The Pine City Girls basketball team opened up the 2018 season with back to back wins over two tough opponents.
From Coach Ted Hasz:
Pine City 66 Aitkin 56
The Dragons opened the season with the Gobblers who have a very quality program year in and year out. The game started out with Pine City opening things up but Aitkin cut it to just three points at the half. But the Dragons were able to extend the lead in the second half and keep Aitkin at arm's length.
Lily Wilson had a great game with 17 points, 9 assists and 7 steals. Ellie Hasz led the Dragons in scoring with 18 points. She also had 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Ashley Faur was close to a double double with 8 points and 8 rebounds. Sophie Lahti had 7 points, Alaina Steele and Meredith Kolling had 5 points each. Hannah Lorsung had 4 points and Chloe Alleman had 2.
Coach Hasz said, "We knew that Aitkin would not go away even though we had built a lead. In the second half, we were able to maintain a 10 to 12 point lead most of the way mainly because we were able to play some good defensive possessions. It as a great way to start the season by beating a quality team. Playing good teams exposes some of your weaknesses and show you what you need to work on. It is always great to open the season with a win. Daily improvement will be key to our continued success."
Pine City 72 Mora 57
The second win of the year came against Pine City's rivals from Mora. This was the first game of the year for Mora and Pine City really put them to work. The game was close in the first half, but a Lilly Wilson step back three to end the half gave the Dragons momentum in the second half.
Coach Hasz said, "Mora gave us exactly what we needed for a second game of the season. They put on a lot of full court pressure and played physical. It caused a lot of chaos, which will help our kids grow up on the basketball court in a hurry. We really took control the last 12 minutes of the game. The kids were poised and played confident down the stretch. That is a sign of a good team. One that faces a lot of adversity throughout the game and then wills itself to victory by playing sound basketball down the stretch."
Hannah Lorsung had one of the best games of her career with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ellie Hasz and Lilly Wilson each had 17 points to lead that category. Hasz also had 7 rebounds. Meredith Kolling had a great game with 8 points and 9 rebounds. Alaina Steele was dominant on defense with 9 steals to go along with 3 points. Emily Carpenter had 5 points including a big 3 pointer. Sophie Lahti had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Chloe Alleman had 2 points and 3 rebounds.
The Dragons are now 2-0 to start the year and take on Braham on Tuesday night.
Photo credit: Lancelot Furber
