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Otters shoot down Flyers: Strand scored 30 on way to 1,000 point milestone
Published 10:28am Monday, December 3, 2012The Fergus Falls girls basketball as they blacked out Little Falls on both ends of the floor, racing out to a 16-0 lead to start the game and continuing that pace throughout for a decisive 84-27 victory over the Little Falls Flyers.
The Otters used a stifling man-to-man full court pressure defense that resulted in a whopping 28 steals on the night for the team, many converted for easy points on the offensive end. When they weren’t making transition lay-ups off steals, they settled into a half-court offense against the Flyer’s zone that had the perfect balance of outside shooting by Bailey Strand and Brianna Rasmusson and the inside offensive rebounding and post shots by Hanna Swenson and Anna Monke that was too much for the Flyers to handle.
Strand carried over her hot shooting from Thursday night’s game, where she had 29 points, into this game where she made 6 of 10 two-pointers, 5 of 9 three-pointers, and 3 of 4 free throws to finish the night with 30 points.
That point total brought her exactly to the 1,000 point milestone in her career. She made six shots in a row early in the second half to reach the 1,000 points, and was taken out to an ovation from the crowd.
Rasmusson also had her characteristic excellent floor game and scoring night, getting an unusual double-double of 12 points and 10 assists. The Otters had 24 assisted baskets, which if not a single game record, it has to be close.
Meanwhile, on the inside, senior center Swenson had a monster game on the boards, recording 15 rebounds, 10 big ones on the offensive end, many resulting in put-back scores. She also ended the night with a double-double of 14 points and the 15 rebounds. Monke also had a great stat line, with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals adding the additional inside presence that made the Otters impossible to stop. All these totals were impressive considering the starters were pulled with 10 minutes left in the game.
Every player received extra playing time in front of their parents on parents night, and the crowd kept the Gold Gym rocking throughout the evening.
Samantha Velde came off the bench to add six points, as did Kristin Traiser. Ten players contributed to the 28 steals recorded by the Otters.
Gabby Nouis was the only Flyer in double figures with 10 points.
The Otters out-rebounded the Flyers 32 to 20 and had only 11 turnovers to the Flyers 30. The Otters shot a hot 54 percent from the floor, while holding Little Falls to only 30 percent shooting.
“We came out with a really good energy level on parents night and set the tone early with our defense,” commented Otter head coach Brad Strand. “Hanna Swenson did an awesome job on the offensive glass and I was very pleased with our passing that set up 24 assisted baskets. As a coach and a parent, I’m very proud of Bailey’s accomplishment of 1,000 career points, especially knowing personally of the hundreds of hours she’s spent alone in the gym to reach the skill level she’s at. But both Bailey and I know that you don’t reach that milestone without being surrounded by good teammates who get you the ball at the right time and place on the floor, just as her Otter teammates did tonight.”
The Otters move to 2-0 for the season and are scheduled to play at home Tuesday night against their Central Lakes Conference and Section rival Alexandria Cardinals at 7:30 p.m.
Fergus Falls (84) – Strand 30, Swenson 14, Rasmusson 12, Monke 8, Velde 6, Traiser 6, Capouch 4, Sawtell 2, Reinertson 2.
Little Falls (27) – Nouis 10, Pohlman 7, Ronning 4, Finch 3, Dorn 2, Moe 1.
