Wins keep coming for Tigers

By Danielle Strenke
The Rush City girls basketball squad continues to be a powerful contender in the race for the Great River Conference title. Last week, the team came back after two straight losses to pick up two important conference wins against Ogilvie and Pine City.
The team started its three-game week with a 79-53 loss to Barnum in a non-conference matchup Tuesday.
Rush City took an early 5-0 lead before Barnumís offense took over. Both teams played evenly in the second and fourth quarters, but the Tigers were unable to close in on Barnumís sizable lead.
Junior Christine Moore led the team with 14 points, 10 of which came in the second quarter. Senior Page Rieland started her first varsity game, and ended with 11 points.
The Tigers came home to defeat Ogilvie 37-22 Thursday.
A relentless Tiger defense pounded on the Lions, forcing several turnovers and off-balance shots in the first half. Rush City tallied 18 points in the half, allowing only 7 for the 18-7 halftime lead.
The defensive pressure continued from the Tigers in the second half, although the team struggled to find the basket. ìWe struggled at times with our shooting and ended up shooting 10 percent for the game,î Head Coach Stuart Lange said. ìBut we played excellent defense.î
Senior Maria Kuhlman was on fire in the second half, hitting 4 of 6 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws for a team-leading 16 points. Rieland followed with 9, junior Mindy Scott had 3, senior Britta Johnson and sophomore Holly Grimes had 2 each, and five players contributed one point each.
Another conference win came Friday against Pine City, in a 54-42 finish.
Play was even after the first half, with a score of 20-all going into the third quarter.
The Tigers opened it up and notched 19 points in the quarter and outscored the Dragons 15-12 in the final stanza for the win.
The Tiger defense continued to provide solid minutes for the team, causing 22 turnovers. Smart play also led to 27 free throw opportunities for Rush City, where the squad shot with nearly 60 percent accuracy.
Scott led the team with 15 points, followed by Moore with 10 and Kuhlman with 9. Johnson picked up 7 in the game.
The games bring the Tigersí record to 9-3 overall, 7-2 in the conference.
This week, the team faced Isle Tuesday for the second time this season, trying to avenge a loss on Dec. 17 and then travels to Aitkin Friday.

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