Photo by Sam Thiel Marshall’s Kaia Sueker brings the ball upcourt during their game against Pipestone Area on Monday. The Tigers defeated the Arrows 57-50.

MARSHALL – Before their game against Pipestone Area on Monday, the Marshall girls basketball team were able to celebrate their seniors. Despite the Arrows’ attempt to play the spoiler role, the Tigers made sure their veteran leaders capped the night on a high note, as Marshall outlasted Pipestone Area 57-50.

Marshall coach Dan Westby said the victory didn’t come easy by any means and felt Pipestone was able to hang around throughout the game.

“It was tough; we had some foul trouble there in the first half and had a couple of kids on the bench that we felt like we needed to have out there and that allowed Pipestone to come back,” Westby said. “Then in the second half, they didn’t go away, they shot the ball well and made a lot of threes.”

The Tigers have three seniors in Kaia Sueker, Erica Jones and Courtney Toulouse. Sueker said their entire team has a great bond with each other and it shows on the court.

“It’s really cool; I think we have a special bond and that just shows on the court with our whole team how well connected we are,” Sueker said. “Just knowing where each other is on the court, I think that helps us play well together.”

Westby added that it’s been enjoyable to watch them progress through the years and they are fortunate to have them in the program.

“All three have been extremely committed and we’re so fortunate to have had them. Hopefully they still have some more basketball to play, but just a great group of kids who work hard every day in practice and come ready to go,” Westby said. “It’s been enjoyable having them and like I said, hopefully we still have some more basketball to play.”

The Tigers also had another reason to celebrate on Monday, as sophomore Jordyn Hilgemann reached 1,000 points for her career.

“We’re certainly happy for Jordyn. Offensively, she’s really done a great job,” Westby said. “A year ago, she used to kind of sit on the free-throw line and relied on her outside shot, now she’s done a better job of getting to the basket. She’s gotten stronger which has allowed her to finish and offensively she’s really tough for teams to deal with.”

Defense shines

in first half

It was a tight scoring night by either team to start, as points were kept at a premium in the opening half. Marshall would hold a 6-3 lead early, as Pipestone was held scoreless for nearly four minutes after starting the game off with a basket. A 3-pointer from the Arrows gave Pipestone an 8-6 lead before the two teams then traded baskets over the next few possessions.

Marshall would create some separation thanks to some key steals on the defensive end, which led to a pair of Lenei Estrada layups before an offensive rebound and putback layup from Paige Andries gave the Tigers an 18-10 lead midway through the first half.

Pipestone Area had an answer, getting a pair of 3-pointers to fall to make it a four-point game, but Marshall countered with a couple of long-distance shots of its own, as Hilgemann and Jones connected from the arc to give the Tigers their first double-digit advantage of the night at 29-19 with five minutes to go.

Despite the momentum starting to shift in favor of Marshall, the Arrows slowly pieced together a run of their own to close out the first half, cutting the deficit to four before a 3-pointer with a minute to go cut the Tigers’ lead to just one at 30-29 at halftime.

Milestone reached

Both teams looked to gain momentum early to start the second half, but the Tigers were able to extend its lead a little bit to 36-31 in the opening minutes of the frame. A few minutes later, Marshall got to celebrate a milestone on the court.

Hilgemann, who entered Monday’s contest just 15 points shy of reaching 1,000 for her career, got out to a good start with 10 quick first-half points. Then in the first few minutes of the second half, the guard would draw a foul and head to the line needing just one more to meet the mark. As the gym fell silent, Hilgemann stepped up to the line, took a deep breath, and shot her first attempt. The ball bounced on the rim and hung in the air for a brief moment, before finally dropping through, as her teammates and the Marshall faithful in attendance roared with a joyous cheer.

Hilgemann became the 20th Tiger and the 9th Marshall girls basketball player to reach the milestone.

“It’s pretty cool but I have to give it all to my teammates, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” Hilgemann said.

Meanwhile, the Arrows were still within striking distance, as Pipestone Area got a couple of baskets to cut the deficit to just tow at 40-38 with 10:53 left. But the Tigers responded with a key run of their own, with Hilgemann leading the charge to the tune of a 7-0 spurt and a 47-38 advantage for Marshall with eight minutes to go.

The Tigers continued to maintain at least an eight-point lead throughout the next few minutes, before ultimately closing out the game with a 57-50 victory.

Hilgemann led the way for the Tigers with a game-high 31 points while Emily Meier added seven and Estrada had six. Hilgemann led in rebounds with six while Estrada led in assists with four.

Marshall (17-5) will wrap up its regular season today when they travel to face Sioux Falls Roosevelt at 7:15 p.m. Westby said it’s going to be another challenging matchup for their team as they look to close out the regular season with some momentum.

“We’ve got one more game against Sioux Falls Roosevelt and that’s going to be a tough game,” Westby said. “The team we play today is a lot like Pipestone with the exception is they’ve got a big kid inside that we’re going to have to deal with, so it’ll be a tough game.”

Marshall 57, Pipestone Area 50

Pipestone 29 21 – 50

Marshall 30 27 – 57

SCORING: Marshall (Hilgemann 9-17, 11-14 31; Meier 3-7, 1-7 7; Estrada 3-9, 0-2 6; Andries 2-5, 0-0 4; Sueker 0-3, 3-4 3; Jones 1-4, 0-0 3; Wendorff 1-1, 0-0 2; Naughton 0-0, 1-4 1).

REBOUNDS: Marshall 27 (Hilgemann 6; Meier, Andries 5).

ASSISTS: Marshall 9 (Estrada 4; Sueker, Hilgemann 2; Naughton 1).

STEALS: Marshall 14 (Sueker 4; Estrada, Hilgemann 3; Meier 2).

BLOCKS: Marshall none.