BIG LAKE 55, MONTICELLO 41
It was rivalry night and Coaches Against Cancer night, and a double
header all rolled in one. In a make up game from the big freeze out from January 22 host Big Lake buzzed Monticello in a 55-41 Mississippi 8 Conference game, the first part of a girl/boy doubleheader. Both schools are a stone’s throw across the Mississippi River.
The Hornets built up a strong 15-5 lead in the with 9:30 remaining in the first half. But then the Hornets hit the wall. Despite the fact that Monticello’s 1000 point scorer 6-1 junior Anna Olson was sitting with fouls the Magic rose up and finished the half with almost a 180 degree turn—–a 14-2 kick—–to lead 19-17 at the break. Olson was limited to 18 minutes for the night. BL did not find the bottom of the basket until 30 seconds remained in the half—-a 9 minute dry spell.
There wasn’t a lot of long bombs in this game, but when Mia Huberty hit one from long distance with 13:15 left, she gave the Hornets their first lead in the second half at 26-23. Old fashioned three point plays helped boost BL. Reagan Sternquist relished the chances, connecting (at least on the initial score) three times in three minutes from the 12 to 9 minute mark. In that window Sternquist scored 10 of her team high 19 points. Sternquist did her damage with Olson again on the bench. Sternquist also drew fouls on 6-4 Cat Terres, but more importantly on point guard Lauran Zwack. Zwack was the only effective ball handler the Magic possessed. Zwack turned it over on every 43 touches. Monticello as a team turned it over every 17.38 touches. Eliminating Zwack from the equation the Magic made the ball disappear (the wrong way) every 13.71 touches. The Hornets turned it over every 33.14 touches. She also had a game high 20 points. Zwack made good use of the free throw line going 10/12. Zwack was the only Magician over 100 pp100 at 142.9 and made the 31 Club. But fouls forced the junior to the pine forever at 3:06 mark and the score BL 44-39. Once she left the scene Monticello turned it over four straight times against the BL pressure. BL finished the game with an 11-2 kick (meaning the Hornets had a 26-7 bookend. Monticello “won” the middle of the game 34-29.
This completes the Mississippi 8 conference charting for the year. I have a few more conferences left to complete. Time is dwindling away. I still need three more AAAA teams, and now ten left for the top 100. I will need the benefit of post season to reach that total. Both teams tonight were top 100 teams according to the QRF.
| BIG LAKE | MONTICELLO | |
| POINTS | 55 | 41 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 38/18 | 35/11 |
| TURNOVERS | 11 | 24 |
| FTA/% | 27/70.37 | 19/68.42 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 36.58/12.50 | 42.30/16.67 |
| PP100 | 87.3 | 65.1 |
| TOP SCORER | Reagan Sternquist 19 | Lauran Zwack 20 |
TRENCH PLAYER: BL’s 5-11 junior Reagan Sternquist with 19 points, 146.2 pp100, and a team high 28 in the 31 Club.