Pine City 88
Aitkin 20
From Head Coach Ted Hasz:
The Pine City girls basketball team started the season with a big win in Aitkin. "Our defensive intensity was the key." Pine City started the game on a 35-0 run. "Lily Wilson was a one man wrecking crew to begin the game. It seemed like she had a hand on every pass at the beginning of the game." "Lily had 17 points in the first 3:40 of the game. She really got us going in a big way." The whole Dragon squad had a great defensive effort in the first half as they took a 53-8 half time lead. "The kids are realizing that great defense turns into great opportunities on the offensive end." The Dragons continued to play well in the second half and were able to give the whole roster a lot of playing time. "We were able to try a few different things defensively in the second half and get everybody some experience. "It is important to get those first game jitters out of the way to get everyone comfortable on the court."
The Dragons had many players with big games. Wilson ended the game with 28 points, 8 steals and 5 assists. Ellie Hasz did what Ellie Hasz does by scoring 20 points while also collecting 6 steals, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Meredith Kolling showed her inside out game with 10 points, 3 steals and 3 assists. Ashley Faur had 8 points and led the team with 6 rebounds. Maddi Berglund scored her first 8 varsity points in the second half. Sophie Lahti showed why she is considered an elite defender throughout the contest and also contributed 6 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Alaina Steele was all over the court causing turnover after turnover with her quickness. She had a great floor game with 4 points, 5 steals, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Makenna Nelson and Chloe Lind also logged solid quality minutes and wound up with two points a piece. Lind also had 5 rebounds. "We have a lot to work on, but we were happy with our game 1 performance."
The Dragons will host Ogilvie and Rush City on Tuesday the 3rd and Friday the 6th respectively.
Photo Credit: John Olson
