HIBBING 53, DEER RIVER 33
Hibbing survived a sputtering start, used their half court trap to
success in the second half to win going away 53-33 against host Deer River. The Warriors had visions of success in the first half holding a 24-23 lead at the break. Their high water mark came right away in the second half when Hope Schjenken nailed a 3 (27-23). That was her 13th point. Then the clock struck midnight for Cinderella. That was all Schjenken was to score (the 6-0 senior is headed to UM Duluth for volleyball). Abbey McDonald, the senior point guard for the Bluejackets increased the heat on the point of the half court trap and she led the surge in the second half scoring 16 of her game high 24 points. This was due to steals and lay ups. McDonald was 5/7 in lay ups. Taking McDonald out of the equation Hibbing struggled from the floor, especially five feet and in. They were 8/27 there (below freezing at 29.6%). Their overwhelming advantage on the offensive glass eventually wore down the Warriors. Hibbing had almost as many offensive rebounds as DR had for the entire game. The turnover battle also negated any shot DR had at an upset.
This was my first time at Deer River. I have charted the Warriors in other years, but never at home. They have two first rate video scoreboards. The arms race in facilities continues. Why this game? It was to get Hibbing checked off. I was originally going to chart them on Thursday, Feb. 7, but Old Man Winter intervened. This was the only available slot open in the regular season that worked. Post season was a roll of the dice on the quarterfinals.
| HIBBING | DEER RIVER | |
| POINTS | 53 | 33 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 46/27 | 33/8 |
| TURNOVERS | 17 | 29 |
| FTA/% | 15/26.66 | 14/50.00 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 37.73/25.00 | 40.00/15.38 |
| PP100 | 81.5 | 51.6 |
| TOP SCORER | Abbey McDonald 24 | Hope Schjenken 13 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Abbey McDonald 24 points, 133.3 pp100, and a member on the nose in the 41 Club.