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COTTONWOOD - The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton girls basketball team played its first game of season Tuesday night, but the Knights appeared to be in mid-season form early on against Lakeview.

The Knights (1-0) started out hot from the field in the opening minutes and jumped out to a quick 25-14 lead en route to a 55-42 win over the Lakers, who dropped their second game of the season.

"I didn't expect us to come out and shoot that well right away for the first game of the year," RTR head coach Darin Dahle said. "The first game is always a little tough. It seems like it's a little ragged, but overall it was better play than I thought it would be."

The Knights were nailing long-range jumpers in the first few minutes. A 3-pointer by center Kristin Fritz and a deuce by Jade Possail gave the Knights a 9-2 lead right out of the gate. Midway through the half, Brittni Peterson scored four of her six points on consecutive trips down the court to extend the lead to 25-14.

Lakeview struggled for much of the first half, but a layup by Dana Boerboom as time expired cut RTR's advantage to seven points at 32-25.

The Lakers carried the momentum they gained at the end of the first half into the first few minutes of the second half. Lakeview scored nine unanswered points to open the half and grabbed a 34-32 lead after a free throw by Melissa Streich.

Lakeview head coach Dave Johnson said the 9-0 run was the result of his players making shots on looks they weren't able to convert on in the first half.

"A lot of it was we just had a little more intensity," Lakeview head coach Dave Johnson said. "We finally made some shots."

Dahle said the Knights started playing like it was their first game of the season when the second half began.

"We had our legs under us and we weren't tired out in that first half and the shots were falling," he said. "It was kind of a different story in the second half when we got tired. We're far from in shape yet, so that affected our shooting a little bit."

After seeing its lead evaporate, RTR turned up the defense and picked up its scoring. The Knights forced the young Lakeview lineup into a string of turnovers and came back with a run of their own.

RTR put together a 10-0 run and went up 42-24 after a 3-pointer by Chelbi Welvaert.

The short burst of solid play that the Lakers had to start the half had run its course.

"It was just like we quit playing and quit moving," Johnson said. "I don't know if we were a little bit tired from the game before, but we were flat and they outplayed us and out-hustled us. They did everything better than we did (Tuesday)."

Lakeview managed to cut the lead to 45-40 after a jumper by Chelsey Meyer from the left wing, but RTR forward Lindsey Willert took over from there. Willert made a layup with 1:25 left to put RTR up 47-40 and sank four free throws following offensive rebounds to extend the lead to double digits.

Dahle said the Knights' presence in the post played a big factor in the game. Willert finished the contest with 11 points (making 9-14 free throws) and pulled down 13 boards. Forward Jada Minett also had a strong inside-out game, scoring 14 points.

Kayla Golberg led the Lakers in the loss, scoring 14 points and pulling down nine rebounds.

Lakeview will try to break through for its first win when the Lakers host Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Friday, while the Knights will try to continue their winning ways Thursday when they host Tracy-Milroy-Balaton.

RTR (55)

Chelbi Welvaert 1 0-0 3, Jade Possail 3 0-0 6, Jenny Kenneke 2 2-2 6, Casey Thooft 0 2-2 2, Lindsey Willert 1 9-14 11, Jenae Minett 1 0-0 2, Jada Minett 5 3-4 14, Kristin Fritz 2 0-0 5, Brittni Peterson 2 2-2 6. Totals 14 18-24 55.

Three-pointers 3 (Welvaert, Jada Minett, Fritz) Rebounds 45 (Willert 13, Welvaert 10) Assists 12 (Thooft 6) Steals 10 (Thooft 4) Blocks 1 (Fritz).

Lakeview (42)

Trisha Rykhus 0 2-2 2, Sarah Berg 1 0-0 2, Chelsey Meyer 3 2-3 9, Dana Boerboom 3 2-2 8, Kayla Golberg 6 2-2 14, Melissa Streich 1 5-8 7. Totals 15 13-17 42.

Three-pointers 1 (Meyer) Rebounds 33 (Boerboom 9, Streich 8) Assists 10 (Boerboom 7) Steals 10 (Rykhus 4) Blocks None.

Halftime Score RTR 32, Lakeview 25