Chargers top Indians
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NEW ULM -- Abbie Riederer ignited Minnesota Valley Lutheran as the Chargers downed Sleepy Eye 50-38 on Tuesday in a Tomahawk Conference girls' basketball game.
Riederer led all scorers with 20 points, added 10 rebounds and had five steals. Emma Nelson had seven rebounds, Maddie Pearson had six assists and Lauren Paulsen had three steals.
Brittney Dittbenner was Sleepy Eye's top scorer with 8 points while Madison Krueger and Miah Brown scored 6 points each. Krueger chipped in 10 rebounds.
"It was a wake-up call," MVL head coach Rollin Timm said. "They played hard [which we knew they would]. Sometimes, you need to learn from experience."
Riederer scored MVL's first basket to open the second half. Hannah Marzinske's lay-up, Emma Nelson's basket and Riederer's 3-pointer was the beginning. Riederer canned two more 3-pointers for a 35-25 Charger advantage.
Pearson dropped in two free throws, Marzinske added two free throws and Emma Nelson scored again for a 43-28 lead. Dittbenner's basket and Kaydince Thoms' free throw were the only scores for Sleepy Eye.
Riederer's 3-pointer gave MVL its biggest lead of the night of 48-32. The Indians responded with a late 6-2 run, which included a 3-point basket just before the final buzzer.
"We relaxed, became complacent and we turned the ball over," Sleepy Eye head coach Ryan Hulke said. He said turnovers were an issue that hurt the team.
The first half was completely different because both teams played relatively even. There were three ties and eight lead changes during that stretch.
Dittbenner's basket tied the game at 17-17. Brown's 3-pointer regained the lead for Sleepy Eye at 20-17. Dittbenner scored again for the Indian's biggest lead of the game of 22-17.
Paulsen, Riederer and Pearson scored to tie the game at 23-23. Brooklyn Moldan's 3-pointer helped Sleepy Eye regain the lead of 25-23 at halftime.
MVL (11-5, 7-1) will travel to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (5-6, 5-3) on Thursday. Sleepy Eye (5-11, 1-8) will play at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Friday.