Head Coach, Ted Hasz, of the Dragons girls basketball team recaps last week's games.
The Dragons are now 15-1 after 3-0 week.
The Dragons won two more conference games and beat one of the most talented teams in the area to finish off a great week!
Pine City 67
Rush City 20
The Dragons had 9 players score and held Rush City to 7 points in the second half in the big win over the rival Tigers from Rush City. The Tigers battled well early and were within 13-8, when Pine City finished the half on a 27-5 run to take a 40-13 lead at the half. "We were able to pick up the defensive intensity and we started executing on offense much better as the first half went on." The second half was all Dragons as well as Pine City outscored the Tigers 27-7. Pine City had three players score in double figures with Ellie Hasz, Lily Wilson and Alaina Steele scoring 16,14 and 13 points respectively. Kloey Lind, Ashley Faur, Alaina Steele and Ellie Hasz all had 5 rebounds. Wilson had 6 steals, followed by Faur who had 5 steals and Steele who had 4. The Dragons had very good play off the bench with Makenna Nelson picking up 5 points and 3 rebounds. "We have not won in Rush City for a while, so it was a good win."
Pine City 90
Ogilvie 36
For the second game in a row, the Dragons had 9 in the scoring column and this time held their opponent to only 11 second half points. Pine City had a big first half, scoring 58 points including 8 three pointers. "We came out of the gates playing with a lot of energy. The kids passed the ball well, setting up a lot of good looks for their teammates." The win keeps the Dragons undefeated in conference play at 8-0. Ellie Hasz had a double double with 33 points (29 in the first half), 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Alaina Steele had 13 points, 5 assists and 5 steals. Sophie Lahti had 12 points and 4 rebounds. Kloey Lind had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Meredith Kolling had 8 points, 5 assists and 5 steals. Ashley Faur had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Makenna Nelson had 3 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. Maddie Berglund had 2 points, 2 assists and 2 steals. Karly Jusczak had 2 points.
Pine City 78
Duluth Marshall 75
This match up has been one that both teams have been anxiously awaiting all season and it lived up to its billing. The game featured many runs by both teams. Marshall was up 10-4. Pine City then went on a 26-8 run, to go up 30-18. Marshall went on a run to bring it back to 32-31. The half ended with the Dragons scoring the last 7 points to take a 39-31 lead to the locker room at half time. "It was a wild first half. We were happy with the lead, but also felt like we could do a few things better in the second half." It was no small task however as Duluth Marshall has one of the best 1-2 punches in the state. Senior Grace Kirk has committed to division 1 Brown University and junior Gianna Kneepkens is rated as one of the top players in the state and is receiving a lot of division 1 attention. Those 2 would score 63 of Marshall's 75 points in the game. The Dragons have a lot of college level talent on their team as well. "Between the two teams, there was a lot of great basketball players on the floor. It was high school girls basketball at its best." The teams continued to battle back and forth throughout the second half. The Dragons ultimately were able to hit some big shots and play some great defensive possessions at the end of the game to come away with the huge win.
Alaina Steele showed off her athleticism all day long. "Alaina had a huge day on both ends of the court." Steele finished with 22 points, including 4 threes and 5 rebounds. She also guarded Kirk for much of the game. Ellie Hasz played a great game overall and finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. "Ellie was clutch with the big three to put us ahead near the end of the game and 2 big free throws with 3 seconds left." Sophie Lahti had 3 big three pointers in the game and finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds. "Sophie drew the task of guarding Kneepkins for a lot of the game and did a good job and showed a lot of poise for a freshman." Ashley Faur had 12 points and 4 rebounds. "Ashley was very solid on the defensive end today." Lily Wilson had 10 points and 4 assists. "Lily has been under the weather and showed some guts with a solid performance." Meredith Kolling had 3 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. "Meredith is playing great basketball. She does so many things well." "One of the keys to our win was how active the bench players were in talking and helping the kids follow the game plan." It was a true team win in which everyone contributed."
Photo Credit: Lancelot Furber
