Willmar stymies Alexandria to stay atop CLC standings

ALEXANDRIA -- Alex Lippert scored a career-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and five blocked shots and the Willmar Cardinals held off Alexandria 55-50 in a Central Lakes Conference showdown Tuesday night.

The victory gives Willmar a two-game sweep of their series. Willmar won the opener, 70-58, on Dec. 16 when Alexandria's top scorer, Angela Christianson, was missing with an illness.

Christianson played Tuesday night and led all scorers with 26 points.

"I thought we played one of our best games of the year defensively," said Willmar coach Brad Atchison. "To hold Alexandria to 50 points at their place was a big plus for us. We played mostly man-to-man and it was a total team effort.

Kelsey Evans finished with 15 points for Willmar and needs only one more point to reach 1,000 for her career. Willmar hosts St. Cloud Tech on Friday. Evans also had seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Hannah Smith added 14 points and six assists, and Jena Thompson led with 10 rebounds.

Willmar (12-1, 15-3) maintained its one-game lead in the CLC race over Little Falls. Alexandria fell to 7-5, 9-8.

Willmar 55, Alexandria 50

Willmar (12-1, 15-3) 28 27 -- 55

Alexandria (7-5, 9-8) 29 21 -- 50

WILLMAR - 19-56 FG (2-10 3-pt); 15-20 FT; 32 rebounds; 13 fouls ... Scoring: Kelsey Evans 15, Hannah Smith 14, Jena Thompson 4, Emily Nelsen 2, Mariel Aamot 1, Hannah Murphy 2, Alex Lippert 17 ... 3-point shots: Evans 2 ... Rebound leaders: Thompson 10, Lippert 8, Evans 7 ... Assist leaders: Smith 6, Thompson 4 ... Steal leaders: Evans 2, Thompson 2 ... Blocks: Lippert 5, Evans 3

ALEXANDRIA - 18 FG (3 3-pt); 7-12 FT; n/a rebounds; 18 fouls ... Scoring: Angela Christianson 26, Alicia Montbriand 4, Gracie Bruzek 11, Alli Haar 4, Sam Trumm 5 ... 3-point shots: Christianson 2, Bruzek 1 ... Rebound, assist and steal leaders not available