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Comet Girls Come From Behind to Beat Arrows

By Craig Olson, 01/21/21, 11:15PM CST

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The Hillcrest girls’ basketball team posted a Little Eight Conference road win at Ashby on Thursday night, overcoming a 21-16 halftime deficit and posting a 46-41 victory over the Arrows.

Hillcrest was led by Ella Knutson with 9 points and 10 rebounds.  Mackenzie Foss added 8 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.  Madi Ballweg chipped in with 9 points and Abby Heikes had 7 points.  Regan Wiertzema contributed 6 points and 7 rebounds, while Madi Foss finished with 9 rebounds and 5 steals.

"It took a while to get our offense going,” said Comets Head Coach Hannah Clark. “We forced a ton of shots and played a lot of one on one. We did a much better job in the second half moving the ball and getting the whole team involved. Ella Knutson had a great all-around game. She hit some big shots, played solid defense, and rebounded well. She plays so hard all of the time with so much enthusiasm and intensity.  I thought our defensive effort was much better than it was than in the last couple of games. We were aggressive and communicated well with each other. We forced 28 turnovers in tonight's game that allowed us to stay in the game when we weren't able to get much going on offense. I'm proud of how the girls played tonight. It was a slow start, but they played with a lot of grit and got things done in the end."

Celi Nelson led Ashby with 16 points and 8 r4ebounds.  Catherine Koefod added 9 points and 7 boards, while Ryleigh Brendmoen chipped in with 7 points and 6 rebounds.

“Have to give Hillcrest credit, they hit shots in the second half, we didn't,” commented Ashby Head Coach Kip Nelson.  “We just could not get anything to fall, it happens.  But to be honest, our biggest issue continues to be rebounding, we are just giving up to many offensive boards.  We are small, but somehow we have to find a way to play big, we are not there yet.

I was happy with the effort tonight, we played hard and played till the end.  Showed we have heart, it is really good to see.”

Ashby (1-2) will play at Swanville on Tuesday night and resumes LEC play at home against Battle Lake next Thursday.

Hillcrest (1-2) will travel to play Brandon-Evansville on Monday and will host the Chargers on Thursday.