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The Forest Lake girls basketball team made it to the finals of the Rogers Holiday Tournament, before falling to the host Royals, 54-44.
The four-team tourney opened on Thursday, Dec. 27, with the Rangers defeating Andover by eight points, 61-53.
Gina Lange poured in 13 points, while also grabbing 15 rebounds.
Lange’s partner down low, Annie Berner, had another great effort, picking up 16 points and nine boards. Abi Iverson was another key factor, contributing 13 points.
Against Rogers (7-2) the following night, Forest Lake was only down by two points at the break, but then the Royals found some breathing room in the second half and took the 10-point decision.
Missing from this contest was Iverson, who was out with the flu, but Molly Steele, Berner and Lange (13 rebounds, 3 steals) each turned in 12 points
GOING GETS TOUGH: The girls basketball team and Molly
Steele, right, were slowed a bit last Friday, with a 54-44 loss to
Rogers in the Rogers Holiday Tournament.
The Rangers take their 9-2 record on the road this Saturday, Jan. 5, with a game at Totino-Grace (8-2).
Heading into the Holidays
Encountering a strong and skilled girls basketball team at Park on Dec. 18 was no surprise for the Rangers, but the way the game unfolded wasn’t exactly what Forest Lake had envisioned.
The Wolfpack went 22-5 last year, with the majority of its line-up coming back for this season. After the Rangers were overwhelmed by the final score of 67-30, head coach Jen Wagner was looking for a positive way to view the lopsided outcome.
“In a game like Tuesday, where your character is tested, the most important thing is to get better and learn from the game. It is still early in the season and in the bigger picture, it’s only one loss.”
Speaking of that one loss, it is the first time the girls have been defeated this winter, giving the Rangers a 7-1 record before taking on Cambridge-Isanti on Dec. 20.
Park has also suffered just one defeat this season, and that came against No. 5 ranked Eastview, in the Wolfpack’s most recent game leading up to Forest Lake.
That might explain how and why Park jumped out to a 39-7 lead at half, before easing in with the 37-point victory.
“The kids needed to come out against a bigger, more physical team and match their intensity. We were wanting to take advantage of our quicker, more athletic play, but as a team, we just came out flat,” Wagner said.
“Park was able to put pressure on our guards, limit our shots, and control the tempo the entire game.”
With the abysmal first half out of the way, the Rangers were able to hang with Park for the remainder of the night, but they were still outscored by five points after the break.
“It reminded me of the loss we had at their place two years ago,” Wagner mentioned, “and then we beat Park the second time through the conference.
“I told the kids on Wednesday at practice that sometimes you have to lose to realize how bad you want to win. I believe this game will re-focus our kids and ignite a fire.”
Rangers 68, Jackets 57
Ignite is probably the wrong word, as Forest Lake used more of a slow burn approach at Cambridge-Isanti in order to lock up its eighth win, 68-57.
Down by 12 at half on Thursday, Dec. 20, Wagner felt her team was still reeling from the Park defeat, and it took the first 18 minutes to find their confidence.
“The girls really came out in the second half on a mission. All of our players were able to push through and get a victory,” Wagner said. “Our character and extra effort came through tonight.”
Annie Berner did a lot of the pushing, as the junior responded from a quiet performance at Park by going gonzo against the Bluejackets. Berner had 28 points and 27 rebounds, while teammate Abi Iverson finished with 13 points and five assists.
Molly Steele posted another double-digit evening by scoring 11, and Sammy Holien came off the bench to contribute eight points.
Park Box Score
Forest Lake 7 23 — 30
Park 39 28 — 67
Forest Lake - Iverson 4, Steele 2, Mills 1, Miller 1, Anderson 1, Lange 4, Blake 2, Winkel 4, Acosta 2, Kolnberger 7, Colling 2.
Park - Leick 17, Voigt 17, Nohrenberg 7, Fisher 6, Hilderbrandt 8, Nelsen 2, Riesselman 6, Lurken 4.
Fouled out - Lurken. Free throws - FL 14-20, Park 16-22. Three-pointers - FL 0, Park 5.
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