Sleepy Eye girls hold off MVL
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SLEEPY EYE -- Sleepy Eye held off a second-half rally by Minnesota Valley Lutheran to down the Chargers 48-39 on Saturday in a Tomahawk Conference girls' basketball contest.
Paige Romberg led Sleepy Eye with 14 points, while Madi Krueger had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Hannah Marzinske started an MVL rally in the second half, hitting the front end of two free throws. Lexi Fischer scored, Marinske hit another free throw, Lauren Paulsen scored on on layup, Emma Nelson scored and Fischer hit two free throws.
Emma Nelson's basket with 8:05 left in the game gave MVL a brief 29-28 advantage. Krueger answered with two consecutive baskets to give the Indians a 32-29 lead with about seven minutes left in the game.
Abbie Riederer canned a 3-point shot to tie it at 32-apiece. Romberg nailed two 3-pointers to regain the lead for the Indians. MVL couldn't find an answer for those shots and Sleepy Eye was in the driver's seat for the remainder of the game.
"[Romberg's] two 3-pointers regained the momentum and we didn't get it back," MVL head coach Rollin Timm said. "We couldn't get the ball into the basket. We had too many turnovers."
The Indians went on a 15-5 run (including Romberg's 3-pointers) for the victory. Krueger added four free throws, a basket and an assist. Macy Schenk scored off of an assist from Krueger and Romberg scored a basket for Sleepy Eye's final points.
MVL began the game with a brief 2-0 lead on an Emma Nelson basket. Brittney Dittbenner dropped in two free throws for a 3-2 Sleepy Eye lead. Brooklyn Moldan's 3-point shot and baskets by Romberg and Krueger increased the Indians' lead to 10-2.
Sleepy Eye implemented a full-court press which affected MVL's offensive flow and caused turnovers.
Lauren Paulsen's free throw was the last time the Chargers would score for a long time. The Indians built a 17-3 advantage before Marzinske made a free throw with 5:16 left in the first half.
Riederer hit two free throws and a 3-pointer, while Abby Nelson's basket gave MVL a 7-0 run to end the first half with Sleepy Eye holding a 25-15 lead.
"We went with a four-guard offense, and it worked," Sleepy Eye head coach Ryan Hulke said. "We had less turnovers and we are playing a more controlled game. We had big shots and the seniors stepped up."
Kadence Hesse, a seventh-grader, was the point guard for Sleepy Eye. Hulke called her "a very smart player." He was pleased with the team's overall play as a whole.
Emma Nelson scored 13 points, added 12 rebounds and four steals. Pearson had five steals.
Sleepy Eye (9-15, 3-12) will host Cedar Mountain at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. MVL (12-10, 7-8) will play at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Monday.