The Decorah girls’ basketball team (7-3, 3-0 NEIC) is continuing to grow together, finishing last week with a non-conference win and a loss.
Pulling ahead
The Vikes made it three wins in a row Thursday as Decorah defeated Kee 59-37 in Lansing.
Decorah got off to a good start, leading 16-15 after the first frame and opened the game up in the second quarter to lead 26-20 at halftime. By the end of the third buzzer, the Vikings had the game under wraps with a 43-22 advantage.
“This was an excellent win by our girls. Knowing that Kee is a quality team, we had to play an entire four quarters to get the win. The best part about this win is we continued to play better from quarter to quarter,” said coach Blake Moen. “Also having eight girls in the scoring column is huge and shows the spread against a good team. I’m proud of our girls and excited to get back in the gym to keep getting better.”
Three Vikes hit double figures with Sydney Thompson pouring in 19 points. Claire Storhoff added 11 points, eight steals and five assists. Liz Bucksa contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Coming off the bench, Renae Wilson grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while Gracie Tangen pulled down six.
Decorah 16 10 17 16 59
Kee 15 5 2 15 37
Scoring – Sydney Thompson 19; Claire Storhoff 11; Liz Bucksa 10; Grace Tangen 6; Brooklyn Fromm 5; Clara Hjelle 4; Renae Wilson 2; Kelby Kerndt 2
Rebounds – Wilson 10; Bucksa 7; Tangen 6; Hjelle 5; Storhoff 4; Thompson 3; Fromm 1; Natalie Stevens 1; Kerndt 1; Assists – Hjelle 5; Storhoff 5; Fromm 3; Thompson 2; Tangen 2; Stevens 1; Wilson 1; Steals – Storhoff 8; Fromm 6; Bucksa 3; Hjelle 1; Wilson 1; Blocks – Thompson 1; Hjelle 1
Saturday’s Struggles
During some out-of-conference action Saturday, the Viking girls fell to Class 2A No. 14 Cascade (8-3) at home 53-39.
Decorah took a slim lead midway through the first quarter 8-6, but then the offense fell silent as the Cougars rattled of six unanswered points to finish the quarter with a 12-8 advantage. A pair of treys by Claire Storhoff and Sydney Thompson early in the second period put the Vikings within two, 16-14. The Viking defense kept Cascade off the board for nearly two minutes while closing the gap on a pair of Storhoff and Renae Wilson charity tosses. A long ball behind the arc by Brooklyn Fromm gave Decorah a 24-23 lead with 54 ticks on the clock before the break. However, Cascade battled back with a pair of free throws and a last second shot to carry a 27-24 lead into the locker room. In the third, the Cougar defense limited the offensive opportunities for Decorah, pushing out to a 42-33 lead with eight minutes remaining.
“We knew going in we woud have to play a very consistent game to beat a team like Cascade. I thought the girls showed great effort. We just struggled enough to get a bucket on offense and defensively we gave up a few too many easy looks. All things we can improve upon for our next slate of games,” said coach Moen.
Storhoff set the pace with 13 points, with Bucksa adding 12 points and seven rebounds. Fromm put up seven points to go with three assists and two boards. Hjelle was there for five rebounds as Tangen came off the bench to finish with four caroms.
Cascade 12 15 15 11 53
Decorah 8 16 9 6 39
Scoring – Storhoff 13; Bucksa 12; Fromm 7; Thompson 3; Wilson 2; Tangen 2
Rebounds – Bucksa 7; Hjelle 5; Tangen 4; Thompson 3; Fromm 3; Storhoff 2; Wilson 2; Assists – Fromm 3; Thompson 2; Hjelle 2; Wilson 2 Storhoff 1; Steals – Wilson 2; Thompson 1; Hjelle 1; Bucksa 1; Blocks – Fromm 1; Tangen 1
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