The Minnewaska Area girls basketball team continued its great recent play, winning its fifth and sixth-straight games last week to improve to 11-4 overall.

The Lakers won at Barnesville last Tuesday night, 59-43, and also won at home, Friday against Rocori, 62-51.  Minnewaska has won all five games in 2024 and improved to 5-1 in the conference.

The Lakers have a busy week this week with a game at Osakis, Tuesday (tomorrow), a game at home against Litchfield, Thursday, which is part of a boys and girls doubleheader, and a game at BOLD, Friday.  Sauk Centre still leads the WCC with a perfect 6-0 league record.

Waska 59, Barnesville 43

Sydney Dahl had 20 points and six rebounds and Addy Kath added 15 points and 10 boards as the Lakers won their fifth-straight game with a 59-43 victory at Barnesville last Tuesday night.

The Lakers led 34-18 at halftime before both teams scored 25 points in the second half.

The 20 points was one point off the season-high for Dahl, who also had a team-high three blocks.  Kath meanwhile, was 7-of-11 from the field and also had two steals.

The Lakers shot 34 percent from the field (23-for-67), including 5-of-22 (22 percent) on three-pointers, but Minnewaska Area was also 8-of-10 from the line and recorded 13 steals.

Alia Randt also had a big game for the Lakers with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals, while Megan Thorfinnson had five points, three assists, four boards and four steals, Olivia Danielson had four points and three rebounds, Jayda Kolstoe had three points and two rebounds, Avery Fier had two points and Lauryn Ankeny added four rebounds.

Waska 62, Rocori 51

Megan Thorfinnson, Sydney Dahl and Addy Kath led the Lakers to a 62-51 non-conference win over Rocori, Friday night at home.  Minnewaska led from the start, building leads of 7-2, 14-5, 21-7 and 29-12 before Rocori came back to cut the Lakers’ lead to 31-17 by halftime.

Rocori continued to climb back into the game in the second half, eventually pulling within seven points with about four minutes left, but the Lakers regrouped and got the lead back up to double digits by the end of the game.

Thorfinnson had three 3-pointers on the way to 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Dahl added 12 points and a team-high nine boards, and Kath had 12 points, four rebounds and four steals.

The Lakers shot about 37 percent from the field, but were only 4-of-22 from three-point range.  One of the keys to the win was a big edge at the line where the Lakers were 12-of-18 and Rocori was just 5-of-8.

Minnewaska also turned the ball over 20 times, but made up for that with 18 steals and forcing Rocori into 23 turnovers.

Alia Randt had a good all-around game with seven points and eight rebounds, while Olivia Danielson had seven points and two boards, Lauryn Ankeny had five points, four rebounds, three assists and eight steals and Avery Fier and Jayda Kolstoe both chipped in with two points.

Waska 59, at Barnes 43

Waska (10-4) 34 25 — 59

Barnesville 18 25 — 43

WASKA stats:  23-67 FG (5-22 3pt); 8-10 FT; 6 assists; 7 blocks; 34 rebounds; 13 steals; 14 fouls; 13 turnovers . . . Scoring:  Sydney Dahl 20, Addy Kath 15, Alia Randt 10, Megan Thorfinnson 5, Olivia Danielson 4, Jayda Kolstoe 3, Avery Fier 2 . . . Rebounding:  Kath 10, Dahl 6, Randt 4, Thorfinnson 4, Lauryn Ankeny 4, Danielson 3, Kolstoe 2. . . Assists:  Thorfinnson 3 . . . Steals:  Thorfinnson 4, Randt 2, Kath 2 . . . Blocked shots:  Dahl 3, Ankeny 2

BARNES stats:   Stats not available

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at Waska 62, Rocori 51

Rocori 17 34 — 51

Waska (11-4) 31 31 — 62

WASKA stats:  23-62 FG (4-22 3p); 12-18 FT; 8 assists; 18 steals; 39 rebounds; 2 blocks, 20 turnovers; 15 fouls . . . Scoring:  Megan Thorfinnson 15, Sydney Dahl 12, Addy Kath 12, Alia Randt 7, Olivia Danielson 7, Lauryn Ankeny 5, Avery Fier 2, Jayda Kolstoe 2 . . . Rebounding:  Dahl 9, Randt 8, Kath 4, Kolstoe 4, Ankeny 4, Thorfinnson 4, Danielson 2

. . . Assists:  Ankeny 3, Thorfinnson 2, Kolstoe 2 . . . Steals:  Ankeny 8, Kath 4, Fier 2, Thorfinnson 2

ROCORI stats:   Stats not available

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