“We played a very balanced game with everyone contributing in some way,” reported HLA Head Coach Hannah Clark.  “We shot the ball well and had a variety of looks on the offensive end.  The girls are playing very unselfish basketball and they have been doing a good job reading the defense and finding the open player.”

Regan Wiertzema made 9-of-10 field goal attempts and finished with a game high 21 points, while grabbing 5 rebounds.  Ruby Peterson added 20 points and 5 steals, Madi Ballweg finished with 19 points and 4 assists and Madi Foss contributed 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.  Alivia Holmquist came through with7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and Ella Knutson chipped in with 3 points and 6 boards.

“The Arrows hadn't played since the 11th and it sure showed by their overall performance tonight and to top it off they have 3 players out due to illness and two of those are starters,” said Ashby Head Coach Brenda Johnson. “Sometimes when it rains it pours and that couldn't be more true than this season for the Arrows. After the Rothsay game the girls had a little taste of an almost victory and were preparing for their next game vs. BE and then winter and illness took over. When you have a majority of underclassmen on your roster, anytime away from the game can be hard on them. What they need are a lot of reps and consistency.”

The Arrows started the game dealing with a full court press and it caused this young group of players not to be able to get into an offensive set for the majority of the first half as the Comets built a halftime lead of 48-14.  

Celi Nelson had 11 points and 3 rebounds to lead the Arrows. Quynn Behrens had 3 rebounds and 2 points, Lucy Ohren had 3 rebounds and 1 steal, and Ayden Behrens had 4 rebounds. Jessi Schlundt and Kaitlyn Finkelson both came off the bench in the second half and instantly made some great moves to the basket. Sienna Williams started for the first time on varsity this season and continues to improve with added varsity court time. 

“I can't say enough about this courageous group of young ladies who continue to work hard and grow as a team,” added Coach Johnson. “We'll put this loss behind us, learn from it, and prepare for our next LEC game against Battle Lake on Saturday afternoon. We need to regroup and get ready for the month of February, as we have 2-3 games a week.”

Hillcrest (5-7, 3-3 LEC) will play at Rothsay on Thursday night.