Morgan Hennen hits for 24 to shoot down Eagles

Morgan Hennen absolutely loves playing with Lydia Sussner.

Lac qui Parle Valley (12-2) double-teamed Sussner Thursday night — and Hennen took advantage of being open to score 24 points in a 65-51 win between the Camden Conference's two best teams.

"She had a heck of a game," said Coach Chad Johnston of Minneota (13-0).  "Morgan sparked the team," the coach added.

"They (Lac qui Parle Valley) came out and were more interested in guarding Lydia so I was open," said Morgan Hennen.

Sussner, playing with a gimpy and wrapped quad, still scored 18 points and gathered in nine rebounds. Using Lydia as the central point, Coach Johnston likes the idea of her spinning the ball to people like Morgan Hennen.

I'm used to people playing a zone against us. They played man-to-man and I got good sets and screens today," said Morgan Hennen.

"I think my first three baskets were feeds from Lydia," she added. "She did a good job feeding us," Hennen said about Sussner's ability to dish the ball to her teammates.

After sparring with the Eagles in the first half, it was Morgan Hennen who helped Minneota open up a 12-point lead at 28-16 with just 3:42 to go in the first half.

But the Eagles flew back into the game behind the three-point shooting of Haley Wollschlager and they pulled within 30-24 at the half.

Minneota built a 21-point lead at 55-34 in the second half, before Lac qui Parle Valley had another spurt to pull within 60-50. But Natalee Rolbiecki hit a shot and was fouled and converted the free throw, then stole the ball and Minneota coasted home.

The Eagles Wollschlager held the hot hand, converting on four of five three-point attempts. And she used her speed to get to the basket.

"We knew that," Coach Johnston said about Wollschlager's speed. "We let her take some outside shots. We knew she was quick but she shot so well from the outside," said the coach.

Inside, Sussner seemed to intimidate the Eagles post Lindsay Kranz, who despite scoring only four points, did gather in seven rebounds.

The Eagles other inside threat, Grace Hegland scored 10 and led the team with 10 rebounds.

Abby Hennen didn't get a chance to put up many shots, going just 1-5 from three-point range. Lizzy Gillingham scored six on a pair of three-pointers as Minneota was seven of 15 from three-point range. But she didn't play a lot in the second half. She's still dealing with the ankle she injured in the state volleyball tournament. But her three-point range seems to have returned.

Off the bench, Rolbiecki countered with nine points and grabbed three rebounds.

"We needed a great game like that. It's games like this that show you what you've got to work on," said Coach Johnston.
 

MINNEOTA (2's, 3's, FT, F, TP) Lizzy Gillingham 0 2 0-0 0 6; Abby Hennen 0 1 0-1 3 3; Morgan Hennen 7 3 1-2 3 24; Morgan Kockelman 1 2 0-0 2 5; Lydia Sussner 9 0 0-2 2 18; Natalee Rolbiecki 3 0 3-5 0 9; Abby Rost 0 0 0-0 2 0; Jeren Rost 0 0 0-0 0 0. Totals 20 7 4-10 10 65.

LqPV (2'S, 3'S, FT, F, TP) Sidney Gerdes 1 0 0-0 2 2; Grace Hegland 4 0 2-2 3-10; Regan Johnson 1  0 0-0 0 2; Lindsay Kranz 2 0 0-1 2 4; Isabel Schirm 0 2 0-0 3 6; Haley Wollschlager 4 4 3-6 0 23. Totals 14 6 5-9 11 51.

Score by Halves

Minneota         30  35  —  65

LqPV               26  25  —  51

Statistics:

SHOOTING: Minneota (2's 20 of 41 for 49 percent; 3's 7 of 15 for 47 percent, overall 27 of 56 for 48 percent); LqPV (2's 14 of 42 for 33 percent; 3's 6 of 9 for 67 percent; overall 20 of 51 for 39 percent).

FREE THROWS: Minneota 4-10 for 40 percent; LqPV 5 of 9 for 56 percent.

REBOUNDS: Minneota 26 (Sussner 9, M. Hennen 6, A. Hennen, Rolbiecki 3 each, Gillingham, A. Rost 2 each, Kockelman 1); LqPV 22 (Hegland 10, Kranz 7, Schirm, Wollschlager 2 each, Lund 1).

TURNOVERS: Minneota 8; LqPV 17.

STEALS: Minneota 10 (M. Hennen, Kockelman 3 each, Sussner 2, Gillingham, A. Hennen 1 each); LqPV 4 (Wollschlager 2, Hegland, Lund 1 each).

ASSISTS: Minneota 17 (A. Hennen 5, M. Hennen, Kockelman 3 each, A. Rost, Sussner 2 each, Rolbiecki 1); LqPV 4 (Gerdes, Wollschlager 2 each).

BLOCKS: Minneota 6 (Sussner 3, Rolbiecki 2, A. Rost 1); LqPV 0.

B SQUAD: Minneota 48, Lac qui Parle Valley 18.