For the second game in a row on the road, the NRHEG Girls' Basketball team faced a state-ranked foe, this time as part of a boy-girl doubleheader in Waseca on Feb. 4. It was also Coaches Vs. Cancer night, and thousands of dollars were raised between the two communities in the fight against cancer.
NRHEG came out battling, and the scrappy Panthers stuck with the Bluejays in a defensive affair, trailing 22-16 at the half. However, in the second half, Waseca's strong interior game and ability to get to more loose balls, paired with NRHEG's turnovers and struggle getting good shots ultimately led to defeat for the visitors 46-30. "We faced the best post player we have seen all year with Waseca's Breck. We continue to get better, but tonight their physicality and size hurt us," said coach Onika Peterson.
Sidney Schultz scored 12 points to lead for the Panthers along with 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Sophie Stork was next with 6 points, 4 boards, 2 steals, and an assist. Erin Jacobson tallied 5 points and 5 rebounds while Sarah Johns had 3 points and 3 boards. Teagan Sutter and Faith Nielsen each had 2 points; Sutter added 3 rebounds and 2 steals while Nielsen also snared a board. Hallie Schultz cleaned the board with 7 rebounds and Raquel Fischer also had 1 board.
The Panthers finally returned home after four straight on the road to play USC on Feb. 7. Though the home team's offense started slowly, their defense was present from the start. The Rebels didn't score a field goal until nearly eight minutes had passed in the contest. By the time halftime arrived, the Panthers had already put the game away, leading 40-9. The second half saw the Panthers continue to work on different defenses and rotate players in different situations en route to a 65-27 final.
Sidney Schultz led again with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Nielsen poured in 14 points to go with 4 rebounds and a steal. Stork had 10 points, 9 boards, 3 steals, and an assist. Raquel Fischer and Jacobson each had 6 points with Fischer grabbing 2 boards and Jacobson 5 rebounds. Andy Briggs and Aubrey Fischer each chipped in 3 points with Briggs getting to 3 rebounds and Fischer 1 board. Hallie Schultz contributed 2 points, 5 boards, 2 steals, and an assist. Sutter added 2 points to go with 2 boards and 3 assists. Jayna Domeier finished things off with a rebound and an assist.
The Panthers have a record of 12-10, standing at 6-6 in the Gopher Conference. They played at Faribault BA Tuesday and host Maple River in an important sub-section match-up in New Richland Thursday before finishing the regular season at home against TCU on Feb. 18.