A road trip to Salina to play in the Blue and Gold Classic did not go as the Lady Lions had planned.  Tuesday night the opponent was the Lady Bulldogs from Bennington and Thursday the Lady Lions took on the Lady Knights of Sacred Heart.

The Lady Lions took control from the start and ran out to a 25-12 half-time lead.  The third quarter was a great defensive quarter for both teams with Minneapolis only extending their lead by one, 31-17.  “Evidently I gave a terrible offensive half-time speech,” Coach Darrow laughed, “It is a good things that we played defense.”  Coach Darrow re-focused the troops going into the fourth quarter as the Lady Lions put up 17 points on their way to a 49-23 victory.

With this win, the Lady Lions were in the semi-finals against the host team Sacred Heart.  Minneapolis jumped out to a 10-5 first quarter lead, only to fall behind 19-22 by half. During the third quarter the Lady Lions clawed back to a 29-28 lead, then came the Knight run.  After time-outs, missed shots, turn-overs by the Lady Lions, and 18 straight points from the Lady Knights, Minneapolis dug a hole that they could not climb out.  By the end of the game, the scoreboard read 37-49. 

“The last two games we have had scoring droughts.  Our shot selection was good and we had the right people taking the shots.  This is something that we will continue to work on.  Defensively, the girls played well,” commented Coach Darrow.

The Blue and Gold tournament scheduled for Saturday was moved to Wednesday.  Weather permitting, the Lady Lions’ next game will be against Beloit on Tuesday at home.

Stats:                         Points              Rebounds        Steals           Assists

Buckles, A.                                                                                         1

Fulton, C.                    12                    11                    3                      3

Shoemaker, S.             19                    12                    7                      6

Darrow, C.                   5                      8                     6                      9  

Shoemaker, J.              29                    17                    9                      3

Devries, J.                    8                      3                     1                      1

Catron, M.                   13                    11                    2                      3