The defending Section 3AA champion Arrows couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2009-’10 girls’ basketball campaign, as Pipestone Area (1-0) looked like a well-oiled machine in knocking off the visiting Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots (0-1), 73-31, Tuesday evening in the season opener for both teams.
While season openers don’t usually yield such a performance, Pipestone Area head coach Jay Johnson was thrilled by his team’s work ethic and determination throughout the tilt.
“I think it was important of us to see where we are at this point and know what we need to continue to work on,” Johnson said following the game. “I thought the girls worked extremely hard and played hard together, hustling after loose balls and demonstrating a lot of solid team play, which we were very happy to see.”
With Patriots offering little resistance most of the evening, it would have been quite easy for the Arrows to rush to the hoop and get ahead of themselves. However, Pipestone Area was extremely patient on the night and controlled the tempo to its liking.
“We see a lot of these kids coming in with more experience on their side, playing another year of varsity ball, knowing how to adjust to the game speed, and that really paid dividends tonight,” Johnson said. “Experience becomes a factor at this level, and I think it also helps calm kids down and slows you down offensively so you can see the floor a little better.”
Defensively, the Arrows were quick to apply full-court pressure in the first half, but with a 20-point advantage midway through the opening period, the pressure wasn’t necessary.
“Johnson definitely had to tell us to back off, because it was the first game, and we were all pumped up for the game,” Pipestone Area senior forward Bailey Bouman said. “Defensively, I thought we did a really good job.”
Bouman led all scorers on the night, dropping in a game-high 24 points to go along with five steals and four rebounds. Her conversion of a 3-point play two minutes into the contest followed by a jumper in the lane gave the Arrows, who hit 48 percent of their shots from the field, a 10-3 lead, and the hosts never looked back.
“It was a fantastic team effort tonight,” Bouman said. “We have some things we still need to work on, but it was a great way to start the season.”
The Patriots managed to keep the deficit within single digits for five minutes, but with 12:57 remaining in the first half, the Arrows turned it up a notch. One of the newest members of the PAS varsity, Katie Litka (nine points, four steals), drained a 3-point shot to the right of the key to spark a 13-0 Arrow run. Rachel Tinklenberg’s putback effort ended the run, but not before the Arrows had forged a 28-6 advantage.
The Patriots’ Heather Kerner (six points, three rebounds) answered with an inside bucket, but H-BC would go scoreless for another three minutes before adding to their total.
Meanwhile, Pipestone Area kept platooning in fresh players, giving some of the younger girls a chance to get their game legs under them. The Arrows easily could have slacked off, but the team didn’t miss a beat when the substitutes entered the fray.
“We played a lot together in summer basketball,” Bouman explained. “That’s been a big thing in practice; our bench is probably one of the best in the area. We’ve got a great bench and great team chemistry. It makes a big difference in practice. When your bench is better than a lot of starting lineups, you always have a good workout.”
The final four minutes of the first half saw the Patriots settle down and start to find the basket with more regularity. Despite their efforts, however, H-BC (37 percent from the field) just couldn’t keep pace with the stronger, more athletic and tight knit Arrows. Although Natalie Stueven (10 points, two steals) managed to hit the final shot of the first half, the Arrows were well in control of the tilt – beating the Patriots, 42-17, at intermission.
The second half was much of the same as the Arrows continued to control the tempo on both ends of the court. Bouman and junior teammate Bree Woelber (nine points, eight assists, six steals) hit back-to-back jumpers to open the second period. Stueven answered with a pair from the charity stripe, but Bouman followed with three consecutive buckets, the second coming off a nice dish from senor guard Taylor Swenson (two points, four assists) – giving the Arrows a commanding 52-19 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
From that point on, the game was more like a practice for the Arrows. Pipestone Area confidently set up its offense and bided their time in putting up a quality shot. Defensively, the Arrows continued to step into the passing lanes and applied relentless pressure to the H-BC guards as soon as they crossed half court. BY game’s end, Johnson was at ease on the bench and appeared to be pondering ways for the Arrows to build off the lopsided victory.
“We have to work on those layups a little bit,” Johnson chuckled. “It was a very positive start to a season that has a lot of promise. We have to try to stay healthy, continue to work together as a team and, once again, try to improve every day.”
PAS senior forward Brooke Woelber finished the night with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals, while senior Jeena Lentz dropped in a quiet seven points to go along with five rebounds, four coming on the offensive end. Senior center Breanna Houselog pitched in with two points and added three rebounds for the Arrows, who will visit Luverne Tuesday evening.
Hills-Beaver Creek 17 14 – 31
Pipestone4 Area 42 31 – 73
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 55,
Lakeview 42
The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton girls’ basketball team opened its season in fine fashion Tuesday evening, as the Knights claimed a 55-42 road victory over the Lakeview Lakers in a Camden Conference tilt played in Cottonwood.
The Knights (1-0) were led by senior forward Jada Minett, who scored 14 points to go along with six rebounds.
R-T-R junior forward Lindsey Willert added 11 markers and hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds as part of 33 boards collected by the Knights for the evening.
Seniors Jade Possail and Jenny Kenneke scored six points apiece as did junior center Brittni Peterson.
Senior center Kristin Fritz scored five points and blocked a shot, while Chelbi Welvaert canned the lone 3-pointer for the Knights and snatched 10 rebounds. Senior guard Casey Thooft had two points, six assists and four steals on the night.
The Knights will be back in action Thursday night when they host the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers in their home opener in Tyler.
B-Squad
Pipestone Area 42, H-BC 11
The Arrow B-squad set the tone for the evening with a lopsided victory over the Patriots in the night’s first contest.
PAS freshman Laura Rudie led all scorers with nine points, followed by Amanda Haupert with eight markers. Ashley Griebel dropped in seven points, while Taylor Popma and Cassie Evans finished with six and four points, respectively.
Kayla Stout added three points for the Arrows (1-0), and Brianna Olander and Dayna Braaten finished with a bucket apiece. Jamie Lentz pitched in with a point on the night.
The PAS B-squad also will play its next game in Luverne on Tuesday.
