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PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Quick offensive start carries YME over WWG

Photo by Emily Daniels YME’s Anna McCosh puts up a shot during their game against WWG on Saturday. The Sting defeated the Chargers 68-39.

MARSHALL – The Yellow Medicine East and Westbrook-Walnut Grove girls basketball teams squared off for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon at the R/A Facility on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University. The Sting took advantage of a 21-0 start in the first half and continued to keep their feet on the gas pedal en route to a convincing 68-39 victory.

Coming off the win YME coach Randy Haakenson was impressed with how well the team worked together not only in Saturday’s game but every game that they go into and how their strengths really shine.

“I think one of the fortunate aspects of our basketball team is we have a few girls that really work well together and we have a strong inside post present which always helps us on the outside,” said Haakenson. “I know that when we get the ball inside we get harder to defend but then our post girls are able to distribute the ball and take it back out to the outside where we are able to hit shots. Positively speaking that is one of our strengths that we are looking for offensively.”

There was nothing holding the Sting back from shining right away in the first half against the Chargers, as YME held WWG scoreless for the first nine and a half minutes of the game while building their lead to 21-0. The Chargers continued to try and find any way to get the offense started, but continued to struggle on their side of the floor, with WWG only putting up six points throughout the majority of the first half.

With YME holding a 32-6 lead, the Sting turned to its defensive pressure on the inbounds, using three consecutive steals for putback layups and six straight points to boost their advantage even further to 38-6. Despite the large deficit, WWG found some positivity on the court thanks to a 3-pointer by Grace Woelber to bring the Chargers point total up to nine. That wasn’t the only 3-pointer from Woelber in the opening half, as she found one more opportunity from long distance before the half but the Chargers took a 43-14 lead at the break.

Similar to its opening counterpart, the second half showed a lot of strengths on both sides of the court from the Sting. YME’s fast and controlled play came in right away to start the half and continued to grow its lead every chance they got. Just five minutes in, the Sting pushed their lead even more to 53-18 before a pair of free throws from WWG’s Bethany Byers put the Chargers at 20. A 3-pointer by WWG’s Brittany Erickson brought the Chargers to as close as 31, but YME continued to dominate on both ends of the court and never found themselves slowing down on its way to the 29-point win.

Anna McCosh led the way for the Sting racking in a total of 23 points with Sam Anderson and Kenzie Dyrdahl both contributing 11 points. The Chargers were led by Woelber with a total of 12 points and Erickson with 10. Camryn Bunting brought in WWG’s only block of the game.

The Chargers will be back at home on Tuesday and the Sting will be on the road to take on Dawson-Boyd.

Despite the loss for the Chargers coach Adam Kletscher has seen a lot of improvement from the team but knows there is always room to grow.

“We’ve been a lot better at moving the ball but we still need to get a little bit better on our press break,” said Kletscher. “I think overall we’re finding opportunities and we’re getting up more shots which we need to do because if you don’t shoot you’re not going to score. Our defense has come a long way and I think after we started the season we’re hustling more, going after loose balls and putting a little more pressure on them.”

YME 43 25-68

WWG 14 25-39

SCORING: WWG 15-42, 35.7 percent (Woelber 4-17, 1-2 12; Erickson 4-10, 0-0 10; Merrick 3-4, 0-0 6; VandeKieft 2-4, 0-0 4; Byers 1-2, 1-2 3; Bunting 0-4, 2-4 2; Herding 1-1, 0-1 2); YME (A. McCosh 23; Anderson 11; Dyrdahl 10; Dahlager 8; Mortenson 5; Hinz 5; L. McCosh 4; Gullickson 2).

3-POINT FGS: WWG 5-17, 29.4 percent (Woelber 3; Erickson 2); YME 3 (Dahlager, Hinz, Anderson 1).

REBOUNDS: WWG 19 (Bunting 7; VandeKieft, Erickson 4; Byers, Merrick 2); YME NR.

ASSISTS: WWG 13 (Woelber 4; Erickson, Bunting 3; Steen, VandeKieft, Merrick 1); YME NR.

STEALS: WWG 10 (Erickson 4; Woelber 2; Jorgenson, Bunting, VandeKieft, Merrick 1); YME NR.

BLOCKS: WWG 1 (Bunting); YME NR.

FOULS: WWG 10; YME 5.

TURNOVERS: WWG 33; YME NR.

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