Posted: 1/12/05
Girls hoops defeats Cooper
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Joe Drennan
Sports Editor
As the season wears on, the Forest Lake High School girls basketball team steadily improves and put together their second winning streak of the season when they beat Robbinsdale Cooper 42-33 last Tuesday.
The Rangers win over Robbinsdale Cooper was their second straight after they beat Farmington 51-38 before Christmas. The Rangers took a 14-10 lead against Robbinsdale Cooper after the first quarter and didnít look back as they had a 24-18 lead at the half. Robbinsdale Cooper outscored the Rangers 11-7 in the third quarter, but an 11-4 fourth quarter in favor of the Rangers sealed the victory.
ìIíve been talking about the intensity, fire and passion of the girls to work hard for the whole game, but I really thought they did that and played a complete game against Robbinsdale Cooper,î Rangers head coach Jack Bender said.
Renee Frericks lead the Rangers with 21 points in the game. The next highest scorer for the Rangers was Christina Odegard who had seven points.
ìRenee had an outstanding game with her 21 points and seven rebounds,î Bender said. ìShe was by far the best player on the floor that day.î
Two days later the Rangers played Park (Cottage Grove) and their winning streak ended. Park (Cottage Grove) defeated the Rangers 49-37.
ìWe started from start to end which I was pleased about,î Bender said.
Park (Cottage Grove) led the Rangers 12-6 after the first quarter and built upon that lead in the second quarter when they went into the half with a 28-17 lead. The Rangers played things a bit tighter in the second half but were outscored 21-21 as they went on to lose 49-37.
ìSince we came in two years ago we were 4-0 against Park (Cottage Grove) and theyíve kind of been the doormat of the conference,î Bender said. ìThey are a lot better this year and they beat us by 12 points not because we are bad, but because they have really improved.î
Janelle Winiecki led the Rangers in scoring with 12 points, followed by Odegard who had nine points.
As Bender looks back at the first half of the season he says the teamís biggest problem has been its ability to rebound.
ìWe give up so many second and third opportunities and thatís what is killing us,î Bender said. ìWe play a good 1-3-1 defense and our man to man is solid, but we canít keep giving up those extra chances.î
As the Rangers move into the bulk of the Suburban East Conference schedule Bender is looking to Overson to continue to give the team some strong senior leadership.
The Rangers next game is Friday at Hastings at 7:30 p.m.
Forest Lake Times
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