Of all the times to make up a Southwest Conference game against the Jackson County Central Huskies, Saturday couldn’t have been a worse date.
The Pipestone Area girls’ basketball team had suffered a tough overtime loss to the Worthington Trojans a mere 21 hours prior and were still buffing out the bruises when it took the court against the Huskies.
“We were sore and banged up a little from Friday,” Arrow junior guard Bree Woelber said. “We were comparing our bruises and joking around about that before the game, but we held up well and came back with another strong effort.”
Despite feeling the effects of an overtime tussle with the Trojans, the Arrows (11-3) bounced back to knock off the Huskies, 52-43, and remain in the hunt for a runner-up finish in the conference.
“We didn’t play very well, but at the same time, the girls played through not playing well and picked up a good conference and section win,” Pipestone Area head coach Jay Johnson said after the game. “The tendency is for kids to get a little mopey after not playing well, but the reality is that’s a good team we beat, and it’s coming off a great game against the Trojans last night.”
The visiting Huskies (16-3) took advantage of the Arrows’ lethargy in the first half, picking up several offensive rebounds and converting them into easy buckets. One such effort by Courtney Kruse put JCC up 9-4 with 10 minutes, 35 seconds left in the opening period, and the Huskies appeared as though they might steal a road victory.
As the Arrows shook off the aches and pains, however, the Huskies began to scramble a bit. Bailey Bouman (10 points, four steals) and Bree Woelber (18 points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists) hit back-to-back jumpers to pull the Arrows to within four points. Following a missed 1-and-1 opportunity by JCC’s Brittney Kruse, Bree Woelber canned another jumper and Brooke Woelber (five points, four assists) drained a pair from the charity stripe to knot the score at 16-all with 6:42 left in the period.
The tilt remained tight throughout the remainder of the first half, and the Arrows trailed by a lone point, 24-23, heading into the second half.
“I think the fatigue kept us from making a big run in the first half, but slowly pulled away in the second,” Woelber said. “We started to realize we could play better than we did in the first half, and everyone sucked it up and lifted their games in the second half.”
The contest remained close through the initial eight minutes of the final period. But with 10 minutes to go, the Arrows found their second wind and began to string together some buckets. Brooke Woelber’s putback off her own miss put the Arrows in front for good at 38-37, and sparked an 11-0 run. Woelber followed with 1-of-2 from the line, and Taylor Swenson (five points, four rebounds, three assists) hit both of her foul shots. An end-to-end bucket by Katie Litka (seven points, three rebounds, three steals, two assists) off a steal, a Bouman putback and a pair of free throws by Bree Woelber gave the Arrows a 47-37 advantage with 2:19 to play, and the Huskies looked as though they’d played Worthington the night before.
The Arrows hit 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch, while the Huskies managed just 2-of-7 the rest of the way. Leslie Handzus’ (team-high 17 points) two field goals over the final two minutes was the only thing that kept the score respectable for JCC, who appeared the more tired team at the end.
“I was proud of the way the girls came back against a physical Jackson team after a physical battle with Worthington the night before,” Johnson said. “That really speaks to the girls’ character and determination. We’ve played some tough back-to-back games in the past and we’ll probably have to do it again before the season is over. It’s nice to see that the girls can overcome the physical fatigue and get the job done in a tough situation.”
Rachel Tinklenberg finished the game with five points and five rebounds, while Jeena Lentz scored two points and dished out three assists. Breanna Houselog had four rebounds for the Arrows.

JCC 24 19 – 43
PAS 23 29 – 52