Each of the Detroit Lakes and Pequot Lakes girls’ basketball teams took turns making rallies, leading to a 31-31 halftime tie, with the ultimate last run belonging to the Lakers in their 66-61 Mid-State Conference home victory Monday.
The win gives the Lakers possession of first place alone in the conference with a 7-1 record, followed by Pequot Lakes and Staples-Motley, each at 7-2.
“This was a game of runs and our kids answered with a strong second half,” said DL head coach Mike Hoganson. “This was a big conference win because it basically gives us control of our destiny.”
Junior point guard Kyley Foster found finding the basket hard going in the first three-fourths of the game, but a set of three free throws to tie the game 56-56 at the 4:40 mark in the second half loosened up her scoring touch.
Foster proceeded to hit another three pointer, which followed a trey by teammate Kyra Vagle to help put DL in control 62-56 at the 2:46 mark.
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Foster hit two more free throws and stole an open-court Patriot pass for an easy layup to put the sealant on the game 66-58 with under 10 seconds remaining in the game.
But it was junior post Shay Nielsen who kept the Lakers within striking distance the entire game, aided by junior guard Haily Jorgenson, who scored 14 points in the first half, along with four three pointers.
Nielsen had a team-high 19 points, the majority of them coming off of offensive board put backs.
“The pressure Shay creates on the inside helps create our open perimeter shots,” Hoganson said. “And we hit enough perimeter shots to get the win tonight.”
The Lakers drained eight three’s, four by Jorgenson, back-to-back treys by senior Trisa Hutchinson and one by Foster.
Pequot Lakes kept answering the bell, though, with the play by guard Katie White and guard Jessica Faacks, who led the way with 20 and 15 points, respectively.
DL seemed they would be pulling away in the second half, building a 53-44 lead midway through, but White put together five unanswered points, along with a Caitie Ryan layup and free throw to pull the Pats back to 45-42 at the 10:15 mark.
Pequot Lakes eventually pulled to within one and even took a 54-53 lead with 4:40 to go in regulation, before Foster was fouled taking a three, sunk them all and followed by a Vagle three-point shot.
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From there, it was the Lakers’ game to take.
The Lakers controlled the boards, as well, including gaining important offensive rebounds for second-chance points.
“I believe we have the best rebounding trio in Shay, Trisa and Brooke (Olson) in the area,” Hoganson said. “They are especially tough on the offensive glass.”
The Lakers will keep their pursuit of the Mid-State crown Thursday, when they host Staples-Motley (14-5) for a 7:15 p.m. start.
Lakers shut down Cardinals
It was a night and day performance from a season-opening 72-44 throttling the Lakers received from Alexandria, as DL returned the favor with a 53-26 drubbing of the Cardinals on their home court Tuesday.
“The kids really came mentally ready to play,” Hoganson said. “They wanted to show what the true Lakers are all about and they showed up in a big way.”
The Lakers threw a tough as nails defense on the Cardinals, limiting them to just nine points in the second half, while building a 21-17 halftime lead.
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DL outscored Alexandria 32-9 in the second half, as the Alexandria guards had no lanes and Olson shut down Cardinal post Brooke Heggie to a season-low four points.
“Defensively, the kids really made Alex work for everything,” Hoganson said. “Our perimeters (Foster, Jorgenson, Vagle) really cut off penetration and Brooke Olson really stepped up shutting down the Heggie, holding her to four points, after she scored 29 versus Moorhead the night before.
Nielsen worked the middle offensively for a game-high 15 points, while Foster added 10 and Jorgenson eight.
“We were able to go inside out with Shay, but Haily and Grace Swenson hit two three-point shots to loosen up Alex’s defense.
“(Assistant) coach Tim Swenson really made some nice adjustments and the defense was a step ahead all night long.”
Detroit Lakes at Alexandria, Tuesday, Feb. 18
Lakers 21 32 – 53
Cardinals 17 9 – 26
Scoring (2-3-ftm-fta-pts) – DL: Kyley Foster 2-0-6-9-10; Halle Jordan 0-1-0-0-3; Haily Jorgenson 0-2-2-2-8; Kyra Vagle 1-0-3-4-5; Shay Nielsen 7-0-1-1-15; Grace Swenson 0-2-0-0-6; Brooke Olson 3-0-0-0-6. TOTALS: 13-5-12-16-53… Alex: Macy Hatlestad 0-1-3-4-6; Kendall Kohler 1-2-2-2-10; Sarah Bruzek 0-0-2-2-2; Brooke Heggie 2-0-0-0-4; Cheyenne Hendrickson 2-0-0-0-4. TOTALS: 5-3-7-8-26
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Pequot Lakes at Detroit Lakes, Monday, Feb. 17
Patriots 31 30 - 61
Lakers 31 35 - 66
Scoring (2-3-ftm-fta-pts) - DL: Kyley Foster 2-1-7-8-14; Halle Jordan 1-0-0-0-2; Haily Jorgenson 1-4-0-0-14; Kyra Vagle 2-1-0-0-7; Shay Nielsen 8-0-3-6-19; Trisa Hutchinson 0-2-0-0-6; Brooke Olson 3-0-0-0-6. TOTALS: 17-8-10-14-66… PL: Caitie Ryan 1-0-2-2-4; Haley Wiebolt 2-1-1-1-8; Kelsey Hart 1-0-0-0-2; Vanessa Lane 4-0-2-2-10; Katie White 7-2-0-0-20; Jessica Faacks 6-1-0-1-15. TOTALS: 21-4-5-6-61
