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Lady Knights Have 1-2 Week Against Non-Conference Opponents

By Eric Schoenbauer, 02/02/20, 3:15PM CST

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The West Central Area Lady Knights had a 1-2 week against non-conference opponents, starting with a 54-41 win over Battle Lake on Monday.  They then lost a road game to Menahga, 68-51 on Thursday and fell to Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta in Barrett on Saturday afternoon, 60-54.

In their section matchup Monday against the Battle Lake Battlers the Knights came out with an aggressive style of play and never let up.  The Battlers did a great job of working hard and battling with their own style of fast play.  The score at halftime was 26-24 with the Knights clinging to a 2 point lead.  The Knights came out and grew a lead in the second half but when the lead evaporated to a single point, the Knights went on a run themselves and made free-throws down the stretch to finish the game at 54 and holding the Battlers to 41. 

“This game gives us some things we need to adjust going forward to be as successful as we can be,” said WCA Head Coach Eric Schoenbauer.  “We need to make sure we get back to the bricks and keys to find continued success.”

The Knights were led by Brynn Fernholz with 11 points, 4 steals and 2 rebounds.  Kaitlyn Hansen had 10 points, 4 rebounds and an assist.  Hailey Bennett had 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists.  Lexi Bright had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and an assist.  Elizabeth Rustan had 6 points, 2 steals and a team high 5 rebounds.  Claire Stark had 5 points, 3 rebounds and a block. Teagan Nelson and Kennedy Ulrich each chipped in 3 points.  Nelson added 2 rebounds and a steal.  Ulrich had a rebound and an assist.  Kaylyn Ulrich held a dynamic player to 7 points on the night and she added 3 rebounds and 2 steals.  Ireland Winter had a rebound and Halle Foslien had a rebound to finish off the box score. 

The Lady Knights traveled to Menahga to take on the Braves on Thursday night.  The game started out with a lot of energy and up and down the floor. WCA held a 13-9 advantage for a moment and then trailed 20-19.  The Braves grew their lead before halftime to a six point advantage.  The lead was 32-26 in the first half for the Braves. The second half opened up with the Braves going on an 8-0 run and from there it was a back and forth finish.  The Knights would cut the lead to 11 late, but then started to play he extend the game strategy and the Braves made free-throws.  The final score was 68-51 in the end with the Braves winning the game. 

The Lady Knights were led tonight by Lexi Bright with 14 points, 4 steals and 2 rebounds.  Hailey Bennett had 11 points, 3 rebounds and an assist.  Kaitlyn Hansen had 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and an assist.  Kaylyn Ulrich had 7 points and a rebound.  Teagan Nelson had 5 points, 2 rebounds and a steal.  Brynn Fernholz had 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.  Claire Stark had 2 points, 2 rebounds and an assist.  Elizabeth Rustan had 3 rebounds and an assist.  Halle Foslien had 3 rebounds.  Kennedy Ulrich and Brooke Anderson each added a rebound.  It was the first loss in nine games for the lady Knights. 


“Playing a full 36 minutes is what we needed tonight and it didn’t happen as planned,” said Schoenbauer.  “This reaffirms who we are and what we need to do to get over the hump of winning games when our shooting percentage isn’t at 65 plus percent.”

On Saturday the Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Tigers came out of the gates ready to roll and had a 6 point lead after 2 minutes.  The Knights would match the intensity and the game was back and forth, but the Tigers had the last 4 points before the half to lead 28-22.  The Knights would take their first lead at 41-40 and then their second at 44-42, but the Tigers hit a few big shots and made free-throws down the stretch to hold off the Knights comeback attempt.  The final was 60-54 in favor of the Tigers. 

The Lady Knights were led by Hailey Bennett with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. Lexi Bright had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists.  Claire Stark had 11 points and 4 rebounds on the night.  Elizabeth Rustan had 7 points and 6 rebounds to go along with 2 steals and 2 assists.  Kaitlyn Hansen had 5 points, 2 rebounds and a steal.  Brynn Fernholz had 3 points, 3 steals and a rebound.  Kaylyn Ulrich and Teagan Nelson each had 2 assists and a rebound.  Kennedy Ulrich had 4 rebounds, a steal and a block.  Brooke Anderson had a rebound and an assist. “Tonight we got away from who we are as a team for a quick minute, but then the girls refocused and played together,” said coach Schoenbauer.  “Offensively we have a few things to clean up and we will refocus our efforts on the boards.”

West Central Area (14-6) will host Wheaton/Herman-Norcross on Thursday night.