Irish girls win two basketball games

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The Maple Lake girls basketball team won two games and lost one last week to give them a 5-4 overall record going into the new year.
The Irish returned from a long holiday break, Monday, Jan. 5, to claim a 49-47 subsection win over Spectrum.
The Irish traveled to Elk River to take on the Sting on their home court. Maple Lake struggled to find an offensive rhythm and ended up trailing muh of the game, Coach Adam Ronnenberg said. By half-time they were down 24-21.
The Irish continued to trail into the second half, being down as many as seven points, but they continued to fight back and eventually took a one-point lead with just under three minutes to go.
In the face of full-court pressure and a wild crowd, the Irish managed to cling to a two -oint lead for the win.
“We handled the ball well and forced them into some tough spots defensively,” Ronnenberg said. “It was nice to get a win on the road when we knew we were not at our best.”
Emily Webb led with nine points and Kayla Hoistad had seven.
Maple Lake forced 20 turnovers in the game, but had only 12 themselves.
On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Irish hosted Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa and fell to the Central Minnesota Conference rival 67-51.
“B-B-E relies on full-court pressure and strong shooting and this game was no exception,” Ronnenberg said.
The Jags got off to a fast start while the Irish were sluggish and fatigued through most of the first half, leaving the home team down 33-16 by halftime.
Maple Lake came back from the break a more focused team, determined and motivated to make a statement, and they did just that.
Using full-court pressure of their own, and sharp shooting, the Irish clawed their way to within nine points on two different occasions, but they just couldn’t catch up.
Despite the loss, “this was, without question, the best half the Irish have played all year,” Ronnenberg said.
Webb and Mollie Graham led the way for the Irish with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Morgan Scheiber continued her solid play, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
“The girls played a solid second half, probably the best we have played offensively all year,” Ronnenberg said. “Truly, a stepping stone for our season, and we continue to grow as a group.”
More information and stats appear in this week's Messenger.

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