Sports
Stars get first win, also fall to state-ranked Eagles
Tyler Ohmann
01/08/2013
Bottineau collected its first win last Thursday as they were able to down St. John 64-45 in the Stars’ home opener.
The Stars jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They led by 15 after one quarter and 19 at halftime.
“Thursday was good for the girls, it was a little confidence booster and it got them back to enjoying the game, which is the main reason they’re playing,” Bender said. “We moved the ball really well, and we had eight girls with more than six or seven points.”
Topping those scorers was sophomore Stephanie Brenden, who finished with 15 points. Also in double digits were seniors Whitney Brandvold (14) and Katryna Hahn (13). Hahn also led the team with four steals.
Hahn and Brandvold also were tied for the team lead in rebounds with five. Also with five boards was junior Courtney Gallagher
On Saturday, the home stand took a turn for the worse as the sixth-ranked New Town Eagles came to Bottineau and handed the Stars their fourth loss of the year. The Eagles were relentless and came away with a 71-39 victory.
The Stars began well as they trailed 14-10 after the first quarter, but after that it was all Eagles.
“We had a great first quarter, played strong defense, moved the ball, took good shots,” Bender said. “Then we just once again, turnovers, and all that.”
Leading the Stars were for the second straight game was Brenden, who dropped in 10 points, and also grabbed three boards and stole three balls.
Hahn finished with nine points, while junior Megan Saville added seven points.
Despite a 32-point loss, Bender said that games like that can make the Stars a tougher team.
“I talked to them just now in the locker room, and said teams like we played today are going to make us tougher,” Bender said. “We could have the easiest schedule in the world and that’s not going to do us any good at all, and even though you get whooped pretty good, it makes them tough, so when we play other teams that aren’t ranked in the top 10 of state, they’ll see that there is a difference.”
“It’s going to be better for us in the long run, it will make us play better having a tough schedule,” Bender added.
The 1-4 Stars will stay at home for a pair of games in the upcoming week. First at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday the Stars will host Langdon. And then on Saturday the Stars will host another team from the east as North Star comes to town for a game.