Lady Dragons Overcome Slow Start to Defeat Hermantown

The Pine City girls basketball team hosted Hermantown on Tuesday night.

In a game which featured Pine City's 15-5 record, and Hermantown's 6-14, it appeared it'd be a lopsided victory for the Dragons... on paper. This was everything but the case, the Hawks gave everything and more. It all started with the 1st half. Pine City jumped out to the early lead. But the lead soon fizzled away, the Hawks effort on defense help create turnovers and kept Pine City from grabbing necessary rebounds. The Hawks offense was soaring, Bailey Hermanson was hitting any shot she wanted, even hitting a few from NBA range. Pine City felt the pressure and as they watched their lead switch hands their anxiety rose. This caused mental mistakes, passing the ball into crowded areas and even rushing a few shots, plus they couldn't seem to grab a rebound. The Hawks didn't just take the lead, they nearly grew it to double digits. As the half neared its end, Pine City was able to put a few scoring possessions together and drop the deficit to 4 at halftime, 29-25.

The momentum was heavily in Hermantown's favor, and Pine City needed a few big plays to turn things around. And they were able to get those plays. A few minutes into the 2nd half the Dragons trailed but were starting to get shots to fall and even traded the lead. Down by two Vivian Lahti hit a three to give them the lead, the Taylar Hejny grabbed a steal dished it to Brooke Boland who dropped it in for 2 plus drew the foul. She would add the extra point and Pine City now lead by 4. This lead wouldn't last long though as Hermantown came back and once again stole the lead. But still feeling momentum the Dragons retook the lead and never looked back. They slowly pulled away and took time off the clock while also hitting their shots. A grinder of a game ended with Pine City on top 67-53.

Pine City is now 16-5 on the season and gets a couple days rest before they'll host Ogilvie in the Great River Conference Championship game on Friday!

Scoring:

Pine City

Karly Jusczak 24

Brooke Boland 13

Summer Thieman 12

Vivian Lahti 11

Mallory Clepper 6

Taylar Hejny 1

Photo Credit: Four Seasons Photography