Tigers open with win

By Danielle Strenke
The offensive showing from the Rush City girls basketball team last Tuesday was a bigger output than the fans have seen in several seasons. The Tigers crushed Rivers Christian Academy 64-45 in the season opener in front of the hometown crowd.
The balanced scoring is evident in the statistics from the game ñ four players scored in double figures.
The team looked a bit hesitant early in the first quarter, as Rivers quickly built up a 10-0 lead. ìWe started off slow, but with our depth we kept attacking,î head coach Stuart Lang said.
Rush City picked up the pace, and ended the first quarter trailing 15-8. The squad went on to dominate the second quarter, scoring the first six points to narrow the gap while keeping Rivers away from its basket.
With less than two minutes remaining in the half, the Tigers took its first lead of the game at 20-19. The half ended with Rush City holding the 25-23 lead.
The second half was all Rush City, as junior Christine Moore opened the scoring on the teamís first possession for Rush City. Senior Maria Kuhlman sank a three-pointer, as the Tigers outscored Rivers 17-9 in the quarter.
The struggles of the team last year to finish every game strong were not evident in this seasonís first game, as Rush City tallied a game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Throughout the half the squad continued its quick, aggressive offense behind flawless passing and capitalizing on Riversí mistakes. The defense was led by Moore, who was relentless in her coverage and caused several turnovers and missed shots.
Leading the scoring for the Tigers was Kuhlman with 13 points. Junior Mindy Scott added 12, senior Jess Prettner picked up 11 and sophomore Holly Grimes had 10. Moore added 5, and senior Britta Johnson and junior Ashley Stanley both had 4. Senior Page Rieland hit a three-pointer for her 3 tallies in the game, and 2 from junior Cara Orn rounded off the scoring.
It was a nice way to begin the season, Lang said. ìWe had 4 players in double figures, we came back from a 10-0 start and we forced 43 turnovers. Christine Moore had 10 assists and did an excellent job distributing the ball. That was the main reason we had four girls in double figures,î he said.
The team will take its 1-0 start into another home game Friday as it hosts Aitkin. Next week, the squad travels to take on Hinckley-FInlayson on Tuesday.

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