The Minnewaska Area girls basketball team will have to wait until 2023 to earn its first win of the 2022-23 season after losing to Minneota last Tuesday night at the SMSU Holiday Tourney.

The Lakers trailed 33-26 at halftime before each team added 24 points in the second half to give Minneota the 57-50 victory.

Minnewaska Area dropped to 0-7 for the year and is also 0-3 in the WCC going into Tuesday’s (tomorrow) game at Litchfield.  The Lakers are also set to host West Central area, Thursday, Jan. 5 before hosting Eden Valley-Watkins, Monday, Jan. 9.

The Lakers have scored from 45-58 points in its first seven games, while opponents have scored from a low of 49 points (Paynesville) to a high of 72 (BOLD).

Through the early part of the schedule, BOLD and Sauk Centre lead the WCC with 2-0 records, while Montevideo is 1-0.

Minneota 57, Waska 50

Minnewaska Area fell to 0-7 overall with a 57-50 loss to Minneota at the SMSU Holiday Tourney last Tuesday.  The Lakers have struggled in the first half of games so far this season and it was no different against the Vikings as Minnewaska Area trailed 33-26 at halftime before staying even in the second half.

Megan Thorfinnson had 14 points, three rebounds and three steals to lead the Lakers, while Sydney Dahl added 10 points, three boards and three blocked shots, and Brooke Kolstoe had seven points and team-highs of three assists and nine rebounds.

The Lakers shot 26 percent from the field (16-for-60), but were 8-of-23 from three-point range and 10-of-18 from the free-throw line.

Two-point field goals have been a struggle for Minnewaska Area this year and the Lakers were only 8-of-37 (21 percent) on two-point tries.

The Lakers had six players hit the scoring column as Jayda Kolstoe had five points and four rebounds, Lauryn Ankeny had five points and four boards, and Leslie Murken went 3-for-7 from long range for nine points.

Other Laker notes

Members of this year’s varsity Laker girls basketball team are seniors Olivia Bleick, Mikalyn Andreas, Brooke Kolstoe and Leslie Murken; juniors Jenna Drewes and Avery Fier; sophomores Sydney Dahl, Megan Thorfinnson, Amber Peabody, Lauren Stryhn and Addyson Kath (injured to start season), and ninth-graders Lauryn Ankeny, Olivia Danielson (injured), Jayda Kolstoe, Kendall Danielson and Alia Randt.

Helping out Schiffler with coaching duties this year are Emily Roering, Makenzie Larsen, Josh Greene, Linda Mills (8th grade) and Gabe Eisenbacher (7th grade).

•  Montevideo won last year’s WCC title, winning its first-ever WCC girls’ title in school history with an 11-1 league mark, followed by Sauk Centre (9-3), BOLD (8-4), Minnewaska Area (7-4), Morris Area-CA (4-8), Melrose Area (2-10) and Benson (0-11).  

•  Members of the JV team for 2022-23 are junior Jenna Drewes, sophomores Lauren Stryhn and Amber Peabody; and ninth-graders Lauryn Ankeny, Alia Randt, Kendall Danielson and Jayda Kolstoe, and members of the C-squad team are ninth-graders Aubrey Stark, Phemi Oeltjen and Carly Jergenson, and eighth-graders Haillie Schulz and Eliana Marthaler.

•  In addition, members of this year’s junior high teams are eighth-graders Jazlyn Fleury, Claira Frey, Leah Greseth, Meadow Gullickson, Rachel Rankin, Evelyn Recker and Norah VanZee, and seventh-graders Sydney Ankeny, Molly Cassidy, Sadie Daniels, Berlynn Green, Miranda Grossman, Hannah Hoeper, Michaela Johnson, Ella Larson, Mileigh Lundebrek, Lillie Ogdahl and Peyton Sundheim.

Minneota 57, Waska 50

Minnewaska (0-7) 26 24 — 50

Minneota 33 24 — 57

WASKA stats:  16-60 FG (8-23 3pt); 10-18 FT; 6 assists; 27 rebounds; 6 steals; 11 fouls; 5 turnovers; 9 blocked shots . . . Scoring:  Megan Thorfinnson 14, Sydney Dahl 10, Leslie Murken 9, Brooke Kolstoe 7, Jayda Kolstoe 5, Lauryn Ankeny 5. . . Rebounding:  B. Kolstoe 9, Ankeny 4, Avery Fier 4, J. Kolstoe 4, Thorfinnson 3, Dahl 3 . . . Assists:  B. Kolstoe 3, Thorfinnson 2 . . . Steals:  Thorfinnson 3 . . . Blocks:  Dahl 3, Fier 3

MINNEOTA stats:  Stats not available

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