Win over Blooming Prairie leaves Panthers alone atop Gopher Conference
By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva girls’ basketball team blew out three opponents during the week.
The wins over Maple River, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown and Blooming Prairie left the Panthers with a 13-game winning streak and all alone on top of the Gopher Conference. NRHEG climbed to 7-0 in the conference and 15-1 for the year. All three wins came on the road where the Panthers have won 11 of 12 games this season.
Maple River
MAPLETON – NRHEG came into the non-conference game as a heavy favorite and did not disappoint anyone Jan. 14.
The Panthers romped to an 86-20 triumph, dropping the Eagles to 2-13. NRHEG defeated the Eagles 78-34 last year.
It did not take long for the Panthers to establish complete control. NRHEG led 58-6 at halftime.
A 38-14 scoring advantage in the second half, with reserves seeing more court time than the starters, completed the rout.“All of our kids scored tonight. I was impressed with our bench and our balanced scoring,” said NRHEG coach John Schultz. “We played loose tonight. We did a great job passing the ball and our defense did not allow many shots.”
Three Panthers reached double figures. Carlie Wagner fired in 25 points, with Paige Overgaard and Katie Cole adding 10 apiece. Cole drilled a pair of threes. Maddie Wagner added nine points, one more than Raelin Schue.
Jade Schultz dished out eight assists, Hannah Lundberg handed out six and Carlie Wagner passed out five. The Panthers had 27 assists in the game.
NRHEG dominated the backboards, 39-12. Overgaard led the winners with eight rebounds, Lundberg snared six and Jade Schultz and Maddie Wagner grabbed five apiece.
Lundberg and Carlie Wagner had four steals apiece, one more than Maddie Wagner.
NRHEG committed 10 turnovers in the game, but forced MR into 24 miscues.
Grant Berg’s NRHEG junior varsity squad rolled to a 46-13 victory.
WEM
WATERVILLE – Carlie Wagner’s shooting and a stingy defense helped the Panthers cruise to a 71-32 victory Jan. 15.
WEM showed good patience against the Panther press to start the game, but the Bucs could not get off many shots. NRHEG spurted late in the half to hold a 37-15 lead at the intermission. The deadly shooting of Wagner continued in the second half when the Panthers outscored the Bucs 34-17.
Carlie Wagner nailed five triples on her way to a 43-point night. She knocked down 18-25 shots.
Overgaard scored eight points, Schultz flipped in six and Maddie Wagner added five points.
Schultz handed out six assists, one more than Carlie Wagner.
Lundberg came up with four steals and Marnie Wagner had three thefts.
“Our defense really worked hard to stop their inside game,” said Schultz. “We only allowed them 28 shots and six offensive boards.”
NRHEG finished with a 30-16 rebounding edge. Schultz snared seven boards for the Panthers, one more than Carlie Wagner.
“Our pressure worked well and our half-court offense was very effective,” said Schultz. “Our kids played their roles well on both sides of the ball.”
NRHEG captured the junior varsity game with a 50-29 victory.
Blooming Prairie
BLOOMING PRAIRIE – A strong second half turned the battle for the Gopher lead into a rout as the Panthers rolled 79-52 Friday.
The Blossoms fell to 6-1 in the conference and 10-5 for the year.
“We made some corrections at halftime and our girls responded well,” said Schultz. “We were more patient offensively in the second half and Carlie loosened up their defense.”
The Blossoms hung around for a half, but NRHEG still held a 37-26 lead at the break.
“We tried to force it down low into the teeth of their defense too often in the first half,” said Schultz. “Carlie loosened them up with six threes and penetrating the defense in the second half. We also got a huge contribution from Paige (Overgaard).”
The Panthers broke things open with a 42-26 second-half advantage.
Wagner fired in 36 points, hitting six triples. Schultz had a pair of treys in a 15-point effort.
Overgaard flipped in 10 points and Schue chipped in with eight.
Carlie Wagner had eight assists and three steals, and Schultz handed out four assists.
Sophomore Taylor Hagen led the Blossoms with 14 points, Sara Noble scored 12 and Janelle Morem added eight.
The Panthers outrebounded Blooming Prairie 37-24. Schultz yanked down eight rebounds for the Panthers, one more than Carlie Wagner and Overgaard.
NRHEG finished the game with 10 turnovers, compared to 19 for the Blossoms.
The NRHEG JV improved to 13-0 with a 62-32 victory.
NRHEG hosts USC Friday, a team it defeated 76-32 earlier.
NRHEG 86, Maple River 20
NRHEG 58 28 86
Maple River 6 14 20
NRHEG (86): C. Wagner 25, Overgaard 10, Cole 10, Mad. Wagner 9, Schue 8, Schultz 6, Lundberg 6, Mar. Wagner 6, Crabtree 4, Stork 2. FG-38-63 (60%, 4-8 3-pters.), FT-6-8 (75%), PF-11, TP-86.
NRHEG 71, WEM 32
NRHEG 37 34 71
WEM 15 17 32
NRHEG (71): C. Wagner 43, Overgaard 8, Schultz 6, Mad. Wagner 5, Mar. Wagner 4, Crabtree 3, Schue 2, Lundberg 0, Cole 0, Stork 0. FG-30-65 (46%, 6-18 3-pters.), FT-7-12 (58%), PF-16, TP-71.
NRHEG 79, BP 52
NRHEG 37 42 79
BP 26 26 52
NRHEG (79): C. Wagner 36, Schultz 15, Overgaard 10, Schue 8, Mad. Wagner 4, Mar. Wagner 4, Lundberg 2, Cole 0, Crabtree 0, Stork 0. FG-29-69 (42%, 8-24 3-pters.), FT-13-19 (68%), PF-21, TP-79.
NEXT: Friday - USC at NRHEG, 7:15 p.m.