Vikings KO 3 teams; hit 20 wins
Minneota knocked out three opponents over the last week and reached 20 wins for the season before a Senior Night crowd in Minneota.
The Vikings (20-2) defeated Yellow Medicine East 72-58 last Thursday, then topped BOLD 53-39 on Saturday, before routing Lakeview 68-18 on Monday.
Against Lakeview, the Vikings led from start to finish as McKenna Yost put on a three-point exhibition. The senior guard cashed 6 of 10 three-pointers for 18 points.
Natalee Rolbiecki posted a double-double to lead Minneota with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The senior sank 8 of 15 shots from the field. She also had four assists and two steals. Ireland Stassen had nine points and three steals, and Kennedi Jurrens added six points and five rebounds.
This was the final home game of the season for the Vikings, who now take to the road for four straight games to cap the regular season. They face Russell-Tyler-Ruthton on Friday, Feb. 4; Canby on Monday, Feb. 7; Tracy-Milroy-Balaton on Thursday, Feb. 10; and Mayer Lutheran on Monday, Feb. 21.
Minneota 68, Lakeview 18
Lakeview.......................................................9 9 - 18
Minneota.....................................................46 22 - 68
Team Statistics
Field goal shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Lakeview 5-for-27, 18.5 percent. Minneota 25-for-60, 41.7 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Lakeview 2-for-12, 16.7 percent. Minneota 9-for-24, 37.5 percent ... Rebounds: Lakeview 16, Minneota 34.
Lakeview Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Grunewald 2, Justesen 3, Louwagie 2, Rausch 2, Rosenhau 2, Viane 7 ... 3-pointers: Justesen 1, Viane 1 ... Rebound leader: Grunewald 3, Rosenhau 3 ... Assist leader: not available ... Steal leader: Ebnet 1, Louwagie 1, Rausch 1, Viaene 1.
Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Natalee Rolbiecki 8-15 1-5 19, Jeren Rost 1-1 2-4 4, McKenzie Tolk 1-1 0-0 2, McKenna Yost 6-10 0-0 18, Ireland Stassen 3-7 2-2 9, Grace Hennen 0-4 2-2 2, Kennedi Jurrens 2-4 2-2 6, Kenadi Arndt 1-7 0-0 2, Dakoda Hennen 0-3 0-0 0, Emma Bottelberghe 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan Moorse 2-5 0-2 4, Faith Myhre 1-3 0-0 2 ... 3-pointers: Yost 6, Rolbiecki 2, Stassen 1 ... Rebounds: Rolbiecki 10, Jurrens 5, Rost 4, Stassen 4, Arndt 3, Yost 2, D.Hennen 2, Moorse 2, Bottelberghe 1, Tolk 1 ... Assists: Yost 5, Rolbiecki 4, Stassen 2, Tolk 2, D.Hennen 1, G.Hennen 1, Jurrens 1, Arndt 1 ... Steals: Stassen 3, Yost 3, Rolbiecki 2, Rost 2, Tolk 2, G.Hennen 1, Jurrens 1.
Minneota 53, BOLD 39
(Result Jan. 29)
A poor shooting first half found the Vikings trailing the Warriors 21-19 at halftime. That point total was the lowest in one half for Minneota this season.
But things started clicking in the second half. A 6-0 run to the start the second stanza gave Minneota (19-2) the lead for good. McKenzie Tolk started the run by slashing through the Warriors' defense to score on a layup and tie the game. Natalee Rolbiecki was then fouled and cashed aa free throw for a 22-21 lead. Ireland Stassen then capped the run by snapping the cords from three-point range.
Tolk had her best offensive half of the season in the second half, scoring seven of her season-high eight points in that half. She aggressively drove to the basket and scored through traffic three times, once drawing a foul and completing a three-point play.
BOLD stayed close most of the second although never tying the game or taking a lead. With 4:37 left, Rolbiecki drained a pair of free throws, and the Vikings went on to score the final 13 points of the game, utilizing a full-court press that extracted several turnovers.
Rolbiecki led the Vikings with 15 points and seven rebounds, to go along with three steals. Stassen and McKenna Yost netted nine points apiece, Tolk had eight points, Jeren Rost seven, Grace Hennen three and Kenadi Arndt two.
Yost also had six rebounds and five steals. Rost had five steals and three rebounds, Stassen had four rebounds and two steals, and Tolk had five rebounds and three steals.
(MINNEOTA 53, BOLD 39)
BOLD..........................................................21 18 - 39
Minneota.....................................................19 34 - 53
Team Statistics
Field goal shooting (good-attempts-pct.): BOLD 15-for-42, 35.7 percent. Minneota 20-for-60, 33.3 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): BOLD 4-for-11, 36.4 percent. Minneota 3-for-17, 17.6 percent ... Rebounds: BOLD 35, Minneota 34.
BOLD Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Lainey Braulick 11, Lily Dean 5, Abigail Meyers 12, Lidia Plass 2, Mari Ryberg 7, Leslie Snow 2 ... 3-pointers: Braulick 2, Dean 1, Ryberg 1 ... Rebound leader: Meyers 10 ... Assist leader: not available ... Steal leader: Ryberg 3.
Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Natalee Rolbiecki 5-17 5-7 15, Jeren Rost 3-6 1-2 7, McKenzie Tolk 3-6 2-3 8, McKenna Yost 3-10 2-2 9, Ireland Stassen 4-12 0-3 9, Grace Hennen 1-3 0-0 3, Kennedi Jurrens 0-4 0-0 0, Kenadi Arndt 1-2 0-0 2 ... 3-pointers: G.Hennen 1, Stassen 1, Yost 1 ... Rebounds: Rolbiecki 7, Yost 6, Tolk 5, Arndt 4, G.Hennen 4, Stassen 4, Rost 3, Jurrens 1 ... Assists: not available ... Steals: Rost 5, Yost 5, Rolbiecki 3, Tolk 3, Stassen 2, G.Hennen 1, Jurrens 1.
Minneota 72, YME 58
(Result Jan. 27)
After a slow start, Minneota poured in 44 points in the second half and turned back upset-minded Yellow Medicine East Thursday night in Minneota.
"I thought we got good looks in the first half and the shots just didn't fall," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. "Those shots were falling in the second half. Some nights the shots are going to go in and some nights they're not. You can control defense, and you can always control your effort, and you can always control your defense and boxing out and those things. Shots you can't control."
Natalee Rolbiecki led the Vikings with 23 points, moving into sixth place all-time on the Minneota scoring list with 1,459 career points, passing Emily Stienessen, who had 1,449 points. Rolbiecki also grabbed 10 rebounds to give her a double-double. She also had a game-high eight steals.
Ireland Stassen also had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with five steals. McKenna Yost also had 15 points. Kenadi Arndt had eight points and three steals off the bench. Jeren Rost had five points and eight rebounds.
YME (9-8), which had a definite height advantage over the Vikings with a pair of six-footers, came out aggressive to start the game and went into the locker room at halftime in a 28-28 tie with the favored Vikings (18-2).
"We talked a little about we need to do," Johnston said, when asked what adjustments he made in the second half. "We tweaked our press a little. It's harder to press a team with two six-footers because they can throw it over the top."
The Sting had a limited bench, playing only six players, and the Vikings' press eventually seemed to wear them down in the second half.
"We talked a little about we need to do. We tweaked our press a little. Harder to press a team with two six-footers because they can throw it over the top," Johnston said. "We had a deeper bench than they do. They might have got a little gassed."
Shelby Mortenson led the Sting with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Ruby Bones had 14 points and nine rebounds. Aria Peters scored 10 points.
(MINNEOTA 72, YME 58)
Yellow Medicine East..........................................28 30 - 58
Minneota...............................................................28 44 - 72
Team Statistics
Field goal shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Yellow Medicine East 20-for-50, 50.0 percent. Minneota 25-for-85, 29.4 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Yellow Medicine East 3-for-8, 37.5 percent. Minneota 6-for-25, 24.0 percent ... Rebounds: Yellow Medicine East 34, Minneota 44.
YME Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Ruby Bones 14, Anayansi Flores 2, Shelby Mortenson 24, Aria Peters 10, Hannah Stark 8 ... 3-pointers: Peters 2, Stark 1 ... Rebound leader: Mortenson 13 ... Assist leader: not available ... Steal leader: Bones 3.
Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Natalee Rolbiecki 7-20 7-10 23, Jeren Rost 1-13 2-2 5, McKenzie Tolk 0-5 2-2 2, McKenna Yost 5-13 4-4 15, Ireland Stassen 7-16 0-2 15, Grace Hennen 0-1 0-0 0, Kennedi Jurrens 2-8 0-0 4, Kenadi Arndt 3-9 1-1 8 ... 3-pointers: Rolbiecki 2, Yost 1, Rost 1, Stassen 1, Arndt 1 ... Rebounds: Stassen 13, Rolbiecki 10, Rost 8, Tolk 5, Hennen 3, Arndt 2, Yost 2, Jurrens 1 ... Assists: not available ... Steals: Rolbiecki 8, Stassen 5, Yost 4, Arndt 3, Rost 2, Tolk 2, Hennen 1.