Girls struggle in conference basketball action

By Brenda Erdahl

Sports Editor

The Maple Lake girls basketball team struggled to get a win last week in conference and non-conference action.

On Tuesday, Jan. 2, the Irish hosted Central Minnesota Conference foe Royalton and fell 65-32. On Friday, Jan. 5, the Irish played host to conference foe Kimball and fell 68-23. On Saturday, Jan. 6, the Irish traveled to PACT Charter School where they fell 54-43.

Maple Lake 32, Royalton 65

The Royals dominated with their height in their first meeting with the Irish this season. Royalton sports three girls over six feet tall and they presented a significant challenge, Irish Head Coach Adam Ronnenberg said.

Maple Lake played a zone defense in an attempt to keep the ball out of the lane but were unable to match Royalton’s shooting or rebounding.

“We knew we would have a big challenge,” Ronnenberg said. “Taking care of the ball continues to plague our group, but we are working every day and making strides in the right direction.”

The Irish had 28 turnovers Tuesday night, which led to 34 points for the Royals. Aleigha Jensen led the Irish with 11 points followed closely by Avery Lee with 10 points.

Maple Lake 23, Kimball 68

The Irish came short handed to their first meet-up of the season with the Cubs and Kimball didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. Missing two starters, the Cubs subdued the Irish with physical strength and rebounding. Their pressure defense disrupted the home team’s offense all night and Maple Lake struggled to secure rebounds.

“We got pushed around a little and had people playing out of position most of the night.  We talk a lot about battling adversity and this game presented plenty of opportunities.  No question we will be better for it.”

Lee and Kass Fynboh led scoring for the Maple Lake team with eight points each.

Maple Lake 43, PACT 54

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