Written by Berklee Hessman
Starting the basketball season for the Lady Lions also comes with the annual Tri-County Classic. The past three years of the tournament, the Lady Lions have ended with a plaque showing first place on the front. This year was no different, when the girls were handed the plaque for the fourth time on Saturday, December 13th. Though it came with more determination and grit than ever before.
The tournament started out on Tuesday, December 9th, with the first game being hosted by Ell-Saline. The Lady Lions went into the gym with a fire that not everyone was expecting, just having a tough loss the previous Friday against Inman. Throughout the whole four quarters, each of the players on the court showed persistence in their gameplay. Baylee Randall-Hurt and Riley Robinson ended the game with 12 points each, and Addison Abell with 8. Sierra Cossaart and McKenna Worlock made 4 each, while Haylee Nichols and Addison Doering had 3 each. Miley McClure and Atlee Smith with 2 points, and Sarai Ausherman with 1. Baylee Randall-Hurt also led Minneapolis with 5 rebounds, and Miley McClure led with 4 assists in the game. Head Coach Bryan Weatherman stated, “It was good to get back in the win column. We got better at the things that we didn't do well last Friday night.” As the junior varsity team went into the fourth quarter, the varsity team continued to cheer them on from the bench, knowing they had secured the first win of the tournament, winning 51-20 against the Lady Cardinals.
Later that week, on Thursday, the Lady Lions experienced some tough competition as they played the Bennington Bulldogs at home. As the game progressed, both teams did not let up one bit. As the regulation clock hit zero, the Lady Lions and Bulldogs were an even 44-44. The Lady Lions were ready to battle it out for another four minutes, when a missed extended three-point shot from a Bulldog opponent kept the score tied at 51 points. In the second and final overtime of the game, the lead scorer and rebounder in the game, Baylee Randall-Hurt, having 28 points and 9 rebounds, rolled her ankle with 2:19 left on the clock. But, senior shooting guard, Atlee Smith, stepped into the center role and finished the game in Randall-Hurt’s absence, having 3 points on the night. Weatherman stated, “The kids showed great composure and guts finishing off the double overtime game.” The girls ended up winning 61-59 over the Lady Bulldogs. Other notable scorers on the night were Riley Robinson with 16, Miley McClure scoring 8, Addison Abell with 3, McKenna Worlock having 2, and Sierra Cossaart with 1. Riley Robinson and Addison Abell also led the team with 4 assists each.
The last game of the Tri-County Classic was played against Republic County on Saturday, but was hosted by Bennington. After getting off the high of a big win versus Bennington, the Lady Lions stepped onto the court to seal the deal - and they did exactly that. Republic County shot the ball outside of the paint, but the Lady Lions had a response, plus more for every swish. Addison Doering was a standout three-point shooter for the Lions, as she scored all of her points outside of the three-point line, 6 points. Riley Robinson and Baylee Randall-Hurt had an even 12 points for each of them, and Miley McClure and Addison Abell both had 3 points. Atlee Smith scored 5 points on the court on Saturday; Sierra Cossaart and Aubrey Kindall also scored 2 points each. The ending score of the game was 45-28, allowing the Lady Lions to do just as they intended and gain the title of the Tri-County Classic winners for the fourth year.
“It was nice winning the Tri-County Classic for the 4th year in a row. Now it is time for us to switch our focus to league play.” Just as Head Coach Bryan Weatherman said, the Lady Lions will begin facing their league opponents starting December 16th, when they play Ellsworth at home. All of Minneapolis is looking forward to the promising year the Lady Lions have in store, and will be ready to rally behind them as they head into their next game, so keep up the hard work and determination, ladies!