Vikings hand TMB first loss, 65-52

Playing third game in as many nights, Minneota improves to 4-1 on season

Despite playing its third game in as many days, Minneota came away with its best showing of the season in a 65-52 victory over previously unbeaten Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Thursday night in Tracy.
"Before these games we only had four practices in 17 days, so I'm very happy with the way the girls played," said Minneota coach Al Panka.
Minneota (4-1) played consecutive days in the Southwest Minnesota State University Holiday Classic on Wednesday and Thursday before playing the Panthers in a rescheduled game from Dec. 2.
"We practiced two weeks ago or about 20 minutes on how we wanted to play defense against the dribble handoff like (TMB) likes to play," said Panka. "I'm so happy the girls remembered that and they played it to a 'T'."
Ireland Stassen had her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds to go along with four assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Dakoda Hennen had a solid all-around game with a career-high 13 points and team-highs of six assists and three steals. Grace Hennen amassed 11 points.
The Vikings were coming off a dismal offensive showing in a 48-38 loss to Sleepy Eye on the second day of the SMSU Classic in which they shot only 27 percent from the field.
Minneota came out strong against TMB (4-1), though, building a quick 9-0 lead on baskets in the paint by Ireland Stassen, who also had two free throws, Kenadi Arndt and Grace Hennen.
The lead grew to 16 points after Arndt scored on an inside rebound basket to make it 25-9 with 10 minutes left in the first half. TMB fought back with a 15-8 run to close within 33-24 at halftime.
"When I walked into the locker room at halftime, I wrote two numbers on the board," Panka said. "I wrote the number 38 and I wrote the number 33. The 38 was how many points we scored in the whole game against Sleepy Eye and 33 was how many we had at halftime of this game. I told the girls that we need to continue playing well offensively. but we also needed to continue doing the things on defense like boxing out, helping each other out, and continue to be aggressive."
The Vikings looked like a hockey team switching lines on the fly with the continual subbing Panka was calling for in order to keep the girls' legs as fresh as possible after playing three straight nights.
Panka noted that he could have had the girls play full-court defense in order to try and rally against Sleepy Eye, but he chose not to.
"They wouldn't have had anything left for (the TMB) game," he explained. "I would have had them gassed and I felt this (conference) game was more important."
Arndt was whistled for her fourth foul early in the second half and TMB rallied to tie the game 38-38 with 12:54 left on a three-pointer by Jordan Munson, who led all scorers with 23 points.
Stassen then connected on a pair of free throws to start an 8-0 run and the Vikings never relinquished the lead again.
After Munson cashed a pair of free throws to make if 46-40, Dakoda Hennen splashed a three-pointer, Stassen drained a 12-footer and Grace Hennen scored off a drive to give the Vikings a 53-40 lead. TMB would not get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Three players fouled out for TMB late in the game and the Viking sealed the win at the free-throw line despite making only 6 of 12 down the stretch.
The Vikings' defense slowed down Monson in the first half. The senior guard entered the game averaging 24 points, but was limited to only one field goal and six points in the first half.
Monson had 17 points in the second half, most of those points coming on drives to the basket or at the charity stripe as she tried to rally the Panthers before fouling out with one minute left in the game.
"I thought our guards played very good defense on Munson, especially in the first half," said Panka, referring to Grace Hennen and Kiersyn Hulzebos.

Minneota 65, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 52
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton........................................24 28 - 52
Minneota..........................................................33 32 - 65

Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 18-for-62, 29 percent; Minneota 21-for-56, 38 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 5-for-19, 26 percent; Minneota 3-for-10, 30 percent ... Rebounds: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 36, Minneota 34

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Jaelynn Carter 2, Kyli Carter 6, Grace Dolan 4, Brianna Duscher 0, Allison Edwards 0, Emma Edwards 5, Hailey Gernentz 10, Aurri Johnson 0, Marin Knott 0, Jordan Munson 23, Katelynn Ruppert 0, Brianna Swanson 2 ... 3-pointers: Xxx Carter 2, Gernentz 2, Munson 1 ... Rebound leaders: Munson 7, E.Edwards 7, Gernentz 4, Swanson 4 ... Assist leader: Munson 4 .... Steal leaders: Munson 5, Dolan 3

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 3-9 3-7 9, Emma Bottelberghe 1-1 0-0 2, Dakoda Hennen 5-9 2-4 13, Grace Hennen 3-5 4-8 11, Kiersyn Hulzebos 1-4 1-1 3, Ella Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Krog 0-4 0-0 0, Faith Myhre 3-7 0-0 7, Ireland Stassen 5-17 10-16 20 ... 3-pointers: D.Hennen 1, G.Hennen 1, Myhre 1 ... Rebounds: Stassen 14, Arndt 7, G.Hennen 3, Krog 3, D.Hennen 2, Johnson 2, Myhre 2, Hulzebos 1 ... Assists: D.Hennen 6, Stassen 4, Myhre 2, Arndt 1, Hulzebos 1, Johnson 1, Krog 1 .... Steals: D.Hennen 3, Krog 2, Stassen 2, G.Hennen 1, Myhre 1 ... Blocks: Stassen 1

*********************************
Sleepy Eye 48, Minneota 38
(Result Wednesday, Dec. 28)
Sleepy Eye (4-4) handed Minneota its first loss of the season in a low-scoring contest in which neither team shot well at SMSU in Marshall.
Kadence Hesse led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 7 of 17 shots from the floor and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. Breaunna Mertz notched a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Vikings (3-1) connected on just 27 percent of their shots from the field and 50 percent from the charity stripe.
Grace Hennen led the Vikings with nine points, while Kenadi Arndt had eight points, Ireland Stassen seven, Faith Myhre five, Megan Krog four, Dakoda Hennen three and Kiersyn Hulzebos two.
The Vikings came out strong with Kenadi Arndt scoring the first basket of the game on a nifty turn-around in the paint. After Sleepy Eye tied the game, Minneota got a free throw from Stassen smf basket off a drive by Grace Hennen for a 5-2 led.
The Indians then went on a 7-0 run and never trailed after that, building as much as a 16-point lead at 28-12.
The Vikings were able to whittle the deficit to six points at 38-32 with a 5-0 run on a layup by Megan Krig and a three-pointer by Grace Hennen, but would get no closer.

SLEEPY EYE 48, MINNEOTA 38
Sleepy Eye......................................................30 18 - 48
Minneota..........................................................21 17 - 38

Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): Sleepy Eye 18-for-47, 38 percent; Minneota 14-for-52, 27 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Sleepy Eye 2-for-14, 14 percent; Minneota 3-for-11, 27 percent ... Rebounds: Sleepy Eye 22, Minneota 26

Sleepy Eye Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Taylor Berkner 2, Paige Haala 7, Brissa Hernandez 0, Kadence Hesse 22, Lydia Huiras 0, Jazzibelle Martinez 0, Breaunna Mertz 17 ... 3-pointers: Haala 1, Mertz 1 ... Rebound leaders: Mertz 12, Hesse 5, Haala 4 ... Assist leaders: not available .... Steal leaders: Haala 2, Hesse 1, Mertz 1

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 4-11 0-0 8, Emma Bottelberghe 0-1 0-0 0, Dakoda Hennen 1-6 0-0 3, Grace Hennen 3-14 2-4 9, Nevaeh Hennen 0-0 0-0 0, Kiersyn Hulzebos 0-3 2-4 2, Ella Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Krog 1-4 2-4 4, Faith Myhre 2-4 0-0 5, Ireland Stassen 3-9 1-2 7 ... 3-pointers: G.Hennen 1, D.Hennen 1 Myrhe 1 ... Rebounds: Krog 7, Arndt 4, G,Hennen 4, Stassen 4, D.Hennen 3, Myhre 3, Hulzebos 1 ... Assists: Myhre 3, G.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 2, D.Hennen 1 .... Steals: Stassen 2, Arndt 2, G.Hennen 1, Krog 1 ... Blocks: D.Hennen 1

**************************************
Minneota 57, Minnewaska 50
(Result Tuesday, Dec. 27)
Ireland Stassen tossed in 20 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out five assists to spar the Vikings (3-0) to their third straight win to start the season.
The game was played at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall as part of a Holiday Classic.
Kenadi Arndt added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Grace Hennen had 11 points and five rebounds. Faith Myhre had eight points and four assists.
The Lakers (0-7) built an early 8-5 lead before Minneota took an 11-8 lead on consecutive three-pointers by Stassen and Grace Hennen.
Minnewaska fought back from a 26-17 halftime deficit to eventually tie the game, 40-40. The Vikings then scored consecutive buckets and never trailed again.
Megan Thofinnson led Minnewaska with 14 points. Leslie Murken had 12 points and Sydney Dahl 10. The Lakers shot only 24 percent from the field.

MINNEOTA 57, MINNEWASKA AREA 50
Minnewaska.....................................................17 33 - 50
Minneota..........................................................26 31 - 57

Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): Minnewaska Area 16-for-66, 24 percent; Minneota 23-for-62, 37 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Minnewaska Area 8-for-24, 33 percent; Minneota 6-for-23, 26 percent ... Rebounds: Minnewaska Area 29, Minneota 39

Minnewaska Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Lauryn Ankeny 2, Olivia Bleick 0, Sydney Dahl 10, Avery Fier 0, Brooke Kolstoe 7, Jayda Kolstoe 5, Leslie Murken 12, Alia Randt 0, Megan Thorfinnson 14 ... 3-pointers: Murken 4, Thorfinnson 4 ... Rebound leaders: B.Kolstoe 10, Thorfinnson 8, Fier 5, Ankeny 4 ... Assist leaders: not available .... Steal leaders: Fier 1, B.Kolstoe 1

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 6-14 0-0 12, Emma Bottelberghe 0-1 0-0 0, Dakoda Hennen 2-7 0-0 4, Grace Hennen 3-7 3-3 11, Kiersyn Hulzebos 0-2 0-0 0, Ella Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Megan Krog 0-2 0-0 0, Faith Myhre 3-8 0-0 8, Ireland Stassen 8-18 2-5 20 ... 3-pointers: G.Hennen 2, Myhre 2, Stassen 2 ... Rebounds: Stassen 18, Arndt 7, G.Hennen 5, Myhre 3, Johnson 2, D.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 1, Krog 1 ... Assists: Stassen 5, Bottelberghe 5, Myhre 4, Arndt 2, D.Hennen 2, G.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 2 .... Steals: Bottelberghe 1, Hulzebos 1, Stassen 1 ... Blocks: Arndt 1

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