More on Chi-Hi and Memorial

A couple more notes and observations from Tuesday’s Memorial-Chippewa Falls regional semifinal:

* Josh Prince didn’t score a ton of points — only seven — but the Cardinals often have been at their best this season when Prince isn’t carrying the scoring load. That’s what’s made this season’s Chippewa Falls team so dangerous. It’s not just Prince. There’s Dustin Kalien, Cole Zwiefelhofer, Brad Goeman, Brad Meade, Jared Jaquish, etc.

Prince played very well in other facets of the game Tuesday, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out four assists. He also played well defensively.

“In order to win in the tournament, you have to have more than just your top players contribute,” Cardinals coach Luke Madsen said. “Kids like Brad Goeman have to step up and knock down shots. Dustin Kalien, Cole Zwiefelhofer, all those guys have to be ready to contribute. Josh has to continue to do a good job of not forcing things. I thought he did that tonight. I thought he played within himself. He continued to get good looks for his teammates.”

* One area Chippewa Falls may be vulnerable in is the post. The Cards certainly aren’t the bulkiest team around and had some trouble defending Memorial forward Collin Cooper, who had 18 points — almost all of them in the post.

Meade is the team’s best post defender, but he was slowed by the flu Tuesday and wasn’t able to play his usual minutes.

“When he’s not in there, we need somebody else to be able to play in the post,” Madsen said. “We can not allow players to get those kind of looks. But to his credit, some of those shots he knocked down were tough. He made some contested shots. He’s an excellent player.”

* The Cardinals were more than ready for the Old Abes. They had a four-hour practice Sunday and then did what Madsen called “fine tuning” Monday.

“When you have a veteran group, you can do that,” Madsen said. “You can put more stuff in and challenge them to be focused and ready to play.”

— Joe Ziemer