Girls bball on 4-game win streak

Posted 1/18/23

The Raider Lady hoopsters entered the week 6-5 with games against the 5-7 Packers from South St. Paul and the 111 North St. Paul Polars, both Metro East Conference foes. Against the conference …

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Girls bball on 4-game win streak

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The Raider Lady hoopsters entered the week 6-5 with games against the 5-7 Packers from South St. Paul and the 111 North St. Paul Polars, both Metro East Conference foes.

Against the conference leading Polars on Tuesday, Hastings played exceptional team basketball with nine Raiders scoring points out of ten that saw the floor. The tenth made the scoresheet with rebounds and assists. Hastings took a commanding lead into the intermission, up 40-30.

The transitional play helped the Raiders maintain the lead early and in the second half. The Polars did fight back and led scoring in the second half 31-27, but the 10-point Raider lead was too much to overcome. Hastings won 67-61.

“This was probably the most entertaining, fast, up and down game of the year to date,” said Interim Head Coach Trent Hanson. “The kids played with great pace and energy. We shot a season-high 58% from the field due to a tremendous team effort breaking North's full and half-court pressure, which has been key to their 10-win start to the season. We really moved and shared the ball well. Senior Natalie Caflisch played one of her best games of the year -27 minutes, 11 rebounds, 0 turnovers, and was kind of everywhere making things happen. Lindsey Wagner and Emma Bakker made big shots from three-point range, and we got great contributions from every rotation player.

Haley Strain had the top spot for points at 16, Emma Bakker had 14 and Katherine Ruder had 11. Natalie Caflisch led in rebounds with 11, Bakker and Strain each had eight and Keagan McVicker had six. McVicker also had eight assists.

The game against South St. Paul was a bit more deliberately paced. There were very few fast breaks and both teams took their time to set up their offenses. Hastings took a 23-16 lead into the locker room. The Packers came out of the intermission a bit more aggressive and yet, Hastings held a double-digit lead headed into the final stretch of the game. Hastings ultimately won 48-45.

“There definitely was a totally different pace to this game,” added Hanson. “South St. Paul really packed the paint on defense, gave us some collapsing looks we haven't really seen to date. For the second straight game, Kate Ruder gave us great energy and key buckets inside. Despite the strategy, 40 of our 48 points were in the paint. Haley Strain was a key factor on the glass, grabbing a season high 13 rebounds. We led by double digits most of the second half and had to hold off a late rally.”

The game was also a physical one. Nothing intentionally harmful, just girls playing on the more physical side which kept the athletic trainer busy most of the night. The scariest part for the Raiders was when McVicker went down awkwardly on what appeared to be her ankle and she was brought back to the training room for tests and tape. She did return to the lineup a few minutes later but seemed to be favoring and protecting the one side. One other player was nicked by someone’s fingernail and another ended up with a nosebleed, both causing stoppages of play for cleanup and both being very minor for the girls involved.

Hastings only had one player make it into double digits for scoring. Strain finished with 12, McVicker recorded nine and Bakker had eight. Strain also had 13 rebounds, Bakker had eight and McVicker had seven.

The wins brought the Raiders to 8-5 overall and put them atop the Metro East Conference with a 3-0 conference record. In Section 3AAAA, according to the QRF rating, Hastings is currently third with a 2-2 section record. Hastings is in the same section as Rosemount in first with a QRF of 176.1, Eagan at 118.4 and Hastings at 102.8. The remaining teams are Park of Cottage Grove, Eastview, Bloomington Jefferson, Burnsville and Apple Valley.

“The girls continue to improve,” explained Hanson. “It's all about process and progress, and they are getting better every week. Incredibly, it was the first regular five-day, threepractice week this team has had since the last week of November.”

How is the length of the season hitting them at this point?

“This is the time of the basketball season when things can grind a little. It's a lot on their legs and you are still seeing new teams every week. We have started to develop a solid defensive identity. The kids are hard to score against. We are starting to find our way in some offensive sets and are very consistent at getting shots at the rim. We have room to improve on some shot selection and time/score situations, but that is natural for any team. This week will be a handful with three games in five days, including road games on Mon 1/16 vs Cretin Derham Hall and a road game Wednesday at Mahtomedi, all in the midst of academic finals. Love where the kids are at and just want to get 1% better each day,” he added.

As Hanson said, up next for Hastings are two road trips, first to Cretin-Derham Hall on Monday, we’ll have that recap next week. The Raiders make the trip to Mahtomedi on Jan. 18th, then host Two Rivers on Jan. 20th and Hill-Murray on Jan. 24. The afore mentioned three games are all scheduled for 7:00 p.m. tips.


Lindsey Wagner hit a three to help lift the Raiders over the Packers in Metro East Conference competition on Friday Night.Photo by Bruce Karnick