Cardinals come back from 10 points down
The Staples-Motley girls basketball team had a comeback win, 60-53, against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton on Jan. 17, then cruised to a 56-21 win over Hawley on Jan. 19. They played at Pequot Lakes on Jan. 21, and fell 56-37 after a close first half.
Against DGF, the Cardinals fell behind by 10 early in the second half. Sam Schimpp started the team’s comeback with a three point shot. Kaitlyn Longworth made a basket and Amber Robben converted two steals into layups to tie the game. After Kelsie Weite and Chelsea Nanik scored on fast breaks, the Cardinals never lost the lead again, although DGF cut it to one point in the last three minutes.
“I am very proud of the kids and how they persevered against a very good team,” said Coach Craig Wolhowe. “We were on our heels a little bit in the first half. We made adjustments at halftime and played aggressive. Robben finished with 15 points and seven steals, Weite had 11 points and five rebounds, Claire Wolhowe had 10 points and eight rebounds and Nanik had 10 points.
Against Hawley, the Cardinals defense set the tone early. Hawley made only seven field goals for the game and no three pointers. Nanik was the top scorer with 15 points, Wolhowe had 10 and eight rebounds, Weite had nine points and nine rebounds and Robben scored nine points with four assists.
Pequot Lakes is ranked in the top ten in the state. Coach Wolhowe said they have good post players and good perimeter shooting, which makes them hard to defend. The Cardinals stayed with them in the first half and were down 23-26. But a slow start to the second half allowed an 18-3 run, which became the difference in the game.
“We committed 20 turnovers and our overall play was not good enough to overcome that,” said Wolhowe. “We shot a horrid 10 percent from inside the arc. Turnovers, missed shots and giving up 18 offensive rebounds is not the right formula to beat a very good team.”
Claire Wolhowe led the team with 12 points. Robben had six points with three assists. Schimpp scored six points while Nanik, Lexi Johnson and Weite each had three.
