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Comet Girls Handle Ashby for First Win

By Craig Olson, 12/02/21, 10:45PM CST

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Hillcrest Lutheran Academy held Ashby to just 7 first half points on the way to a 63-26 Little Eight Conference girls’ basketball victory in Fergus Falls on Thursday night.  “Our defensive pressure really got us going early in the game,” commented Head Coach Hannah Clark of the Comets.  “We were able to get some easy buckets in transition and that gave our girls a lot of confidence.”

Madi Ballweg (21 points, 6 steals, 4 assists) and Madi Foss (12 points, 7 steals, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) led Hillcrest to the win.  Alivia Holmquist was also in double digits with 10 points.  Ella Knutson (8 points, 8 rebounds), Ruby Peterson (8 points, 7 steals) and Regan Wiertzema (4 points, 8 rebounds) also contributed to the Comets first victory of the season.

“We had a lot of girls contribute on both ends of the floor,” added Coach Clark.  “It was good to see everyone getting involved.”

Head Coach Brenda Johnson of the Arrows said, " The Comets are a very balanced, experienced, and well coached team. They came out of the gates fast and never looked back. We knew they'd be hungry for a win after Tuesday's loss to the Chargers. They have several players who can score and they run the floor. Our youth shows through when we play a team that has potentially 3 to 4 girls on the court at the same time who can score. We lack communication and experience playing the game at a varsity pace."

Celi Nelson led Ashby with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.  All of the rebounds came on the offensive boards.

"Celi does a good job trying to get her teammates good looks and opportunities to score," said Johnson. "I thought our girls did a great job trying to get their teammates the ball when they were open. We are still learning our shooting range and getting our feet under us before we shoot."

BrookeLinn Finkelson had 5 rebounds and one blocked shot, Chloe Finkelson and Marisa Ludwig each had 3 boards.

Hillcrest (1-1) plays at Pelican Rapids on Monday night.