BRAINERD - The Willmar girls basketball team faced its toughest test of the season and emerged unscathed once again.
Carly Wedel scored 20 points and the Cardinals erased a three-point halftime deficit to improve to 12-0 with a 51-50 win on the road against Brainerd.
Willmar remained in first place at 5-0 in the Central Lakes Conference with the victory.
The Cardinals held a lead as large as nine points in the second half thanks largely to the work of Wedel in the post, but a quick barrage of 3-pointers drew the Warriors within one point at 49-48.
Cayle Hovland, who finished with 12 points and tied Wedel for a team-high nine rebounds, hit a pair of free throws with just under one minute left.
ADVERTISEMENT
Brainerd had two looks to tie the game in the game's waning seconds, but both shots came up short before a putback with 0.2 seconds remaining fruitlessly brought the score to 51-50.
Willmar is the lone remaining undefeated Class AAA team.
Willmar 51, Brainerd 50
Willmar (12-0) 25 26 - 51
Brainerd (7-5) 28 22 - 50
WILLMAR - Scoring: Abby Berskow 3, Katelyn Murphy 1, Sadie Raitz 8, Jordyn Swoboda 2, Madi Linbo 1, Hannah Johnson 4, Cayle Hovland 12, Carly Wedel 20 ... 3-point shots: Berskow 1 ... Rebound leader: Wedel 9, Hovland 9, Johnson 6 ... Assist leader: Johnson 5 ... Steal leader: Johnson 3
BRAINERD - Scoring: Courtney Russell 7, Lillee Hardee 14, Ashley Huber 4, Lexi Roby 5, Regan McElfresh 19 ... 3-point shots: Hardee 2, Roby 1, McElfresh 3 ... Rebound leader: NA ... Assist leader: NA ... Steal leader: NA
WCA 54, Morris/CA 48
ADVERTISEMENT
Malory Anderson scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds as Morris/Chokio-Alberta fell to West Central Area.
West Central took a 30-18 lead into halftime and staved off a comeback effort from the Tigers to earn the 10th win of the year.
Morris/CA (7-6) 18 30 - 48
West Central (10-3) 30 24 - 54
MORRIS/CHOKIO-ALBERTA - Scoring: Maddie Carrington 14, Riley Decker 3, Liz Dietz 1, Jenna Howden 4, Malory Anderson 24, Carly Wohlers 2 ... 3-point shots: Carrington 2, Decker 1, Anderson 1 ... Rebound leader: Anderson 10, Wohlers 8 ... Assist leader: Dietz 5, Carrington 3 ... Steal leader: Anderson 4, Decker 3
WEST CENTRAL - Stats not provided
BOLD 79, Canby 53
Makenna Steffel earned the area's first triple-double on the girls side with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 steals in a powerful performance for BOLD over Canby.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Warriors exploded for 55 first-half points against the Lancers before easing off the gas in the second half. Steffel led the team in all three categories, followed closely in points by Makayla Snow's 17 and Ashley Trongard's 16.
"We played very unselfish," said BOLD head coach Brian Kingery. "It was a lot of fun to watch."
Canby (4-9) 24 29 - 53
BOLD (10-3) 55 24 - 79
CANBY - Scoring: Sarah Hansen 3, Morgan Cleveland 12, Hannah Jelen 5, Kalli Jelen 3, Kayelee Johnson 3, Ahlea Wright 4, Marissa Hansen 7, Alyssa Beckius 10, Norah King 6 ... 3-point shots: Cleveland 2, S Hansen 1, H Jelen 1, K Jelen 1, Beckius 1 ... Rebound leader: NA ... Assist leader: NA ... Steal leader: NA
BOLD - Scoring: Abby Sigurdson 2, Morgan Schmitz 4, Taylor Sagedahl 8, Makenna Steffel 22, Ashley Trongard 16, Makayla Snow 17, Brenna Weis 7, Jaylen Mortensen 3 ... 3-point shots: Schmitz 1, Sagedahl 1 ... Rebound leader: Steffel 15, Trongard 7, Snow 5 ... Assist leader: Schmitz 6, Snow 4, Steffel 4 ... Steal leader: Steffel 11, Sagedahl 3
RCW 57, ECHO 9
Renville County West jumped out to a 39-3 halftime lead en route to a win over ECHO Charter School on Thursday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lauren Wulf had 11 points to lead the Jaguars, who had 10 players score in the game.
RCW (1-13) 39 18 - 57
ECHO 3 6 - 9
RENVILLE COUNTY WEST - Scoring: Steph Zaske 4, Sandra Perez 9, Lauren Wulf 11, Emma Rice 4, Aleah Zieske 7, Vanessa Savig 4, Pamela Winzenberg 8, Alyssa Ashburn 6, Leslie Gonzalez 2, Lauren Allex 2 ... 3-point shots: Savig 1 ... Rebound leader: Wulf 11, Rice 8m Allex 8, Tracie Read 7 ... Assist leader: Zieske 4, Zaske 3 ... Steal leader: Zaske 6, Zieske 4
ECHO CHARTER - Stats not provided
KMS 51, BLHS 37
A balanced scoring attack led Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg to a win over Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Thursday night.
Madison Rohner led the Saints with 12 points while Malory Rudningen and Morgan Lesteberg each chipped in 11 points. Maret Gjerde had nine points and six assists while Katie Krieger had eight points and eight rebounds.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sara Kottke had 14 points to lead the Mustangs.
KMS (4-10) 26 25 - 51
BLHS (2-10) 22 15 - 37
KMS - Scoring: Katie Krieger 8, Malory Rudningen 11, Morgan Lesteberg 11, Madison Rohner 12, Maret Gjerde 9 ... 3-point shots: Krieger 1, Rudningen 1, Lesteberg 2, Gjerde 1 ... Rebound leader: Krieger 8, Rohner 7 ... Assist leader: Gjerde 6 ... Steal leader: Rohner 3
BUFFALO LAKE-HECTOR-STEWART - Scoring: Keegan Hanson 7, Kylie Ehlers 2, Chloe Ufkes 3, Tia Weispfenning 4, Jadah Borth 3, Sara Kottke 14, Rachel Dean 4 ... 3-point shots: Hanson 1, Kottke 1 ... Rebound leader: NA ... Assist leader: NA ... Steal leader: NA
Boys Basketball
Minneota 73, DB 67
Dawson-Boyd built a big first-half lead and held off Minneota down the stretch to hand the Vikings their first loss of the season on Thursday in Dawson.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Blackjacks' Bentley Boike finished with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Alex Swenson scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds and Romell Horton had 13 points and seven boards. Jake Lee also scored in double figures with 12 points. He also had seven rebounds.
Minneota (11-1) 28 39 - 67
Dawson-Boyd (8-4) 40 33 - 73
MINNEOTA - Scoring: Jared Josephson 1, Thomas Hennen 29, Logan Sussner 10, Jacob Hennen 10, Isaac Hennen 12, Tristan Sorenson 3, Nolan Boerboom 2 ... 3-point shots: 11 Hennen 3, 15 Hennen 2, Sorenson 1 ... Rebound leader: Sussner 10, 15 Hennen 6 ... Assist leader: Josephson 4 ... Steal leader: Josephson 2
DAWSON-BOYD - Scoring: Colby Husby 6, Romell Horton 13, Keaton Schuelke 3, Alex Swenson 15, Jake Lee 12, Bentley Boike 22, Seth Stratmoen 2 ... 3-point shots: Horton 3, Schuelke 1, Swenson 1, Lee 4 ... Rebound leader: Boike 11, Lee 7, Horton 7, Swenson 6, Husby 6 ... Assist leader: Lee 5, Swenson 3 ... Steal leader: Husby 2, Horton 2, Swenson 2
KMS 62, Benson 32
KMS doubled up on the Braves in a non-conference game Thursday in Kerkhoven.
Benson (0-11) 16 16 - 32
KMS (7-5) 32 30 - 62
BENSON - Scoring: Matt Goossen 4, Eric Hoium 4, Matt Connolly 2, Will Enderson 7, Sam Lundebrek 7, Hunter Gonnerman 6, Jonas Habben 2 ... 3-point shots: None ... Rebound leader: Enderson 5 ... Assist leader: Connolly 2 ... Steal leader: Enderson 2, Lundebrek 2
KMS - Stats not provided
ACGC 85, Montevideo 44
Josh Kinzler scored 21 points, Dawson Miller scored 19 and Jaren Kaddatz had 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals in ACGC's win over Montevideo on Thursday.
Kinzler also had six rebounds and Kobe Holtz finished with 12 points.
Montevideo's Isaac Hoogeveen had 10 points and Cole Sandven had nine points and seven rebounds.
ACGC (4-5) 56 29 - 85
Montevideo (1-9) 27 17 - 44
ACGC - Scoring: Josh Kinzler 21, Wyatt Weseman 1, Kobe Holtz 12, Jaren Kaddatz 17, Dawson Miller 19, Steven Lawver 5, Michael Lambert 2, Elliot Gratz 8 ... 3-point shots: Kinzler 4, Kaddatz 1, Miller 4, Lawver 1 ... Rebound leader: Kaddatz 7, Gratz 5, Kinzler 6 ... Assist leader: Kaddatz 6, Lambert 3 ... Steal leader: Kaddatz 6, Lambert 3
MONTEVIDEO - Scoring: Isaac Hoogeveen 10, Cole Sandven 9, Christian Riley 8, Adam Root 7, Josh Kinman 3, Thomas O'Malley 2, Henry Strunc 2, Trent Dreyer 1, Josh Tastad 1, Merrick Moe 1 ... 3-point shots: Hoogeveen 1 ... Rebound leader: Sandven 7, O'Malley 5, Strunc 4 ... Assist leader: Root 2 ... Steal leader: Riley 3
RCW 66, Canby 54
Nathan Serbus had a double-double to lead Renville County West back to the .500 mark for the year.
The center scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds as the Jaguars and Lancers posted the same scores over both halves.
RCW (7-7) 33 33 - 66
Canby (3-9) 27 27 - 54
RENVILLE COUNTY WEST - Scoring: Jaime Castillo 9, Tony Froland 12, Justin Schrupp 9, Riley Ashburn 14, Jaden Kolker 3, Nathan Serbus 19 ... 3-point shots: Schrupp 1, Ashburn 2, Kolker 1 ... Rebound leader: Serbus 11, Froland 8, Schrupp 7 ... Assist leader: Schrupp 5 ... Steal leader: Ashburn 6
CANBY - Scoring: Tyler Kack 5, Zach Durfee 13, Tyler Sayre 5, Riley Kockelman 18, Ethan Thovson 6, Blake Mercer 1, Jacob Crowser 4, Carter Wente 2 ... 3-point shots: Kack 1, Durfee 1, Sayre 1, Kockelman 1, Thovson 1 ... Rebound leader: Durfee 9, Kack 7 ... Assist leader: Kack 4, Mercer 4 ... Steal leader: Kockelman 3, Mercer 3, Crowser 3
CMCS 57, YME 47
Peter Martin and Austin TeBrake combined to score 24 points as Central Minnesota Christian downed Yellow Medicine East Thursday night.
YME's Carter Sneller led all players with 14 points and seven rebounds.
YME (1-9) 19 28 - 47
CMCS (4-9) 21 36 - 57
YELLOW MEDICINE EAST - Scoring: Nicky Lindstrom 8, Bennett Knapper 12, Carter Sneller 14, Ethan Peterson 2, Trent Skjefte 2, Dalton Anderson 9 ... 3-point shots: Knapper 2 ... Rebound leader: Sneller 7, Jahrell Ischmon 5, Skjefte 5 ... Assist leader: none ... Steal leader: Sneller 4
CENTRAL MINNESOTA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL - Scoring: Simon Van Dyken 10, Jake Meyer 6, Austin TeBrake 12, Mason Beekman 2, Micah Vander Beek 9, Peter Martin 12, Braden Ruschen 6 ... 3-point shots: Van Dyken 1, TeBrake 2, Martin 1 ... Rebound leader: Vander Beek 6, TeBrake 5 ... Assist leader: none ... Steal leader: Three players with one
LQPV 72, TMB 55
Lac qui Parle Valley knocked down eight of their 11 3-pointers on the way to a Camden Conference win.
Caden Bjornjeld led the way with 26 points, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
The Eagles will host Montevideo Friday night.
TMB (2-11) 23 32 - 55
LQPV (8-7) 37 35 - 72
TRACY-MILROY-BALATON - Scoring: Moses Dolan 14, Jake Tauer 5, Michael Monson 1, Bo Holland 2, Fritz Landherr 11, Rylan Fogelson 8, Matt Timmerman 4, Jet Davis 3, Lucas Gervais 7 ... 3-point shots: Fogelson 2, Dolan 1, Tauer 1, Landherr 1, Davis 1 ... Rebound leader: NA ... Assist leader: NA ... Steal leader: NA
LAC QUI PARLE VALLEY - Scoring: Austin Bonn 9, Caden Bjornjeld 26, Eean Allpress 2, Isaac Gerdes 8, Evan Benson 5, Ross Olson 6, Braiden Kittelson 7, Maverick Conn 7 ... 3-point shots: Bjornjeld 5, Bonn 1, Benson 1, Kittelson 1 ... Rebound leader: Olson 5, Gerdes 5, Kittelson 5 ... Assist leader: Bonn 4 ... Steal leader: Gerdes 6
Lakeview 77, MACCRAY 67
Lakeview edged MACCRAY to earn their 10th win of the season.
The Wolverines were nearly lights out from long-range, though, hitting 13-of-22 from distance, including a combined perfect 6-of-6 performance from Blake Wadsworth and Brady Kienitz. Wadsworth led the Wolverines with 18 points.
Lakeview (10-4) 77
MACCRAY (4-10) 67
LAKEVIEW - Stats not provided
MACCRAY - Scoring: Riley Cronen 2, Blake Wadsworth 18, Brady Kienitz 12, Kelby Jaenisch 3, Brett Harguth 10, Braden Hoekstra 5, Kelvin Miles 2, Thomas Kirking 15... 3-point shots: Wadsworth 2, Kienitz 4, Jaenisch 1, Harguth 1, Hoekstra 1, Kirking 4 ... Rebound leader: Harguth 7, Jaenisch 6 ... Assist leader: Jaenisch 5 ... Steal leader: Jaenisch 1, Hoekstra 1
Maple Lake 82, BBE 54
Maple Lake hit 12 3-point shots and defeated BBE in a Central Minnesota Conference game on Thursday in Brooten.
BBE's Parker Schwinghammer scored 18 points and Dylan Meyer finished with 13 points. Evan Wiener had nine points and seven rebounds.
Maple Lake (7-3) 39 43 - 82
BBE (3-9) 28 26 - 54
MAPLE LAKE - Scoring: Zach Eder 7, Ben Rivers 2, Mitch Hoistad 20, Andy Mavencamp 6, Joseph Stokman 15, Ben Reilley 4, Cole Trager 20, Maxx Pribyl 2, Wyatt Jacobs 4, Alex Toedter 2 ... 3-point shots: Eder 2, Hoistad 3, Mavencamp 2, Stokman 2, Trager 3 ... Rebound leader: Trager 8, Toedter 7 ... Assist leader: Stokman 3 ... Steal leader: Hoistad 2, Trager 2
BBE - Scoring: Dylan Meyer 13, Ethan Schwinghammer 4, Evan Wiener 9, Parker Schwinghammer 18, Ashton Dingmann 6, Kyle Felling 4 ... 3-point shots: Meyer 3, Wiener 1, P. Schwinghammer 2, Dingmann 2 ... Rebound leader: Wiener 7 ... Assist leader: P. Schwinghammer 2 ... Steal leader: P. Schwinghammer 2
EVW 69, Paynesville 51
Eden Valley-Watkins held a comfortable lead en route to a win over Paynesville on Thursday.
The Eagles improved to 9-1 with the win and were led by a game-high 17 points from Justin Streit.
Jared Campbell had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.
EVW (9-1) 35 34 - 69
Paynesville (3-7) 25 26 - 51
EDEN VALLEY-WATKINS - Scoring: Justin Streit 17, Dominic Schlangen 14, Josh Streit 13, Luke Jansen 9, Kobe Beattie 7, Mickale Stotz 4, Landon Schlangen 3, Matthew Notch 2 ... 3-point shots: Jansen 3, Beattie 2, L Schlangen 1 ... Rebound leader: NA ... Assist leader: NA ... Steal leader: NA
PAYNESVILLE - Scoring: Jared Campbell 11, Spencer Imholte 8, Caden Spanier 8, Levi Bast 7, Grady Fuchs 4, Max Weidner 4, Brenden Uhlenkamp 3, Zach Osendorf 2, Carter Wessel 2, Sam Oehrlein 2 ... 3-point shots: Imholte 2 ... Rebound leader: Campbell 7, Oehrlein 5 ... Assist leader: Weidner 3 ... Steal leader: Bast 2
Hancock 82, WHN 44
Noah Kannegiesser scored 30 points and Bennett Nienhaus followed with 21 points as Hancock nearly doubled up Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Thursday night.
Nienhaus added five rebounds and seven steals to come within sniffing distance of a triple-double.
Hancock (8-1) 48 34 - 82
WHN (2-8) 16 28 - 44
HANCOCK - Scoring: Noah Kannegiesser 30, Bennett Nienhaus 21, Peyton Rohloff 11, Connor Reese 5, Kaleb Koehl 3, Daniel Milander 2, Tanner Pahl 2, Jordan Peterson 2, Mason Schmidgall 2 ... 3-point shots: Kannegiesser 5, Nienhaus 5, Koehl 4, Rohloff 1 ... Rebound leader: Nienhaus 5, Cole Reese 5, Rohloff 5 ... Assist leader: Cole Reese 9, Noah Kannegiesser 6 ... Steal leader: Nienhaus 7
WHEATON/HERMAN-NORCROSS - Scoring: Matthew Thielen 12, Nelson Schmidt 9, Hunter Johnson 6, Christian Krump 5, Drew Baynbridge 5, Nick Lupkes 4, Zach Stueve 2, Logan Birchem 1 ... 3-point shots: Thielen 2, Schmidt 1 ... Rebound leader: NA ... Assist leader: NA ... Steal leader: NA
