Staff Photo: Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Betsy Joyce was shot down at a women’s basketball game at the Big South Conference at New Ulm High School on Tuesday night while being protected by Redwood Valley’s Carrijonson (23). I’m trying.
Journal Sports Editor
NEWULM – Just as Redwood Valley thought there was all the momentum heading towards halftime, the New Ulm Eagles swooped, stripping away that momentum early in the second half with a 12-0 run.
As everything started clicking, New Ulm ran away in a 78-54 victory in the Big South Conference women’s basketball game on Tuesday night, continuing to create separation from the Cardinals.
The Eagles (18-7, 13-3) had four players in double digits led by Morgan Halke’s 17 points and four rebounds. Maddie Backer finished with 14 points, Ramsey Hop had 13 points and Betsy Joyce had 12 points and four rebounds.
Game Changer with Shirk Photography
The Cardinals (17-9, 9-7) scored their final shot of the first half, making it 42-37 trails at halftime by Morgan Codette.
Momentum seemed to be on the Cardinals’ side at halftime, but the Eagles opened the second half with all of that. Harke scored inside and started a 12-0 run, closing with a pair of hops threes and kicked the Eagles to 54-37 to begin the second half.
“For us, it was just taking care of the ball.” said Harke. “We had a lot of sales in the first half, but I don’t think we were swinging the ball either. One of the things we talked about during halftime was swinging the ball and then we had to do something extra. The goal was to create a path and make sure it was done well.
Eagles head coach Julie Rodgers said the start of the second half was exactly what she wanted to see from her players to set the tone.
“We wanted to come out and get off to a really good start until the second half, and we did that because we wanted to be a little more offensive about defense. Rogers said. “If you have good momentum, it’s hard to stop this team when you roll the ball in the direction.”
Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Brooklyn Lewis defended Redwood Valley’s Morgan Codet (10) and Carri Johnson (23) during a women’s basketball game at the Big South Conference on Tuesday night at New Ulm High School. Fake to the right while you are doing it.
Melayna Nez scored 3, slammed the rim and stopped the Eagles’ 12-0 run.
The Cards then cut the deficit to 12, but New Ulm was patient and fluid, stretching the lead to 68-48 on a 3 by Riley Wilson. At one point, the Eagles started junior guard Brooklyn Lewis. Brooklyn Lewis had to leave the floor for a few minutes because he had a tendency to have a bloody nose, but the Eagles never left in her absence. Lewis returned to the floor late, but set a 10-0 run on fire and the Eagles rose to their biggest lead of the night, 78-52.
Backer effortlessly sliced Redwood Valley’s defense, tasting Maggie Joyce a bucket and finished scoring the Eagles. Kimamana Goodthunder scored on the other side and finished all the points.
“They have really good athletes and they have a tough defense.” Rogers said. “We tried to press them for a full court, but that wasn’t really effective, so we’re like, ‘It’s okay, let’s play half court defense.’ They are just as athletic as us, so we are the ones that we fit in well.
“They have good players. They have one girl underneath (Kendall Huhnerkoch). This is a really good victory for us against a very solid team, and we’re by the age of 24. I beat them, but it didn’t feel like 24.”
New Ulm started the game hot, taking a 13-6 lead with an 8-0 run. A while later, the Eagles ran 6-0 to lead 22-10, earning baskets from Betsy Joyce, Lewis and Hulke. However, the Cardinals strolled and reduced that deficit to 23-20 after a conversion jumper from the foul line by Huhnerkoch. New Ulm then went back to 11 in the second inning to get the lead, but was cooled down in the final minutes of half as the Cardinals reduced the deficit to 5 on a break.
“Clearly, we want to run down the clock.” said Harke. “But we have security guards, speed, and sometimes we need to pause… it’s important that we stop and avoid attacks. That’s the biggest thing we talk about. That’s what we’re doing is swinging the ball a lot and giving up on good shots for great shots. I think we did it well in the second half.”
New Ulm has another regular season on the road in Hutchinson on Thursday night. After that, we will prepare for the Section 2 AAA playoffs that will begin next Wednesday.
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