Stratford solves Edgar’s trap defense

By Casey Krautkramer

Stratford’s varsity girls basketball team handled Edgar’s 1-3-1 press defense with ease in Thursday’s 50-35 home win. The Tigers only committed 10 turnovers compared to the Wildcats with 21.

Tigers head coach Tammie Christopherson said her players are accustomed to beating opponents traps this season.

“Everybody presses this year so I’ll be honest it’s just becoming old hat a little bit,” she said. “After you survive Assumption’s press then everything else looks a little easier, so I feel that we are pretty seasoned against the press. Edgar’s press didn’t bother us. We struggled shooting a little bit here and there at the start, I mean we probably left 20 points on the floor but we consistently put it together and found some ways to score. We turned some defense into offense and got some good looks. You will always take a good win in the Marawood South because it’s never easy.”

Stratford built a comfortable 27-12 halftime lead thanks to junior guard MyKayla Stueber knocking down outside shots. Edgar kept battling, however, as the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run to start the second half to cut the Tigers’ lead to just five points. Edgar junior Savannah Koepke had some key baskets during the big run.

Edgar head coach Nicole Nowak described what good things her young team did to begin the second half.“In the locker room at halftime we just talked about the fundamentals and getting ourselves back to making sure that we are getting to our spots on the floor, that we are opening up those driving lanes and taking them and coming to a nice jump stop and giving a good kick pass out,” she said. “We shoot much better off a rhythm shot and that’s where we seem to have a lot more success and then our momentum kind of slowed down after we went on that nice run, but we are still working to keep improving as that’s the goal this season.”

She said her team’s 1-3-1 press has been successful against other opponents this season, despite it not working as well against Stratford in Thursday’s game.

“It gives them pressure at the top of the key,” Nowak said. “It maybe gives them some long passes out of range or just within reach for us to go after in the air. I have athletic girls so I need to put them in position so they can go get some stuff out of the air and as long as they are moving on the floor good stuff comes from it.”

Christopherson was happy her Stratford squad eventually settled down in the second half to prevail with a 15-point win against a scrappy Edgar bunch.

“We came out on our heels and didn’t play too well in the first two minutes of the second half,” she said. “We had some turnovers and we missed some shots but hats off to Edgar because they have improved a lot this season. This is probably one of their best shooting nights that they’ve had all year. We settled down and ran our offense and we figured it out and we kind of maintained that 12- to 15-point lead the rest of the way. We have a tendency to take a lull once in a while in a game, whether it’s at the start or in the middle and we need to eliminate that all together. We need to play a complete 36minute game. We can’t take a few minutes off against the teams we are playing.”

Stratford sophomore guard Carly Pankratz led her team with 11 points in the victory against Edgar. She outlined what the Tigers need to do to keep winning regular-season games to receive a good playoff seed.

“We just gotta play as a team and have some fun,” she said.

Stueber scored 10 points against the Wildcats while junior forward Tria Tubbs added nine points and she led the Tigers with seven rebounds. Senior guard Laney Pankratz paced Stratford with three steals.

Koepke led Edgar with 11 points as Edgar sees its record fall to 7-13 overall this season. Junior Brandi Halvorsen and sophomore Natallya Radke added 10 points apiece against Stratford. Radke paced the Wildcats with two steals.

Stratford easily beat Loyal, 59-24, on the road Tuesday to improve its record to

See GIRLS BASKETBALL/ page 14

FULL SPEED AHEAD - Stratford junior guard MyKayla Stueber pushes the basketball up the court in the first half of Thursday’s 50-35 home win against Edgar. Her junior teammate, center Emily Zuelke (22), follows the play. Edgar senior Emery Borchardt (3) attempts to get ahead of Stueber to cut her off while sophomore Isabella Kaiser (1) and senior Chloe Mellenberger (11) chase her from behind.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

SURVEYING THE COURT - Edgar junior Savannah Koepke looks for an open teammate to pass the basketball to during the second half of Thursday’s 50-35 road loss to Stratford. She is being guarded by Stratford senior Tria Tubbs. Edgar’s student cheering section is in the background.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

Carly Pankratz Girls basketball

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14-4 overall this season. The Tigers have now won four straight games. Senior forward Daisy Yoder led the Tigers with 16 points and four steals. Junior center Emily Zuelke added 11 points in the win. Senior guard Kayla Casperson paced the Tigers with four assists. Yoder and junior Erika Frick led Stratford with six rebounds each.

Raiders win home games

Marathon’s varsity girls basketball team have enjoyed some home cooking by beating both Newman Catholic, 60-29, on Thursday and then Stanley-Boyd, 53-28, on Monday. The Red Raiders improve their record to 15-3 overall this season.

Junior Mylee Haehlke and sophomore Maycie Myszka led Marathon with 10 points apiece in the home victory against Newman Catholic. Senior Kyla Heise added nine points. Senior Izzy Vardon paced the Red Raiders with six rebounds. Sophomore Kaitlyn Love led the team with four assists. Myszka paced Marathon with four steals and senior Cayden Sapinski had three.

Bluejays drop a pair

The Athens varsity girls basketball team lost to Phillips, 70-43, on the road Thursday. Senior Danica Diethelm and junior Katelyn DenOtter led the Bluejays with seven points each. Senior Bailey Hanke paced Athens with six rebounds. and four assists. Diethelm and sophomore Ellis Baer led the team with three steals apiece. Athens lost to Loyal, 48-27, on the road Monday. The Bluejays now have a 2-14 overall record this season.