The Pine City girls basketball team heads into 2019 feeling very good about their play after two dominant victories at St. Cloud Tech.
The girls are 9-1 on the season after defeating Sauk Rapids-Rice 72-50 and Sartell-St. Stephen 70-52.
From Head Coach Ted Hasz:
Pine City 72
Sauk Rapids Rice 50
The Dragons faced AAA Sauk Rapids Rice in the opening game of the St Cloud Tech Holiday Tournament. Pine City turned in a great first half by turning great defense into great opportunities on offense. "Our intensity on defense in the first half was the key." The Dragons went to the locker room at half time with a 42-20 lead. "We were very happy with the energy that the kids brought to this game. Everyone is starting to understand their strengths and what they can do to help our team." Lily Wilson was tremendous with 19 points, 8 assists and 6 steals and 1 block. "Lily is playing at a high level right now." Ellie Hasz had 18 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Ashley Faur continues to raise her level of play as she had 9 points,9 rebounds and 3 steals. Emily Carpenter, who is best known as a great shut down defensive player had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Alaina Steele, had 7 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Chloe Alleman and Sophie Lahti both had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Hannah Lorsung had 3 points 4 steals and 3 rebounds. Jolie Wicktor had 1 point, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
It was a great start to the tournament. The kids responded well to the holiday break and came out ready to play.
Pine City 70
Sartell 52
For the second straight night the Dragons faced a beat a AAA opponent. "The kids showed great patience on offense to get great shots and backed that up with a very solid defensive effort." Pine City took a 32-23 lead into the half, but put on a big surge in the second half to go up as many as 24 points at one point. Ellie Hasz continues to be a major match up problem for teams scoring 34 points in a variety of ways. "The kids were able to get her the ball in good spots and Ellie can put the ball in the bucket. We can use her in so many ways. It makes our team very difficult to guard." "Alaina Steele has been playing great shut down defense holding down the top guards on the other teams to very little production." Not only was she great defensively, she also chipped in 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Hannah Lorsung had 8 points and 3 rebounds. Ashley Faur was very solid once again with 7 points and 10 rebounds. Lily Wilson had 6 points and 9 assists. "Lily ran the show. She was under control made great decisions." Chloe Alleman had 6 rebounds and a steal. Sophie Lahti had 2 points and Jolie Wicktor had 1.
Ellie Hasz and Lily Wilson were selected to the all-tournament team.
"We like where we are at heading into the new year. We have great kids who want to do big things and that is a good recipe for success.
Photo credit: Lancelot Furber
