This was the first year that the Hastings Holiday Tournament included hosting games for the girls basketball program and Hastings did not disappoint. Hastings and Prescott are annually the two local staples plus two additional teams, this year it was Irondale out of New Brighton, and Brooklyn Park’s Marantha Christian Academy (MCA).

Prescott faced MCA in the first round of the tournament, defeating them 68-58. Hastings took on Irondale in a low scoring game.

The first half of the game, Hastings was trailing 17-20 at the intermission before they fought back to win the second half by 13 for a final score of 50-40, Raiders. Interim Head Coach Trent Hanson gave two great game summaries from his eyes.

“Highlights included a season-high 30 free throw attempts, a season-low 16 turnovers, and a season-high 76% defensive rebound rate,” said Hanson. “We rebounded at a higher rate for the sixth time in seven games; a testament to their continued growth and focus on being a disciplined team at that end. For the third time in the last four games, we held an opponent in the 40s. The defensive grit and discipline are what really earned the win.”

Hanson continued, “Offensively we shot a very poor percentage from the field and the free throw line, it wasn't pretty, but we did score 42 of our 50 points in the paint. Mara Jackson and Sophie Swanson both hit huge threes to keep us in it early in the second half. Down 36-32 with 8:00 minutes to go, we then finished on an 18-4 stretch to win by ten. The key was holding Irondale without a field goal for the last 7:00 minutes of the game; awesome toughness and execution on that end of the floor.”

That win put them in the championship game against Prescott, which is always the hopes of the tournament. A Prescott/Hastings championship is the most fun for the local crowd. Hastings played the Cardinals tough the entire game and went to the locker room with a 27-22 lead. Prescott always has a solid hoops program and the Raiders knew they had to maintain the intensity of the first half to keep that lead.

“This game featured our best offensive execution of the season to date; at least throughout the first half and most of the second. The kids got into a rhythm in their sets and finished at the rim, yielding 50% shooting from the field on two-point field goal (a second consecutive game with 42 paint points) and we hit 90% on our 10 free throw attempts. That execution, plus sustained defensive pressure and another game with over 70% defensive rebound rate earned the kids a 48-38 lead with over seven minutes to play in the game. Unfortunately, the final stretch was a rough one. We went ice cold -going over six minutes without a made field goal -and compounded that with a series of ill-timed turnovers and some over-aggressive fouls that put Prescott at the free throw line too many times in the final 2:00. Credit the Cardinals -they hit five threes in the second half (three of them in the final four minutes) and really put their best offensive pressure on us near the end of the game. They hit eight threes for the game and got to the FT line 23 times, while we went 0-15 behind the arc and only got to the line 10 times. It was a stinger to finish that way, but it is one the kids will really learn from,” explained Hanson.

The Raiders ultimately fell to the Cardinals 55-50 in a very entertaining championship game. The usual three led the Raiders in scoring for the tournament, Keagan McVicker, Haley Strain and Emma Bakker all made it into double digits for points for the tournament.

The Raiders are now 4-5 overall for the season with a lot of hardwood in their future, 17 games they have yet to play. The next chance to see them in action is January 5th at Apple Valley then January 6th at home against Tartan. Next week, they travel to North St. Paul on January 10th and return home on January 13th to face South St. Paul. All four games are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. tips.

Keagan McVicker returned to action in the Raider’s Holiday Tournament after missing a game due to illness. McVicker scored 15 points in the Raider’s loss to Prescott in the championship game. Photo by Bruce Karnick