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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
The NRHEG boys played some great basketball when Waterville-Elysian-Morristown came to town last week.
They just didn't quite play enough of it.
The Panthers could not maintain a five-point halftime lead, struggling in the second half on the way to a 57-43 Gopher Conference setback in New Richland.
The Panthers started slowly, with four early turnovers leading to a 9-0 WEM advantage, but they went on a 15-6 run to tie it at 15. It was back and forth the rest of the first half, which saw NRHEG leading 28-23 at the intermission.
The second half started much like the first half, but this time the Panthers could not rally.
A big part of it, according to NRHEG coach Dan Schmidt, was turnovers and shot selection.
"We continue to have issues protecting the basketball, and with ill-advised shots," said Schmidt.
But it wasn't all bad.
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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
With two key rivalry games, NRHEG girls' basketball coach Onika Peterson is looking forward to a fun week for the Panthers.
So far this season, every week has been fun.
The Panthers improved their season record to 11-1 Friday, Jan. 5 with a 70-47 victory at Kenyon-Wanamingo. NRHEG led 30-22 at halftime.
According to Peterson, the Panthers prevailed despite not playing their best basketball.
"It wasn’t our prettiest game of the year, but I was proud of the girls' grit and effort in the second half," said Peterson. "They cleaned up some of the turnovers from the first half and seemed to be more locked in."
The Panthers were led in scoring by Camryn VanMaldeghem with 21 points. She also added five assists, three rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.
Two other NRHEG scorers reached double digits. Presley Nielsen had 13 points, 5 rebounds, a block and a steal, Kylie Olson 12 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block.
Others: Faith Nielsen 2P, 4R, 2A; Quinn VanMaldeghem 7P, 11R, 3A, 3S; Izley Boerner 2P, 1R, 3A, 1S; Hallie Schultz 7P, 7R, 4A; Addy Stadheim 4P, 6R, 1S; Ezra Boerner 2P, 1A.
Coach Peterson was particulary pleased with the Panthers' performance on the boards.
"We continue to consistently rebound well, which allows us great second and third-chance shot opportunities," she said. "It's always interesting coming back from the holiday break and readjusting to school and everything that comes with it. We have a couple rivalry games this week with conference foes WEM on Tuesday and home against Hayfield on Thursday. It should be a fun week."
The Panthers, 4-0 in Gopher Conference play, host JWP Tuesday, Jan. 16 and travel to Blooming Prairie Jan. 19.
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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
After the previous week, NRHEG boys' basketball coach Dan Schmidt figured was only one way to go for his squad as Kenyon-Wanamingo came to town Friday, Jan. 5.
While it wasn't a win, it was definite progress as the Panthers kept it close while dropping a 54-47 decision.
"With nowhere to go but up after last week, I feel like we took a step in the right direction," said Schmidt.
In a rematch from early December, Kenyon-Wanamingo jumped out early and led most of the way.
"We have to find a way to get some more consistent scoring out of some of the guys, but I definitely saw some things that give us hope going forward," said Schmidt. "We just have to put it all together."
Leading the Panthers in scoring was Daxter Lee with 25 points; he added five rebounds. Jackson Chrz contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists, including a fast-break slam dunk late in the first half. Sam Olson, Greyson Schaefer, and Jared Lee each had three points, and Levin Kitzer added two.
Leading all scorers was Colton Steberg with 26 for Kenyon-Wanamingo.
The Panthers, 2-8 overall and 0-1 in the Gopher Conference, play Friday, Jan. 12 at Hayfield, Monday at Tri-City United and Tuesday at JWP.