WILLMAR -- The Willmar Cardinals used a 15-1 run to start the second half to put away St. Cloud Apollo 63-53 on Thursday in Central Lakes Conference girls basketball.
Jena Thompson and Kelsey Evans combined for 22 of Willmar's total in the first half, which concluded 28-all.
The second half was all Willmar. The Cardinals' active defense caused frequent Apollo turnovers. The Eagles further aided the Cardinals by putting the host team in the bonus by the 14:10 mark.
Thompson, the sophomore center who finished with 22 points, was 6 of 6 at the line in the second half. Evans dropped in 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 21 points.
Willmar was just 19 of 60 from the floor, including a chilly 1 of 19 from the three-point arc.
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Senior Greta King fired in 10 points and made five steals.
Evans, who had 26 points on Tuesday in a narrow loss to Marshall, has looked stronger on offense in recent games.
"Kelsey kind of cooled off this year after a fast start because I think teams scouted her and were prepared later on," said coach Brad Atchison. "(Jena) is stepping up now. We asked a lot of her from the start though she was just a sophomore. She's a nice post player to have around to more years."
The Eagles, who lost their fifth straight, tipped Willmar 55-50 at St. Cloud.
Brooke Dunsmoor had 26 points for the Eagles last night.
Willmar 63, SC Apollo 53
SC Apollo (7-9, 11-11) 28 25 -- 53
Willmar (7-9, 10-12) 28 35 -- 63
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ST. CLOUD APOLLO - 17-40 FG (3-9 3-p63t); 16-27 FT; 31 rebounds; 24 fouls ... Scoring: Brooke Dunsmoor 26, Courtney Lynch 6, Hailey Dunsmoor 2, Alison Gray 7, Andrea Hagberg 12 ... 3-point shots: Hagberg 1, Gray 1, Lynch 1... Rebound leaders: Gray 9, Dunsmoor 11 ... Assist leaders: Hagberg 5 ... Steal leaders: no leader
WILLMAR - 19-60 FG (1-19 3-pt); 22-32 FT; 30 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Megan Brown 5, Kelsey Evans 21, Mariel Aamot 4, Emily Nelson 1, Greta King 10, Jena Thompson 22 ... 3-point shots: Brown 1 ... Rebound leaders: Briana Goldschmidt 6, King 6, Thompson 8 ... Assist leaders: Evans 3, Aamot 3, Thompson 5 ... Steal leaders: Brown 3, Evans 4, King 5
