Lady Panthers improve to 14-4 overall, 5-2 in conference
OFF AND RUNNING — Maddie Wagner (1) leads a fast break as teammates Marnie Wagner, Kayley Camerer Besty Schoenrock and several Bethlehem Academy defenders trail the play at New Richland Friday, Jan. 22. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
When the NRHEG girls’ basketball team is able to open up the game and run, opponents have problems.
Just ask Blue Earth Area and Bethlehem Academy.
They were the latest to go down last week as the Panthers improved to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Gopher Conference.
NRHEG 53, Blue Earth Area 40
“We were able to get out and run on them in the first half,” said NRHEG coach Onika Peterson, whose team sprinted to a 26-15 halftime advantage at Blue Earth Tuesday, Jan. 19. “We crashed well on the defensive boards, looking up the floor to advance the ball.
After a slow start to the second half, allowing the Bucs to cut the lead to two, the Panthers took control.
“We came out a little sluggish for about the first five minutes,” said Coach Peterson. “They hit a couple quick threes went on an offensive. We ended up going on about a 10-point run when we needed to.”
The Panthers outrebounded the Bucs 39-30 and had 13 turnovers to the home team’s 14.
Individually for NRHEG: Marnie Wagner 18 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists; Maddie Wagner 14 points, nine rebounds; Rachel Collins nine points, four rebounds; Kaylie Camerer eight points, eight rebounds; Betsy Schoenrock four points; Kelly Harden three rebounds, two steals; Haylie Schuller four rebounds.
The junior varsity lost 49-32.
NRHEG 73, Bethlehem Academy 57
The Panthers won handily on their home court Friday night.
Again, they ran early.
“We started out strong in the first half we were able to run on them,” said Peterson. “We had a lot of girls scoring.”
Schuller and Harden each hit a pair of threes, while Collins, Camerer and the Wagner twins sank threes and made big drives to the basket.
The Cardinals went on a second-half run and narrowed the Panthers’ lead to six, but that’s as close as it got.
The Panthers were 15-for-43 on twos, 8-for-25 on threes and 19-for-29 at the line while BA went 16-for-36, 5-for-24 and 10-for-12. NRHEG led in rebounding 44-20, including 18-4 on the offensive end, totaling nine turnovers to BA’s 14.
Individually: Marnie Wagner 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists; Camerer 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists; Maddie Wagner 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists; Harden 11 points, five rebounds; Collins eight points, five rebounds, five assists; Schuller seven points, four rebounds; Sophie Fischer two points.
The junior varsity won 52-19.