Lady Wolves Claims Section Victory over Pine City

Milaca hosted Pine City on Tuesday night.

Both of these teams came in looking to improve their section records, plus a win improves their QRF, which could go a long way come playoff time.

Once the game began, both teams took some time to settle in. Neither team could get into any sort of rhythm, but the defenses were part of the reason why. Both defenses played well early on, forcing turnovers, getting hands in passing lanes and boxing out well. The Dragons were able to get a lead early on and managed to hold onto that lead for most of the 1st half. It was a low scoring half but the offenses were able to find alitte bit of momentum as the game went along. The Wolves were able to find some open shots from long range which they capitalized on, while Pine City's offense didn't find the perimeter shots, they kept getting the ball inside and getting the layups. The Dragons lead never reached double digits, and Milaca tied the game shortly before half. After tying the game the Wolves looked to try and tie the game and swing momentum heavily in their favor. But Pine City was able to break the tie, and go into the half with a 5 point advantage 25-20.

Milaca was able to get off to a hot start in the 2nd half, even taking the lead for a short time, but the Dragons were quick to take it back. There was a short back and forth before eventually Milaca broke through. Their defense created a plethora of turnovers and their offense turned nearly all of those into points. This had Pine City reeling and struggling to find ways to hold on to the ball. But when they were able to get into their offensive zone, Milaca left nothing open. The Dragons were forced to put up contested shots and while some fell, the ones that missed were rebounded by Milaca. The Wolves put on a clinic in boxing out, giving Pine City almost zero 2nd or 3rd chance scoring opportunities. The Wolves had extended a lead to double digits, but despite everything going their way, the Dragons were still not out of it. They battled through all of the adversity and cut the deficit back down to double digits with only a couple minutes left. They even managed to swing some momentum back their way. The Dragons have done a good job playing in spots like this all season and were hoping to pull off another comeback. The Wolves however halted that chance by creating more turnovers and draining the clock coming away with the win 60-47.

Milaca adds their 2nd section win to the season, and will host Little Falls on Thursday.

For Pine City it's a tough loss and one that got away from them alittle, but they should be proud of their effort and can still be a very dangerous team against anyone they face.

Scoring

Milaca:

Madison Gothmann 19

Kylee Johnson 13

Azalea Tesch 11

Annabelle Gothmann 10

Jayanna Boldt 3

Taylar Bockoven 2

Pine City:

Vivian Lahti 11

Maggie Judd 9

Mallory Clepper 8

Reyah Johnson 6

Paige Gray 5

Brooke Boland and Kate Unverzagt 4