sharing mood. This year, they want the conference title all for themselves.

"I know they're very focused on that," coach Rev. Dave Wenzel said. "We have a game lead. We're fortunate to beat Xavier at our place; overtime game. We were behind, came back and that's a game that could've gone either way. They're aware of that. They would really like to keep it to themselves."

Because of FVL's recent winning, it has become the hunted in the EVC. Huntington acknowledged the team isn't well-liked, which sometimes happens when teams win a lot.

"I think they really don't like us, so they want us to lose," Huntington said. "That's what the game of basketball is, somebody wins, somebody loses. We just keep going through it. We know they're out to get us, so we can do it."

One big reason no Eastern Valley team has gotten FVL is the defense. The Foxes are allowing  fewer than 30 points per game and actually had two games where it held the opponent to nine points.

FVL doesn't have any player averaging even 10 points per game, so the defense has become the backbone of the team.

"We focus really hard on defense and with the defense comes the offense, so it's really a big focus of our game," senior Ashley Blob said.

That has put FVL in position to win the conference outright. Of course, second-place Xavier will have something to say about that next week when they meet next week.

Xavier trails the Foxes by one game.

"Last year's success; we know, we only lost three people," Huntington said. "We have everybody back pretty much, we know we can win. We're ready for that title."

Based on the bandage on Huntington's forehead, the Foxes are willing to do anything to win it this season and not share it this time.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com