The Tuesday, Feb. 6 game for the Hastings Raiders girls basketball team was set to be a pivotal battle, pitting the top two teams in the Metro East Conference.
Hastings was hoping to pay back an early season loss at home against Mahtomedi. A report on the game, which occurred after press time, will appear in next week’s Journal.
Hastings is riding an eight-game winning streak into this week. After the Mahtomedi battle, Hastings will host Two Rivers on Thursday, Feb. 8 and travel to South St. Paul Feb. 14.
Hastings picked up three wins last week, beating Owatonna in a 43-41 thriller at home Jan. 27, drubbing Tartan 66-33 Tuesday and beating Minneapolis Washburn 57-52 on Friday.
In the matinee game against Owatonna, Haley Strain was all over the court. She led all scorers with 16 points and earned her double-double with 12 rebounds.
She was the only Raider scoring in double digits. Jillian McTague had seven points, Emma Bakker and Piper Brockman had four each, Keagan McVicker scored three, Rachel Notch, Lindsey Wagner, Violet Schult and Sophia Swanson had two apiece and Kate Ruder scored one point.
Bakker also cleared 10 rebounds for the Raiders and recorded two steals. Hastings had seven players with a steal, coming up with eight as a team.
The Raiders coasted to a 66-33 win over Tartan in the Jan. 30 Metro East game. Three Hastings players scored in double figures, with Notch and Bakker leading with 13 and Strain scoring 11.
Ruder finished with nine points, McTague had seven, Brockman scored six, Schult three, Swanson two and Wagner had one.
Hastings had 53 team rebounds, with Bakker coming up with 12, Strain with 11 and McTague with seven. Wagner led with five assists, and Notch added four.
In the non-conference game Friday at Minneapolis Washburn, Hastings came back with a strong second half to win 57-52.
Strain again had an impressive outing with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Bakker was right behind in both departments with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Schult sank two three-pointers and finished with eight points, while Wagner scored six and Notch added four.
Raider Stat Leaders
Points Per Game
Keagan McVicker 15.4
Haley Strain 13.2
Emma Bakker 10.1
Rebounds Per Game
Haley Strain 11.2
Emma Bakker 7.8
Keagan McVicker 6.4
Assists Per Game
Keagan McVicker 3.8
Lindsey Wagner 2.2
Emma Bakker 2.0
Steals Per Game
Keagan McVicker 4.2
Lindsey Wagner 1.6
Emma Bakker 1.3
Three Point Shots Made
Emma Bakker 32
Keagan McVicker 25
Lindsey Wanger 16
Metro East Conference Standings
Team Conf. Overall
Mahtomedi 8 -0 11-7
Hastings 7-1 14-6
Hill-Murray 5-3 10-10
South St. Paul 4-4 8-12
Two Rivers 3-5 11-9
North St. Paul 2-6 4-13
Simley 2-6 8-10
Tartan 1-7 3-15
