|
Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor
Send ‘em on the road, have them play at home, out of conference, in conference — right now it doesn’t matter where the girls basketball team plays or who they face, Forest Lake is winning.
The week began with a 69-55 victory over Hastings on Tuesday, Dec. 11, and wrapped up with a thrilling 72-66 win at Cretin-Derham Hall last weekend.
“Friday night was an extremely exciting basketball game,” head coach Jen Wagner said. “Both teams played very well and we had tons of excitement from the fans. Even though we were at Cretin, it felt like our gym with all of our fans cheering the team on. The enthusiasm was outstanding.”
The raucous crowd was helped by the fact the Rangers came back from being down by six in the first half, but outscored the Raiders by 12 in the second.
Forest Lake was led by the familiar trio of juniors, in Gina Lange, Annie Berner and Molly Steele, who collectively scored 62 of the Rangers’ 72 points.
As a team, the girls had only seven turnovers against Cretin, and shot 75.6 percent from the free throw line, while still finishing their shots in the paint.
The victory over Hastings was one where Forest Lake was up by eight at the break, and then padded the lead to 14 by the end of the contest.
Lange was the leading scorer with 19, while Steele had 15 and Berner dropped in 11. There was a little more balance in this one, as Abi Iverson finished with nine points, Shelby Simons scored eight and Kasey Kolnberger contributed five.
With a varsity team sitting on a 7-0 record, the junior varsity at 5-2 and the ninth and 10th grade teams a combined 14-1, Wagner is ecstatic with the entire Forest Lake program.
“One word comes to mind about how I feel about all of our kids — outstanding,” she said. “I could not be more proud of all of our kids; these young woman are examples of what it means to dedicate yourself, prove it through hard work, and understand what it means to be a part of a team.”
First Loss
On Tuesday, the Rangers were on the road at Park, and the evening did not go well. Forest Lake managed to score just seven points in the first half, before losing 67-30 to the Wolfpack. The girls are back at it on Thursday, when they travel to Cambridge-Isanti.
Statistics
Average Points Scored: 64.0
Average Points Allowed: 51.2
Gina Lange — 6’1” forward: 17.4 ppg, 12.0 rpg (5.3 offensive), 3.3 steals per game.
Annie Berner — 6’4” post: 14.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg (4.3 offensive), 3.4 blocks per game.
Molly Steele — 5’5” guard: 11.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.3 steals per game, 48.6% from 3-point line.
|
