The Little Chute Mustangs handed the Truckers varsity basketball team a 28-46 defeat on Friday, Dec. 13.

Scrappy defense and a full-court press kept the Truckers in the game in the first half. The Mustangs led 7-3 after one quarter and 15-10 at halftime, but Clintonville showed determination as they battled for loose balls and hustled on defense.

Little Chute outscored Clintonville 13-4 in the third quarter and 18-14 in the final frame to pull away for the win.

Caitlin Carpenter and Taylor Carpenter both scored eight points to lead the Truckers, while Autumn Voight added six. Emma Polzin, Olivia Wagenson and Marietta Sorenson each scored two points.

Clintonville made 8 of 24 shots (33 percent) but missed all 11 of their 3-point attempts. The Truckers made 12 of 16 free throws (75 percent).

The team gathered eight rebounds, seven steals, and four blocks while turning the ball over 13 times and committing 20 fouls.

1993 team honored

Twenty years ago, the Clintonville girls’ basketball team went into the tournament season with a 4-16 regular season record and made an incredibly improbably run to the state championship game. Although every coach says it’s a new season and anything is possible, no team had accomplished this feat until Clintonville did it in 1993.

They started the tournament defeating a Seymour team with a 17-5 record by a score of 46-43. In the regional finals they beat New London, 42-28. They started sectionals against a strong DePere team with a 14-9 record, upsetting them 54-50.

And then it was the sectional finals against a Kimberly team ranked fifth in the state, boasting a 20-3 record. The Truckers shocked Kimberly as they accomplished every team’s dream of going to state with a last-second victory. Clintonville showed every team, fan, and future player that no matter what, if you believe, anything is possible.

The 1993 Trucker team included Laurie Green, Shelley Prudom, Krista Balthazar, Tracy Wisnefske, Beth Schroeder, Amy Fisher, Jodie Lorge, Jenny Komp, Jamie Lehman, Heather Ulman, Sarah Radtke, Andrea Dupke, Joy Boettcher, Sam Stickney, and Val Bergquist. The team was coached by Bob Petermann, assisted by Jodi Radiees. Charity Polzin served as the team’s manager. Statisticians included Shirley Frietag, Jana Hutchinson, Kelly Jobe, Krista Konrad, Becky Rohan, Jodie Schneider, Kirsten Singleton, and Charity Polzin.