"You'll never get ahead if you don't take care of what you have." - Doris Waddell, RIP

The late Ralph E. Williams with "Heidi" - morris mn

The late Ralph E. Williams with "Heidi" - morris mn
Click on the image to read Williams family reflections w/ emphasis on UMM.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Girls learn New London-Spicer as tough as ever

New London-Spicer girls basketball appears as sizzling as ever. Lest there be any doubt, look at the score from when the Wildcats hosted our Morris Area Chokio Alberta Tigers on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The Wildcats improved to 5-0 with their 67-29 win over MACA. Ouch!
The Tigers will be challenged in a big way trying to follow the volleyball team to the state tournament. But a long season lies ahead. The holiday break beckons. I have discovered that UMM has had to lay off the term "holiday," once considered safe as a way of not connoting religious significance. Now the line has to be completely drawn. I discovered this at the reception held at Oyate Tuesday. Holiday-type cheer was definitely felt regardless of the way the event was billed.
The MACA girls owned a 4-0 record going into the NL-Spicer game. The Wildcats delighted their home fans with a swarming type of defense. They passed the ball crisply and were rewarded with high-percentage shots. The game's tone was definitely set.
Much of the Wildcats' spark came from Shea Oman, the talented point guard, a junior. Oman scurried around to get steals and assists.
Mike Dreier continues to be at the helm of the Wildcats. What a long background of winning this coaching fixture has. I wonder if he still looks like he wears a toupee. Rick Lucken and I used to speculate on this. Dreier had to smile as his charges built a 39-10 halftime lead.
Oman scored the team-best total for NL-Spicer: 18 points. Kabrie Weber and Morgan Swenson joined Oman in double figures with 14 and 11 respectively. Erin Tebben put in six points, then came Brooke Beuning, Emma Hanson and Payton Mages each with four. These three Wildcats each contributed two points to the cause: Sam Johnson, Mackenzie Rich and Michelle Johnson.
Oman had a sharp eye from three-point range, making three long-rangers. Weber sank two from three-point territory. Tebben led in rebounds with nine. Oman was tops in assists with eight followed by Weber and Beuning each with four. Oman stole the ball eight times.
OK, let's move on to the Tigers, who had Correy Hickman lead the way in scoring with 13 points. It was pretty anemic after her. Malory Anderson, Nicole Solvie and Ashley Solvie each scored four points. Jenna Howden and Carly Wohlers each added two points. Hickman made the only MACA three-pointer. The Solvies were tops in rebounds, Nicole with six and Ashley with five. Hickman led in assists with four, and Anderson's three steals made her the tops there.
 
Boys: Tigers 80, ACGC 74 (OT)
Once again the MACA boys pushed a game into overtime. Each of their first two games ended up as an overtime affair. And both times the Tigers came through with the winning tools. Our success Tuesday was over the Falcons of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. We outscored ACGC 13-7 in the OT extension to win in the 80-74 final.
If that score seems familiar, it's because it was the final score in the Tigers' opener vs. Minnwaska Area. At halftime it looked as though overtime would not be required, as we led 40-34.
In winning we overcame ACGC's prolific scorer Gabe Eisenbacher. Eisenbacher led the Falcons' second half surge to get the score tied. He ended up with a game-best 26 points. The Falcons came out of the game with a 3-2 record, while the orange and black sits perfect at 2-0.
Five different Tigers made at least one 3-point shot. Tate Nelson made two of our 3's while these Tigers each made one: Connor Koebernick, Camden Arndt, Jacob Zosel and Jaret Johnson.
It was Johnson leading the scoring list with 21 points. Zosel was No. 2 on the list with 17 points. Three other Tigers scored in double figures in this most balanced effort: Arndt (14), Nelson (11) and Tim Travis (10). Lukus Manska scored four points and Koebernick scored three. Arndt and Denner Dougherty co-led in rebounds with seven each. Johnson wrapped his arms around six rebounds. Three Tigers each dished out six assists: Nelson, Arndt and Zosel. In steals, Travis and Manska each recorded three.
Eisenbacher was complimented in ACGC's scoring by Payton Kinzler with 15 points and Erik Belgum with eleven. Jaren Kaddatz scored nine points. Kinzler succeeded three times from three-point range. Adam Johnson had the team-best nine rebounds. Kaddatz dished out eight assists. Johnson stole the ball four times.
- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

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