By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
HOPKINS – Things started out so well for the NRHEG girls’ basketball team in its clash against AAA Chaska at the Hopkins Lindberg Center Saturday afternoon.
However, a cold shooting second half and some uncharacteristic mistakes sent the Panther girls to their first loss of the year.
Chaska, the third-ranked team in Class 3A, used a strong second half to nip NRHEG 57-56.
The Hawks improved to 3-0, while NRHEG suffered its first loss in three games.
“Our kids battled the entire game,” said NRHEG coach John Schultz. “I was proud of our first-half performance and the way we came back at the end. We came out flat to start the second half and that was the difference.”
NRHEG appeared to be on its way to win number three as it took a 35-23 lead at the break.It was a different Chaska team that came out after halftime. The Hawks were on fire from the floor and turned the 12-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
NRHEG showed it was not going down without a fight, battling back to tie the game with a minute left.
Chaska had the ball with 24 seconds left and drew a foul on NRHEG with five seconds remaining of a 56-56 deadlock.
The Hawks made the first free throw and missed the second. However, a wild bounce on the rebound went to Chaska and the Panthers never got a chance for a final shot.
“Chaska proved its number three ranking, but we helped out with some poor shooting in the second half,” said Schultz. “We got out rebounded by two which we never like.
NRHEG, which got outscored 34-21 in the second half, shot just 34 percent from the floor. The Panthers were 4-16 behind the arc and 10-17 from the foul line.
The Hawks hit 50 percent of their shots, taking 12 fewer shots. Chaska was 1-11 on three-pointers and 6-12 from the foul stripe.
Carlie Wagner, despite battling the flu, topped the 30-point mark for the third consecutive game. Wagner pumped in 32 points, including a pair of triples.
Chaska shut down everyone else. Jade Schultz was next with seven points, Maddie Wagner scored six points and Raelin Schue added five.
Schultz had four assists and four steals for NRHEG.
Chaska, which had just three seniors on its roster, received 17 points from Ellie Thompson and 10 points from Nicole Parsons. Makayla Panning and Angie Wenning chipped in with seven points apiece.
Chaska finished with a 33-31 rebounding advantage. Schultz led the Panthers with seven boards, Lundberg and Paige Overgaard grabbed five apiece and Carlie Wagner snared four caroms.
Chaska was guilty of 19 turnovers in the game, two more than NRHEG.
“Our kids made some mistakes that we have not seen this year,” said Schultz. “Seeing a good team that plays tough defense will help us as the season progresses.”
The Panthers will now get ready to defend their four straight Gopher Conference championships. NRHEG opens its conference slate against United South Central in Wells Friday.
Chaska 57, NRHEG 56
NRHEG 35 21 56
Chaska 23 34 57
NRHEG (56): C. Wagner 32, Schultz 7, Mad. Wagner 6, Schue 5, Mar. Wagner 4, Lundberg 2, Cole 0, Overgaard 0. FG: 21-62 (34%, 4-16 3-pters.), FT: 10-17 59%), PF-15, TP-56.
NEXT: Friday – NRHEG at USC (Wells), 7:15 p.m.