MVL girls trounce Nicollet
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NEW ULM -- It didn't take too long for the Minnesota Valley Lutheran girls' basketball team to assert itself as a team to be taken seriously on Saturday afternoon at MVL High School.
Coming off of back-to-back losses, the Chargers (6-4) looked to apply pressure early on against Nicollet/Loyola and pulled away in the second half to pick up a big 72-36 win in nonconference girls' basketball action.
With MVL applying a full-court press in the opening minutes of play on Saturday, Nicollet (2-9) handled that pressure well enough to take a 9-8 lead after a 3 by Grace Dehen. A jumper by Lexi Fischer put MVL back in front shortly after, however, and the Chargers then went on a 9-1 run to lead 19-10 and force a Nicollet timeout.
Dehen also sank another 3 earlier for Nicollet but was forced out of the game with 6:44 left in the first half after suffering an ankle injury. MVL took a 25-14 lead after a 3 by Abby Nelson and continued to keep up the pressure and tempo, taking a 42-22 lead into the half.
Things didn't get any easier for the Raiders in the second half as the Chargers jumped out to a 53-26 lead after a 3 by Maddie Pearson. The Chargers backed off the press in the second half but still managed to increase their lead on almost every possession, with a layup by Hannah Marzinske leading to the final score and the largest lead of the game for MVL.
Chargers head coach Rollin Timm was happy with how all of his players performed and thought that everyone did what they needed to do.
"The nice thing was that everybody contributed and everybody did their job and completed their role in the game, and that's what we're starting to do," Timm said. "That and have confidence in what we're doing, and that's great."
MVL was led by Fischer, who had 12 points and six rebounds, while Pearson and Emma Nelson each added 10 points. Emma Nelson also had nine rebounds and three blocks, while Abbie Riederer had 9 points and six assists.
Lauren Paulsen had 8 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists for the Chargers, while Abby Nelson added eight rebounds.
Nicollet got 10 points from Megan Frutiger and 7 points apiece from Marah Hulke and Hayley Selby.
The Chargers host New Ulm Cathedral at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, while Nicollet is at Mountain Lake for a 7:30 p.m. game Monday.