Girls basketball roundup: An emotional win for the Willmar Cardinals

WILLMAR — The Willmar girls basketball team’s senior trio helped pace the Cardinals to a 76-44 victory in honor of their late teammate and friend Jenna Reynolds on Monday at the Big Red Gym.

Donning “Jumpers for Jenna” t-shirts throughout warmups and on the bench, seniors Allie Rosendahl, Deshawna Hodges and Zoe Schroeder combined for 34 points on senior night.

Reynolds, who grew up a part of the class of 2023, passed away at the age of 13 in July 2018 after a battle with cancer.

“That was a big thing for today — being locked in and playing for her,” said Schroeder, who made her return to the lineup after missing four games due to a concussion. “It means a lot to be able to get the win and be able to perform (well), especially us seniors that were with her for a while. We played for her. We did it for her. We emphasized that.”

Hodges added, “Knowing that we won for her, it was moving. It was really nice.”

The Cardinals have won six straight. Rosendahl and Schroeder both had 13 points. Freshman Brielle Ogdahl and junior Kenedee Salonek added 12 and 10, respectively.

Willmar has scored 60 or more points in five of its last six games, a mark that has happened two other times this season outside of this stretch. The Cardinals have also surpassed 70 points twice over their win streak.

“The girls have been playing really well — a six-game winning streak is big for us,” Willmar head coach Brendan Hedtke said. “They’ve been buying into what we’re doing and they’ve been taking care of business.”

Willmar got off to a hot start, opening the game with a 14-0 run fueled by Rosendahl, who scored seven of her 13 points in that stretch.

The Cardinals’ fast start and strong defense propelled them to a 47-19 halftime lead.

“We really emphasized starting out strong because we’ve been starting out really slow the last couple of games,” Schroeder said. “It was just a really good team effort tonight.”

Hedtke was “really proud” of his Cardinals’ ball distribution in the first half. Willmar finished the game with 23 assists and Schroeder led the way with five.

“We weren’t being selfish and we were moving the ball around finding our teammates,” Hedtke said of his team’s effort in the first half. “Offensively, we’re doing great. We’re doing exactly what we need to do.”

Willmar is scheduled to play in its regular-season finale against Sauk Rapids at 7:15 p.m. Friday at Willmar.

“(We need to continue) being strong with the ball, being confident in ourselves — that’s the main thing — and keep finding our rhythm,” Hodges said. “We need to continue to build each other up and we need to have fun, most importantly.”

Big Lake (2-22)        19   25 — 44
Willmar (10-15)        47   29 — 76

BIG LAKE - Scoring: Rylie Sternquist 26, Ashley Fitzgibbons 10, Mya Knapp 3, Jessie Moyer 2, Emma Jacobs 2, Lauren Barthel 1 … 3-point shots: Fitzgibbons 2, Sternquist 2, Knapp 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

WILLMAR - Scoring: Allie Rosendahl 13, Zoe Schroeder 13, Brielle Ogdahl 12, Kenedee Salonek 10, Lyza Gustafson 8, Deshawna Hodges 8, Maycee Gustafson 5, Telilie Lange 4, Isley Ripperger 2, Hannah Magnuson 1 … 3-point shots: Ogdahl 2, Rosendahl 2, Hodges 2 … Rebound leader: Ogdahl 6 … Assist leader: Schroeder 5 … Steal leader: Rosendahl 7, Lange 5 ... Block leader: Maddison Molacek 1 

Madelynn Luft scored 26 points and had 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots to help Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg beat Brandon-Evansville at Kerkhoven.

Acelynn Hacker added 10 points, six rebounds and eight steals for the Fighting Saints, who got 10 points and five rebounds from Mami Luft.

Hadley Baune led the Chargers with 15 points.

KMS wraps up its regular-season against Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Kerkhoven.

B-E (7-16)         15   25 — 40
KMS (19-6)       24   25 — 49

B-E - Scoring: Grace Otto 3, Taylor Dingwall 2, Sydney Schaefer 8, Hadley Baune 15, Kylee Dingwall 7, Emilia Elmer 5  … 3-point shots: Otto 1, Schaefer 2, Baune 3, Elmer 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a 

KMS - Scoring: Acelynn Hacker 10, Julia Carlson 1, Josie Gjerde 2, Mamie Luft 10, Madelynn Luft 26 … 3-point shots: Mad. Luft 1 … Rebound leader: Mad. Luft 14 … Assist leader: Hacker 2, J. Gjerde 2 … Steal leader: Hacker 8 ... Block leader: Mad. Luft 8 

Litchfield improved to 13-12 with a win against ACGC behind Morgan Falling at Grove City.

Falling, a junior guard, scored 12 points for the Dragons. Senior guard/forward Greta Hansen added eight points and 11 rebounds.

The Falcons’ leading bucket-getter was junior guard/forward Grace Kaehler with eight points.

ACGC (5-19) is scheduled to play in its regular-season finale at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Holdingford. Litchfield is scheduled to play its regular-season finale against New London-Spicer at 7 p.m. Tuesday at New London.

Litchfield (13-12)      21   21 — 42
ACGC (5-19)             15     9 — 24

LITCHFIELD - Scoring: Ryanna Steinhaus 6, Kylie Michels 6, Shelby Dengerud 2, Greta Hansen 8, Adeline Lundin 2, Izzy Pennertz 6, Morgan Falling 12 … 3-point shots: Steinhaus 2, Michels 2 … Rebound leaders: Hansen 11, Pennertz 9 … Assist leaders: Steinhaus 3, Michels 3 … Steal leader: Steinhaus 3, Falling 3 ... Block leader: Dengerud 1

ACGC - Scoring: Elli Roemeling 2, Mikaili Johnson 4, Aaliyah Carlson 2, Ruby Klinger 6, Mackenzie Powers 2, Grace Kaehler 8 … 3-point shots: Kaehler 2 … Rebound leader: Roemeling 7 … Assist leader: Roemeling 2, Johnson 2 … Steal leader: Kaehler 1, Taylor Frericks ... Block leader: Klinger 2 

Abby Berge had 21 points, Brooklyn Fischer scored 19 and Tiyana Schwinghammer added 11 as Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa secured the easy victory at Pine River.

BBE is ranked 12th in Class A and has won nine of its previous 11 games.

BBE plays at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Osakis.

Pine River-Backus (11-13)      20   15 — 35
BBE (19-4)                                40   33 — 73

PINE RIVER-BACKUS - Stats not available

BBE - Scoring: Anna Jaeger 7, Bree Thieschafer 5, Brooklyn Fischer 19, Tiyana Schwinghammer 11, Madison Hoffmann 2, Adley Hagen 6, Abby Berge 21, Harley Roering 2 … 3-point shots: Jaeger 1, Schwinghammer 2 … Rebound leader: Schwinghammer 7 … Assist leader: Schwinghammer 4 … Steal leader: Schwinghammer 4 ... Block leader: Schwinghammer 1 

Hannah Stark had 26 points, three assists and four steals to help lead Yellow Medicine East past Lakeview at Granite Falls.

Ruby Bones contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Sting.

Megan Schwartz led the Lakers with 11 points.

YME is 4-6 in the Camden Conference South Division. Lakeview is 0-10.

YME plays in its season-finale at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at Montevideo.

Lakeview (5-20)        16   20 — 36
YME (12-12)              28   33 — 61

LAKEVIEW - Scoring: Megan Schwartz 11, Shelby Justesen 3, Savanna Louwagie 1, Aubreigh Rausch 9, Korysa Herrick 7, Carmen Varpness 3, Brooke Gunlogson 2 … 3-point shots: Rausch 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a 

YME - Scoring: Hope Stark 4, Ella Cherveny 2, Bayli Sneller 6, Ruby Bones 14, Stella Schuler 6, Ashley Luepke 1, Gracie Kleven 2, Hannah Stark 26 … 3-point shots: Sneller 2, Schuler 2, Ha. Stark 4 … Rebound leader: Bones 11 … Assist leader: Ho. Stark 3, Ha. Stark 3 … Steal leader: Cherveny 4, Ha. Stark 4 ... Block leader: Alana Almich 1 

Kate Dahl scored a game-best 22 points to pace Dawson-Boyd to a win in its regular season-finale at Ortonville.

Dahl made seven 3-pointers and added nine rebounds.

Dawson-Boyd is 8-18 and 3-9 in the Camden North. Ortonville is 0-11.

The Blackjacks play Lakeview in a Subsection 3A-North play-in game at 7 p.m. Thursday at Dawson.

Dawson-Boyd (8-18)      n/a   n/a — 61
Ortonville (1-24)             n/a   n/a — 52

DAWSON-BOYD - Scoring: Kate Dahl 22, Allison Estling 13, Chelsie Husby 9, Alyssa Swedzinski 9, Hayley Anderson 6, Ayiana Hastad 2 … 3-point shots: Dahl 7, Estling 2, Swedzinski 1 … Rebound leaders: Dahl 9, Hastad 8 … Assist leader: Dahl 3 … Steal leader: Husby 3 ... Block leader: Swedzinski 1 

ORTONVILLE - Scoring: Emma Anderson 18, Kadyn Gronholz 13, Kendall Gronholz 6, Lily Streich 5, Claire Kellen 3, Chloe Rabe 2, Megan Strong 2 … 3-point shots: Ka. Gronholz 2, Kellen 1 … Rebound leader: Anderson 15, Ka. Gronholz 10… Assist leader: n/a… Steal leader: Ka. Gronholz 2 ... Block leader: n/a

Isabel Gerdes hit four of Lac qui Parle Valley’s nine 3-pointers in helping the Eagles win the Camden Conference championship at Minneota.

Gerdes finished with a game-high 22 points. Taylor Shelstad added 18 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Eagles.

Faith Myhre had 11 points and Kenadi Arndt added 10 for the Vikings.

LQPV (No. 17 in Class A) ends the regular season on an 11-game winning streak. The Eagles are the top seed in Section 3A-North and play the winner of No. 8 Dawson-Boyd and No. 9 Lakeview at 11 a.m. Saturday in Montevideo.

LQPV (23-3)             24   30 — 54
Minneota (17-8)       24   17 — 41

Lainey Braulick, Mari Ryberg and Kenzie Visser led the way as BOLD blasted Morris/Chokio-Alberta at Olivia.

Braulick had 19 points to lead all scorers. Ryberg added 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and 10 steals. Visser contributed 13 points and eight rebounds.

Kaylee Harstad led Morris/CA with 11 points.

BOLD, ranked sixth in Class A, has won eight of its last 10 games.

BOLD is scheduled to play Heritage Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday at Maple Grove.

Morris/CA (5-19)      16   20 — 36
BOLD (20-5)             45   26 — 71

MORRIS/CA - Scoring: Maddy Grove 6, Lauren Hottovy 1, Hana Schutz 2, Addison Cihak 7, Maddie Fehr 9, Kaylee Harstad 11  … 3-point shots: Harstad 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a 

BOLD - Scoring: Lainey Braulick 19, Mari Ryberg 18, Kenzie Visser 13, Layla Pfarr 7, Kenna Henriksen 5, Peyton Sander 4, Anna Moorse 3, Lily Dean 2 … 3-point shots: Braulcik 1, Henriksen 1, Morse 1, Pfarr 1 … Rebound leader: Ryberg 8, Visser 8 … Assist leader: Ryberg 5 … Steal leader: Ryberg 10 ... Block leader: Sander 1, Ryberg 1