Vikings rally past KMS for Camden Conference title
Prep basketball roundup Feb. 19, 2024
KERKHOVEN — Following a back-and-forth first half, the No. 10 Minneota girls basketball team came out of the locker room energized after the break and quickly pulled away for a 75-60 win over Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in the Camden Conference Championship game on Monday night.
The win gives Minneota redemption after they fell 54-41 to Lac qui Parle Valley in last year’s conference championship game.
Through the first half of basketball, the Vikings and Fighting Saints were all tied up at 31-31. From there, however, Minneota sprinted out for a 24-6 run to start the second half and never looked back.
Kenadi Arndt was on fire for the Vikings en route to the conference title. Her 24 points on efficient 11-of-19 shooting were a game-high, as were her 16 rebounds. Her four steals also tied her with Dakoda Hennen for a game-high and her four offensive rebounds tied her with Sarah Gruenes for second in the game behind KMS’ Mamie Luft’s five.
As a team, Minneota held a 43-34 advantage on the glass. Gruenes and Myhre each grabbed another six rebounds for Minneota while Dakoda and Grace Hennen each recorded another five.
Myhre was Minneota’s second-leading scorer with 17 points in the game. Her 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc tied her with KMS’s Emily Wagner for a game-high in makes from 3-point range. Wagner led the Saints with 18 points while Acelynn Hacker added another 15.
As a team, Minneota shot 46.7% from beyond the arc on 15 attempts while KMS shot 17.6% on 17 attempts. The difference helped Minneota to a 46.5%-39.2% advantage in effective field goal percentage.
Dakoda Hennen finished the night with 15 points on just nine attempts for Minneota.
The Vikings built a slight 19-23 advantage in the turnover battle. In addition to Arndt and Hennen, Kiersyn Hulzebos recorded another three steals and drew a pair of charges. Arndt also had a block in the game, while Madelynn Luft was responsible for two of KMS’ five blocks.
Minneota finishes its regular season at 24-3 with a 10-game win streak, earning the top seed in the North bracket of the Section 3A tournament. The Vikings will face the winner of No. 8 Yellow Medicine East and No. 9 Lac qui Parle Valley in the subsection quarterfinals on Saturday at 11 a.m.
WWG 45, Edgerton 44
WESTBROOK — The Westbrook-Walnut Grove girls basketball team eked out a 45-44 win over Edgerton on Monday night to close out their regular season with a win. Coming off a 54-52 loss to Southwest Minnesota Christian, the Chargers enter the postseason having won 10 of their last 11 games.
Leah Carter led the Chargers with 16 points in the game, all on 2-point shots, while Addeson Jenniges helped to space the floor with three 3-pointers for 9 points. Riley Parker also scored 7 first-half points to finish with a total of 10 in the win.
Akyda Vande Griend led the Flying Dutchmen with 24 points in the loss.
Westbrook-Walnut Grove, finishing at 22-3, earned a No. 2 seed in the South bracket of the Section 3A tournament. The Chargers will take on the winner of No. 7 Murray County Central and No. 10 Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda in the South subsection quarterfinals in Worthington on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Stats for Monday’s game were unavailable at the time of press.
MCC 50, RRC 47
LAMBERTON — The Murray County Central girls basketball team fended off a valiant comeback effort from Red Rock Central on Monday night to grab a 50-47 win in its regular-season finale. The win ends a seven-game skid for the Rebels.
As a team, RRC shot 41.7% from the field and 83.8% on 13 attempts from 3-point range. MCC, meanwhile, shot 24.1% from the field and 13.6% on 22 attempts from 3-point range. Yet, the Rebels were able to overcome their shooting inefficiencies with their on-ball pressure. MCC finished the game with a 9-34 advantage in the turnover battle. Lily Daniels paved the way with seven steals and four deflections while Abby Overman, Blankenship and Ava Deacon each notched another three steals. Maia Scheffler led RRC with two steals while Alyssa Cowan added a steal and four blocks.
Jayda Hellewell finished with a team-high 11 points for the Rebels while Thea Schneider and Kate Blankenship each added another 10 points. Daniels also accounted for two of MCC’s three 3-pointers to finish with eight points.
Ella Erickson made a game-high four 3-pointers on seven attempts for Red Rock Central, scoring 17 points in the loss. Alyssa Cowan also scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
Mercedes Meyers grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to lead RRC on the glass while Taylor Lang grabbed another seven. Hellwell and Schneider each recorded eight for MCC.
Murray County Central finishes its regular season at 9-17 while RRC finishes at 3-22.
The Rebels will enter the Section 3A tournament play-in round as a No. 7 seed, hosting No. 10 Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda at 7 p.m. on Thursday with the winner advancing to the South subsection quarterfinals against No. 2 Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Worthington on Saturday.
Red Rock Central goes into the play in as a No. 9 seed and will head to Tracy to face off against No. 8 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton on Thursday. The winner will take on No. 1 Southwest Minnesota Christian in Worthington on Saturday.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
TMB 91, Adrian-Ellsworth 61
TRACY — Alex Munson put together a 25-point triple-double for the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton boys basketball team on Monday night as the Panthers picked up a 91-61 win over Adrian-Ellsworth.
In addition to his scoring output, Munson’s 10 assists and 12 rebounds were both game-highs. His 10 assists came on just two turnovers. He also had five steals to help TMB to an 11-16 advantage in the turnover battle.
Trevor Smith bolstered the TMB offensive attack with another 24 points. Brian Erbes and Griffin Zick added another 9 and 8 points respectively with Zick tying Smith for a team-high two 3-pointers. Zick’s five assists also trailed only Munson’s 10 and Erbes’ 10 rebounds were good for second on the team.
Darwin Demarrias-Jansma led Adrian-Ellsworth with 23 points while Aiden Tweet added another 17.
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton improves to 14-9 with the win. The Panthers will continue to conclude their regular season at home when they host Yellow Medicine East (3-19) tonight at 7:30 p.m. before finishing off against Wabasso (5-19) n Monday at the same time.
Sioux Falls Christian (S.D.) 81, Marshall 44
MARSHALL — The Marshall boys basketball couldn’t stop Sioux Falls Christian, the unanimous top-ranked team in South Dakota’s Class A, on Monday night. The Chargers defeated the Tigers 81-44 to improve to a perfect 19-0 and hand Marshal its fifth consecutive loss.
The game was Marshall’s final home game of the regular season. Marshall will wrap up the year with a road game against Harrisburg (S.D.) (14-3) tonight at 7 p.m. and a game against Pipestone Area (13-10) in Redwood Valley on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Stats were not available at the time of press.