Knights taking good 'D' to St. Cloud

WCA girls to battle No. 2 Albany in 6AA championship game

By Brian Hansel (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Thursday, March 6, 2008

When the chips are down the West Central Area Knights will go with defense every time.

A surprising 53-28 victory over No. 1-ranked Minnewaska last Saturday propelled Pat Anderson's girls into the Section 6AA championship game. So now the chips are down.

The Knights are 21-6 going into Friday's game with Albany, the No. 2-ranked Class AA team in the state. The two clubs bump Friday at St. Cloud State's Halenbeck Hall. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. and a trip to the state tournament in the prize.

The Knights had hopes for a big season last fall. They  jumped off to a strong start and were even among the Top 10 early in the year. They finished third in the Heart O' Lakes Conference and went into the sub-section tournament rated second.

Defense is the trademark of the Lady Knights along with a strong core of upperclassmen.  The veteran team has six seniors that know what head coach Pat Anderson wants.

"To me the three things that are really important are turnovers, free throws and p laying defense," said Anderson. "I think we've done all three of these things in the playoffs."

Tentative starters for Friday's game will include Liza Torgerson (13.9 points) at the point, Taylor Brekke (12.9 points) and Laura Huebner (5.8 points, 5.3 rebounds) at the wings and Krystal Lacey (9.3 points, 5.7 rebounds) and DeLaine Ronhovde (5.3 points) at the posts.

"Our biggest attribute is our defense," said Anderson, who has seen his team allow only 47.4 points a game. "We have been a team that likes to get out and press and trap. The girls pride themselves on defense. Like we've said the last two or three years, 'nobody is going  to outwork us on the defensive end.'"

The Huskies have three players that have mega numbers. Jennie Noreen is one of the top players in the state having scored more than 2,000 points in her career. The 5-10 guard averages 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. The Huskies also have strong scorers in 6-0 forward Sam Larsen, who averages 16.4 points a game, and 5-10 guard Taylor Voss, who averages 15.1.

Rounding out the starting ranks for Albany are 6-0 center Hannah Hylla, who averages 10.6 points a game, and 5-6 forward Holly Terres, who averages 2.6.

"This group of girls is the best team I have ever coached in my 20 years at Albany," said Albany head coach Jon Noreen. "They are extremely close and unselfish in their team play."

The Huskies have played a challenging schedule this season which has included victories over 4A powers Wayzata and Rochester John Marshall and 2A power Eden Valley-Watkins.