By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
MONTGOMERY – Teams like to have momentum on their side when they begin tournament play. The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva girls’ basketball team will have no trouble with that.
The Panthers take a 23 game winning streak into tournament play as they ended their regular season by crushing Tri-City United in Montgomery Feb. 19, 83-32.
NRHEG improved to 25-1 for the year, including 11-1 on the road.
Any chance of NRHEG taking the Titans lightly disappeared early as the Panthers scored the first 30 points. Before the half ended, NRHEG built a 61-13 advantage.
Carlie Wagner was on fire in the first half, exploding for 32 points.Jade Schultz also nailed a pair of shots behind the arc in scoring 10 first-half points.
The Panther reserves stayed on the floor for the majority of the second half, but NRHEG still outscored the Titans 22-16.
Marni Wagner scored six points for the Panthers in the final half.
“Our half-court trap worked well early and we shot well from the field,” said NRHEG coach John Schultz. “We had some good balanced scoring, which we always like to see.”
NRHEG connected on 51 percent of its shots from the floor, including 6-19 behind the arc. The Panthers hit only 11-24 free throws.
Carlie Wagner had an unbelievable shooting night in scoring 41 points. She was 14-14 on two-point shots and knocked down 3-6 shots behind the arc. Wagner added 4-5 free throws. She also had five rebounds, six assists and six steals.
Schultz connected on a pair of triples and ended up with 13 points.
Marni Wagner added 10 points and Paige Overgaard added eight.
TCU took 20 fewer shots and made just 27 percent from the floor. Eighth-grader Joslyn Vargo topped TC United with eight points.
NRHEG held a 35-23 rebounding advantage, including 17-11 on the offensive boards
Schultz had seven rebounds, while Overgaard and Maddie Wagner both snared five boards.
NRHEG forced the Titans into 28 turnovers, while committing eight.
“Everyone played their roles well, both offensively and defensively,” said Schultz. “We have a lot of girls working hard to create scoring chances for our scorers.”
Coach Grant Berg’s NRHEG junior varsity ended its season with a 22-1 record by pounding TCU 46-20.
NRHEG opened South Sub-Section 2AA play Tuesday as the No. 1 seed. The Panthers hosted eighth-seeded Maple River, who they defeated 86-20 earlier this year.
A NRHEG win would have them playing a 6 p.m. game at Mankato East Friday against the winner of Blue Earth and USC.
The sub-section championship game is scheduled to be played at Taylor Center at MSU-Mankato at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Section 2AA championship game will be played at MSU-Mankato March 8. St. Peter is the No. 1 seed in the north sub-section.
NRHEG 83, TCU 32
NRHEG 61 22 83
TCU 16 16 32
NRHEG (83): C. Wagner 41, Schultz 13, Mar. Wagner 10, Overgaard 8, Mad. Wagner 5, Cole 2, Hagen 2, Lundberg 1, Crabtree 1, Stork 0, Harrington 0. FG: 33-65 (51%, 6-19 3-pters.), FT: 11-24 (46%), PF-12, TP-83.