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Girls basketball: Cards clobber Otters
Published 1:47am Wednesday, January 20, 2010The state-ranked Alexandria girls basketball team used its experience, height and athleticism in a three-quarter court trapping zone to disrupt Fergus Falls and run away with a 76-54 Central Lakes Conference victory.
With three seniors, two juniors and three 6-footers, the the Cardinals attacked with a lethal 1-3-1 zone press, turning several early turnovers into points and mounting a 28-12 lead.
Angela Christianson did most of the damage in the first half, pouring in 21 points and helping the Cardinals take a sizable 42-26 lead at the break.
Brianna Rasmusson shut down Christianson in the second half, holding her to only four points, but several of her teammates picked up the slack as four Cardinals’ players finished with at least nine points.
Mariah Monke and Sydney Schultz did their best to hold the Otters in the game as Monke finished with 24 points and Schultz with 16.
Fergus Falls shot only 31 percent on the night while Alexandria finished at 46 percent.
Rebounding was even, as Alexandria grabbed 34 boards and Fergus Falls pulled down 33.
Monke led the Otters in rebounding with 14, to finish with her 10th straight double-double.
The Otters (8-5, 5-3 CLC) committed 24 turnovers, many leading to breakaway baskets for Alexandria (8-3, 7-1).
“We have to give Alexandria credit, they came to play tonight, with one of the best defenses we’ve seen all year,” noted coach Josh Mohagen. “Mariah was a mainstay for us with 24 hard-earned points and helping handle the press. Haylie Zenner came in the second half with some good defensive energy on our press to disrupt the Alexandria offense. Brianna Rasmusson also had a good defensive game for us.”
Junior Varsity: the Otters won 48-21 behind Kelly Hohman and Carly Ourem’s nine points apiece.
9th-grade: Alexandria won 40-27. Taylor Johnson and Laura Gaustad led the Otters with nine points each.
