Vikings claim Camden Conference Championship
Minneota recently showed why it’s the top-ranked team in Class A, steamrolling Central Minnesota Christian School 62-27 in the Camden Conference championship on Monday night. The Vikings (24-1) were led by Abby Hennen with 17 points, Natalee Rolbiecki with 16 points and McKenna Yost with 11. The game pitted the Camden North champion Vikings against South champion CMCS for the overall conference championship.
Six Minneota players had at least one steal among the 13 they made, with a stifling defense that limited the Blue Jays to only 14 points in the first half.
Minneota jumped out to a 26-9 lead and never looked back as it geared up for Thursday’s Section 3A playoffs. Minneota drained nine 9 of 19 three-pointers, with Abby Hennen connecting five of eight from beyond the arc. Yost made three of the four treys she attempted.
Rolbiecki had the other one. The Vikings also dominated the boards by a 33-18 margin with all eight players hooking at least one rebound.
Abby Hennen had seven, while Morgan Hennen and Jeren Rost pulled down six apiece. CMCS did not have a double-figure scorer.
Eli Stoel led the way for the Blue Jays with seven points and six rebounds. Colette Dyuininck had six points. The game saw only 18 fouls called and only eight total free throws attempted. Minneota went 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. The Vikings received the No. 1 seed in the 4A playoffs and will face the winner of Thursday’s game between MACCRAY and Dawson-Boyd in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. Saturday in Montevideo.
The semifinals are scheduled for Monday, Feb. 24 at Southwest Minnesota State University, while the championship is set for Friday, Feb. 28 at SMSU.
MINNEOTA 62, CMCS 27 Canby (2’s, 3’s, FT, Pts) - Katelyn Bulthuis 1 1 0-0 5, Colette Duininck 2 0 2-3 6, Maaike Duininck 0 1 0-0 3, Reegan Duininck 0 0 0-0 0, Molly Mulder 3 0 0-0 6, Eli Stoel 3 0 1-2 7, Reagan Swart 0 0 0-0 0, Nyssa Vogel 0 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 2 3-5 27. Minneota (2’s, 3’s, FT, TP) - Abby Hennen 1 5 0-0 17, Morgan Hennen 2 0 0-0 4, Kennedi Jurrens 2 0 2-2 6, Natalee Rolbiecki 6 1 1-1 16, Abby Rost 2 0 0-0 4, Jeren Rost 1 0 0-0 2, Ireland Stassen 1 0 0-0 2, McKenna Yost 1 3 0-0 11. Totals 16 9 3-3 62. Scoring CMCS..........................14 13 - 27 Minneota......................28 34 - 62 Statistics: SHOOTING: CMCS (2’s 9-for-26, 35 percent; 3’s 2-for-15, 13 percent; overall 11-for-41, 27 percent); Minneota (2’s 16-for-41, 39 percent; 3’s 9-for-19, 47 percent; overall 25-for-60, 42 percent).
REBOUNDING: CMCS 18 (Stoel 6); Minneota 33 (A.Hennen 7, M.Hennen 6, J.Rost 6, A.Rost 5, Jurrens 4, Stassen 3, Roilbiecki 1, Yost 1).
TURNOVERS: CMCS 16, Minneota 12. STEALS: CMCS 4 (R.Duininck 2); Minneota 13 (J.Rost 4, Rolbiecki 3, M.Hennen 2, A.Rost 2, A.Hennen 1, Stassen 1).
ASSISTS: CMCS not available; Minneota 15 (Stassen 4, M.Hennen 3, A.Rost 3, A.Hennen 2, J.Rost 2, Rolbiecki 1). Natalee Rolbiecki 4 0 2-6 10, Abby Rost 3 0 1-2 7, Jeren Rost 2 0 0-3 4, Ireland Stassen 0 0 0-0 0, McKenzie Tolk 0 0 0-0 0, McKenna Yost 1 0 1-2 3. Totals 25 2 10-21 66.