With eight minutes to go in Friday's Mid-State Conference game, something clicked over in the Detroit Lakes huddle -- and it was called urgency.
"We were down seven points and we just decided it was time to start playing, in that I mean, start outworking (Crosby-Ironton) and just play harder," said DL head coach Mike Hoganson.
That's exactly what the Lakers did, in the form of a rally in which capped a 47-45 win over Crosby-Ironton (12-5) for DL's fourth win of the season and third in conference play.
Courtney Gray and Kayli Muckenhirn sparked the Lakers' rally with some timely baskets.
DL also had to handle the Rangers without starting guard Taylor Tschider (knee) and forward Jen Matter, who was in foul trouble through the second half.
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Gray scored eight of her 12 points in the second half, while Muckenhirn finished with 10.
Courtney Hedstrom and Matter each finished with eight points.
"We had some big contributions off the bench, with Jalen Even having a big game and Rachel Shane playing a very aggressive game, along with Hannah Halbakken," Hoganson said. "This win was a confidence builder, and it was nice seeing new people step up."
The win improved DL to 4-3 in the month of January, as they leave the 2009 portion of their schedule behind them.
"It's a new calendar year and a new team for us," Hoganson said. "They are maturing and growing as a team."
The Lakers (4-12) will travel to Thief River Falls (4-11) Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Laker results
Crosby-Ironton at Detroit Lakes, Friday, Jan. 30.
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Rangers 22 23 - 45
Lakers 18 29 - 47
Scoring stats (2-3-ftm-fta-pts) -- DL: Ashlyn Jasken 0-1-0-0-3; Courtney Gray 3-0-6-7-12; Courtney Hedstrom 1-2-0-0-8; Jenny Matter 4-0-0-0-8; Kayli Muckenhirn 2-2-0-0-10; Rachel Shane 1-1-1-3-6. Team: 11-6-7-10-47.
CI: Katie Swanhorst 0-3-2-2-11; Jana Anderson 1-2-13-14-21; September Hushek 0-0-1-2-1; Kendra Perpich 0-2-0-0-6; Sienna Miller 1-0-0-0-2; Missy Foote 2-0-0-2-4. Team: 4-7-16-27-45.
