It was tale of two halves for the Frazee Lady Hornets last Friday night against Ulen-Hitterdal.
After a sluggish first half, Frazee picked up the defensive intensity in the second half to pick up a 43-37 Heart O'Lakes Conference win at Ulen.
"We came out very flat to start the game and fortunately for us, the girls came out with a different attitude in the second half and played much better," head coach Dave Conzemius said. "Our defense was outstanding in the second half and that carried over to the offensive end where we moved the ball better which led to quality shots."
Frazee (5-12 overall, 4-9 HOL) struggled in the first half, shooting just 21 percent (4-for-19) from the floor and trailed by nine points late in the half at 19-10.
The Lady Hornets scored the last five points of the half at the free throw line to pull within four points at halftime.
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Frazee came out and scored on their first two possessions of the second half and had which led to a nice flow in the second half.
Ulen-Hitterdal (2-14 overall, 1-11 HOL) couldn't solve the Lady Hornets tough half court defense and turned the ball over 16 times in the second half, leading to extra opportunities for Frazee.
The Spartans still held a 28-25 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining when the Lady Hornets responded with a game-changing run.
A 13-0 scoring spree pushed the lead to 10 points for the Lady Hornets and Ulen-Hitterdal was never able to get closer than the final score.
"With all the turnovers we were forcing in the second half, it created many chances to run the floor and get some open shots which we knocked down," Conzemius said. "Our defense was the spark that really got us going tonight."
Freshmen Alexis Tappe played another solid floor game netting a game high 14 points to go with six rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Freshmen Ashley Bachmann chipped in with 11 points, all coming in the second half and also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Frazee also shot the ball much better in the second half at 50 percent on 12-for-24 shooting from the floor. The Lady Hornet defense also came up with a season-high 21 steals.
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"I was very pleased with the effort of Sadie Stender and Chloe Streeper off of the bench," Conzemius added. "They combined for 10 points and gave us a nice spark that we needed to get going."
WCA holds off Lady Hornet rally
West Central Area built a nice lead in the first half and was able held off a furious rally from the Frazee Lady Hornets as the Knights claimed 49-40 Heart O'Lakes conference victory Monday night in Barrett.
"We really played a nice second half and just about pulled off the comeback," head coach Dave Conzemius said. "Give credit to West Central Area for making a couple of big plays down the stretch."
The game did not start so well for the Lady Hornets as the Knights pressure defense forced Frazee (5-13 overall, 4-10 HOL) into several turnovers as WCA (13-4 overall, 9-4 HOL) took a 22-11 halftime lead.
The second half was a different story as the Lady Hornets handled the Knights pressure defense and converted some easy baskets when they broke the pressure.
Frazee cut the lead to four points at 24-20 only to see WCA push the lead back to 10 points at 34-24. Once again the Lady Hornets responded with an 8-1 run to cut the lead to three points.
The lead remained at three points 40-37 with just under three minutes remaining when the Knights Caitlin Peterson delivered the knockout punch. Peterson drilled two straight 3-pointers to push the lead to nine points which ended up being the final margin.
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"We really had them on the ropes there until Peterson stepped up and made two huge shots," Conzemius said. "We spent so much energy to get back into the game and if those two threes don't fall, the outcome may have been different."
Frazee had a balanced scoring effort that saw all seven girls that played reach the scoring column. Freshmen Ashley Bachmann led the way with 11 points followed by junior Sadie Stender and freshmen Alexis Tappe with seven points each. Senior Jaclyn Mickelson also had six points.
"So proud of the effort our kids gave tonight in a very difficult place to play," Conzemius added. "We can build off of our performance in the second half and hopefully carry that over the rest of our games this week."
Hornet results
Frazee at Ulen-Hitterdal, Friday, Jan. 29.
Frazee 43, Ulen-Hitterdal 37
Half: F 15, UH 19
F: Smith 3, Tappe 14, Tangen 5, Stender 4, Streeper 6, Bachmann 11.
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UH: Neset 5, Hilde 11, Schultz 12, Austinson 2, Zillmer 5, Henrickson 2.
Frazee at West Central, Monday, Feb. 1.
Hornets 11 29 - 40
Knights 22 27 - 49
Scoring stats (2-3-ftm-fta-pts) -- Frz: Kristi Smith 0-1-0-2-4-3; Alexis Tappe 3-0-1-2-7; McKinzie Tangen 1-0-2-4-4; Jaclyn Mickelson 1-0-4-6-6; Sadie Stender 2-0-3-4-7; Chloe Streeper 1-0-0-2-2; Ashley Bachmann 4-1-0-0-11. Team: 12-2-10-16-40.
WCA: Liza Torgerson 7-0-23-16; Jennifer Froemming 3-0-0-0-6; Alyssa Blair 1-0-0-0-2; Hollie Lien 2-0-4-6-8; Caitlin Peterson 2-3-0-0-13; Tanika Nguyen 1-0-0-0-2; Tee Rudninski 1-0-0-0-2. Team: 17-3-6-9-49.
