GIRLS BASKETBALL
Minneota was able to utilize all 13 players in a 60-29 rout of Montevideo on Friday night in Minneota.
Junior guard Kiersyn Hulzebos led a balanced Minneota attack with 12 points, including 9 of 10 free throws. Faith Myhre hit 3 of 5 three-points shots and finished with 11 points. Dakoda Hennen sank 4 of 6 shots from the floor and added 10 points.
"That's the thing with this team," said Minneota coach Al Panka. "We don't rely on any one player for our scoring. I like the fact that we have five or six players that can lead us in scoring on any given night. That makes it hard for the other team, too, because they can't just focus on one player."
Grace Hennen had nine points and Nevaeh Hennen had eight for the Vikings. Kenadi Arndt led all players with 19 rebounds while tossing in four points. Sarah Gruenes had four points off the bench, while Emma Bottelberghe had two.
Against Montevideo, the Vikings cashed 17 of 26 free throws and outrebounded the Thunder Hawks, 37-27.
Teagan Epema led Montevideo (1-7) with 10 points.
Panka likes the improvement his team is showing and needs that to continue with a tough stretch of games coming up, including St. Clair, Sleepy Eye and Hancock, the latter two ranked in the top five in Class A.
"If we can limit our turnovers, we can be a tough team," said Panka. "We're going to have to play well during this upcoming stretch. If we go out and lay an egg, it's going to make things tough the rest of the way."
Minneota 60, Montevideo 29
Montevideo.............................................................................18 11 - 29
Minneota................................................................................37 23 - 60
Team Statistics
FG shooting: Montevideo 9-for-44, 20.5 percent; Minneota 19-for-55, 34.5 percent ... 3-point shooting: Montevideo 5-for-12, 22.7 percent; Minneota 5-for-17, 29.4 percent ... FT shooting: Montevideo 6-for-11, 54.5 percent; Minneota 17-for-26, 65.4 percent ... Rebounds: Montevideo 27, Minneota 37 ... Turnovers: Montevideo 29, Minneota 19 ... Fouls: Montevideo 20, Minneota 13
Montevideo Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga, ftm-fta, pts): Lily Eisenlohr 2-5 2-5 6, Teagan Epema 4-14 0-0 10, Keely Foley 1-6 0-0 3, Hallie Helgeson 1-5 0-0 3, Megan Koosmann 1-4 1-2 4, Brooke Lindeman 0-1 2-2 2, Jillian Magnuson 0-4 0-0 0, Gillian Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Jessa Norby 0-3 1-2 1, Addison Pauling 0-0 0-0 0, Taya Weber 0-2 0-0 0 ... 3-pointers: Epema 2, Foley 1, Helgeson 1, Koosmann 1 ... Rebound leader: Norby 6 ... Assist leader: not available ... Steal leaders: none
Minneota Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga, ftm-fta, pts): Kenadi Arndt 2-11 0-0 4, Emma Bottelberghe 1-4 0-0 2, Brooke DeSmet 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Gruenes 0-4 4-7 4, Dakoda Hennen 4-6 2-3 10, Grace Hennen 4-13 1-1 9, Nevaeh Hennen 3-5 1-3 8, Kiersyn Hulzebos 1-9 9-10 12, Hadli Krog 0-0 0-0 0, Faith Myhre 4-7 0-0 11, Dakota Pesch 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Rolbiecki 0-0 0-0 0, Claire Rost 0-0 0-0 0 ... 3-pointers: Myhre 3, N.Hennen1, Hulzebos 1 ... Rebounds: Arndt 19, G.Hennen 5, Gruenes 2, D.Hennen 2, N.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 2, Myhre 2, Bottelberghe 1, Krog 1, Rost 1 ... Assists: Arndt 2, G.Hennen 1, Hulzebos 1 ... Steals: D.Hennen 6, Arndt 5, N.Hennen 2, Gruenes 1, G.Hennen1, Hulzebos 1 ... Blocked shots: Bottelberghe 1
(Result Thursday, Dec. 21)
Minneota 63, MACCRAY 58
In a game in which the lead changed hands 18 times, Minneota took the lead for good with eight minutes left en route to a 63-58 victory over MACCRAY Thursday night in Clara City.
Kenadi Arndt has a strong inside game with 16 points and 23 rebounds for the Vikings (6-1). Kiersyn Hulzebos had 15 points, Dakoda Hennen and Grace Hennen had eight points apiece, Nevaeh Hennen and Faith Myhre added six points each, and Sarah Gruenes had four points.
The lead changed hands 12 times in the first half with neither team able to muster a bigger lead than four points. Minneota led 33-32 at halftime with Arndt scoring 10 of her points in the first half, while Hulzebos and Nevaeh Hennen each planted a pair of three-pointers.
MACCRAY continually tried to work the ball inside in the second half to sophomore post Brielle Janssen, who led the Wolverines (7-3) with 23 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Minneota double and triple teamed her at times to deny her path to the basket.
With the teams again taking turns with the lead in the second half, the Vikings ramped up their defense and forced several turnovers. Dakoda Hennen scored on a drive to the basket with eight minutes remaining in the game to give the Vikings a 49-48 lead they would not relinquish.
Grace Hennen followed with a drive to the basket for a 51-48 lead. Arndt, on a perfect feed inside from Myhre, increased the lead to 53-48 with 5:34 remaining. Grace Hennen then drove to the basket again to give Minneota a seven-point cushion.
Emma Thein had 13 points for the Wolverines.
MINNEOTA 63, MACCRAY 55
MACCRAY..............................................................................32 26 - 58
Minneota................................................................................33 30 - 63
Team Statistics
FG shooting: MACCRAY 23-for-53, 43.4 percent; Minneota 25-for-75, 33.3 percent ... 3-point shooting: MACCRAY 5-for-19, 26.3 percent; Minneota 5-for-20, 25.0 percent ... FT shooting: MACCRAY 7-for-12, 58.3 percent; Minneota 8-for-14, 57.1 percent ... Rebounds: MACCRAY 31, Minneota 47 ... Turnovers: MACCRAY 18, Minneota 14 ... Fouls: MACCRAY 16, Minneota 11
MACCRAY Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga, ftm-fta, pts): Annie Bourne 2-8 4-6 9, Nora Hultgren 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Jaenisch 1-1 1-2 4, Brielle Janssen 10-17 2-4 23, Ella Kienitz 3-10 0-0 7, Erika Pieper 1-4 0-0 2, Emersen Tatge 0-0 0-0 0, Thein 6-13 0-0 13 ... 3-pointers: Bourne 1, Jaenisch 1, Janssen 1, Kienitz 1, Thein 1 ... Rebound leader: Janssen 11 ... Assist leader: Janssen 6 ... Steal leaders: Janssen 3
Minneota Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga, ftm-fta, pts): Kenadi Arndt 8-21 0-0 16, Emma Bottelberghe 0-4 0-0 0, Sarah Gruenes 2-2 0-0 4, Dakoda Hennen 2-11 3-6 8, Grace Hennen 4-11 0-0 8, Nevaeh Hennen 2-3 0-0 6, Kiersyn Hulzebos 5-11 3-6 15, Faith Myhre 2-12 2-2 6 ... 3-pointers: Hulzebos 2, N.Hennen 2, D.Hennen 1 ... Rebounds: Arndt 23, Myhre 6, D.Hennen 5, G.Hennen 5, Bottelberghe 4, Hulzebos 3, Gruenes 1... Assists: G.Hennen 3, Arndt 2, Myhre 2, Hulzebos 1, D.Hennen 1 ... Steals: Arndt 2, Myhre 2, Hulzebos 2, D.Hennen 2, G.Hennen 1 ... Blocked shots: Arndt 3