The Dragons finish the regular season at 24-2 and are the #3 seed in the section 6AA playoffs starting Thursday February 27th. The Dragons will host the #14 seed Rush City at 7 pm.
Pine City 79
Onamia 42
The Dragons completed an undefeated conference season at 14-0 by defeating the Panthers for the second time in less than a week. The Dragons fell behind 5-0 before taking control of the game. "We got off to a bit of a slow start, but credit Onamia for coming out ready to play." The Dragons would outscore the Panthers 47-17 the rest of the first half and led 47-22 at the half. Pine City continued to build the lead in the second half and was able to give their whole roster some good minutes. Sophie Lahti led the Dragons in scoring with 16 points. She also had 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Ellie Hasz had 12 points and 4 rebounds. Meredith Kolling had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Lily Wilson had 9 points and 8 assists. Ashley Faur had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Kloey Lind had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Alaina Steele had 6 points 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Makenna Nelson had 6 points and 2 rebounds. Karly Jusczak had 6 points.
Sauk Centre 49
Pine City 46
It was a battle of two of the top teams in the state as Sauk Centre came into the game ranked #2 in the state and Pine City came in ranked #6. The two teams didn't disappoint as both teams showed championship level defense and high level athleticism throughout the game. "A game like this really helps you understand the importance of each possession." "One more bucket and one more stop and we win the game." The first half was a bunch of small mini runs. The Dragons took an early lead at 7-5 only to have Sauk Centre go on a small run to take a 5 point lead before the Dragons tied it at half time at 19. "We had a few empty possessions early in the second half which allowed Sauk Centre to build a 10 point lead a couple of times." The Dragons shwed why they are considered a top team in the state by battling back to cut the lead to 2 with a few minutes remaining. "Our group doesn't back down and has the confidence to fight back when needed." "When it comes down to it, they had a couple of kids step up and make big shots." "They made one more play than we did." "It was an amazing crowd, and two great teams." "It doesn't get any better than that." Sophie Lahti had 15 points and 4 rebounds. Lily Wilson had 14 points and 2 assists. Ashley Faur had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Alaina Steele had 4 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Ellie Hasz had 3 points and 7 rebounds. "We feel our schedule has prepared us well for the playoffs." It is time to go play hard, have some fun and see what kind of a run we can put together.
Photo Credit: Andrew Devall
