Giants hold off Chargers
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By Jeff Meder
Journal Sports Writer
NEW ULM -- Le Sueur-Henderson defeated Minnesota Valley Lutheran 57-48 on Monday in a nonconference girls basketball game.
Both teams came into the contest with one win apiece. Therefore, they wanted to add a win to their season record.
"This loss stings," MVL head coach Hailey Santos said. "I'm very proud of their effort."
She went on to say that it was one of the team's best efforts so far this season.
Santos said it was a good learning experience for the team to have pressure down the stretch.
LSH outscored MVL 35-27 in the second half after leading 22-21 at halftime. Ella Mullenbach led the Chargers with 19 points, while Mackenzie Merseth had 18 points.
Ava Wagner led the Giants with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Rhyan Fritz scored 12 points, while Kelsey Wetzel had 12 rebounds.
The first half was close from the opening tip-off to the buzzer which ended the half. There were eight lead changes and two ties.
LSH held a 5-point advantage late in the half. MVL battled back to trail by only 1 point at halftime. Wilbright's basket made it 21-16 for LSH. Mullenbach's 3 made it 21-19 LSH. Merseth's two free throws tied it at 21-21 with 1:21 left in the first half. Fritz's free throw gave the Giants the 1-point halftime lead.
Things looked good for the Chargers at the start of the second half when Merseth dropped in two free throws and Mullenbach's layup gave MVL a 25-22 advantage.
A short time later, Morgan Gregersen's basket tied it at 26-26. She got the rebound and put in the basket. Wagner's inside basket regained the Giants' lead of 28-26.
Becca Kuck's basket with 2:47 left in the game cut the Giants' lead to 51-47. MVL had a few costly miscues down the stretch. LSH was able to hold off MVL for the win. An LSH basket, Wagner's layup and Fritz's two free throws sealed the win.
MVL (1-7, 0-3) will host Wabasso (2-5, 1-2) on Tuesday.