The Minnewaska Area girls basketball team earned three convincing wins last week to improve to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference.  The Lakers won at Rocori last Monday night, 79-21 and then won at home last Tuesday over Benson (86-28) before winning again at Litchfield, Friday, 73-25.

The average margin of victory for those three games was about 55 points as the Lakers are getting in a nice mid-season groove.

The pace of the schedule slows down a bit this week as the Lakers were set to play at BOLD, Tuesday (tomorrow) and host Morris Area-CA, Thursday.

•  This year’s varsity roster includes seniors Addy Kath, Lauren Stryhn, Sydney Dahl, Megan Thorfinnson and Amber Peabody; juniors Alia Randt, Lauryn Ankeny, Olivia Danielson, Aubrey Stark, Carly Jergenson, Kendall Danielson, Phemie Oeltjen and Jayda Kolstoe; sophomores Norah VanZee, Eliana Marthaler, Haillie Schulz and Claira Frey; and ninth-grader Berlynn Green.

Waska 79, Rocori 21

The Lakers earned a 79-21 victory at Rocori last Monday night with Addy Kath and Sydney Dahl leading the way.  Kath had a season-high 25 points, shooting 4-of-8 on three-pointers, along with two steals, while Dahl added 22 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Lakers, who shot 43 percent from the field (32-for-74), led 40-18 at halftime before holding Rocori to four points in the second half.

Minnewaska Area, which was 10-of-28 from three-point range, also got 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and eight steals from Lauryn Ankeny, five points, three assists and five boards from Alia Randt, four points, four rebounds and two steals from Berlynn Green, and four points, three assists, three rebounds and six steals from Olivia Danielson.

It was the highest point total of the season for the Lakers and the largest margin of victory (58 points).

Megan Thorfinnson chipped in with four assists, five rebounds and three steals, while also scoring for the Lakers were Carly Jergenson with three points, Kendall Danielson with three points and two steals, and Jayda Kolstoe with three points and two rebounds.  Each of those players was 1-of-2 on three-pointers.

Waska 86, Benson 28

The Lakers earned their sixth-straight win with an 86-28 rout of Benson last Tuesday night at home.  The Lakers set a new season-high point total one night after scoring 79 points and also matched the 58-point margin of victory set one night earlier.

Minnewaska Area shot 54 percent from the field (35-for-64) and was also 10-of-23 from three-point range and 6-of-7 from the line.  It was one of the best shooting nights of the season for the Lakers, who had 10 different players hit the scoring column.

Alia Randt and Lauryn Ankeny combined to go 17-of-19 from the field, including a perfect 12-of-12 on two-point field goals.

Randt had a game-high 20 points, two assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Ankeny had 19 points, two assists, two boards and two steals.  Both players missed just one shot each all game.

Benson led early in the game, 7-6, but the Lakers went on a 27-0 run to take the lead for good at 33-7 and then, after the Braves broke the scoring drought with an off-balance 3-pointer, the Lakers went on another big run of 20-0 to take a 53-10 lead by halftime.

Lauren Stryhn added 11 points, making three 3-pointers and going 4-of-4 from the field, while Sydney Dahl had eight points and three boards, Megan Thorfinnson had eight points, three assists, six rebounds and a team-high six steals, and Jayda Kolstoe made all three of her shots on the way to six points and two steals.

Also scoring for the Lakers, who forced Benson into 26 turnovers, were Carly Jergenson with five points, Amber Peabody with four, Addy Kath with two points, four rebounds and three steals, and Olivia Danielson with two points, two assists and five rebounds.

Waska 73, Litchfield 25

The Lakers earned their seventh-straight win with a 73-25 victory at Litchfield, Friday night.  It was also the fourth-straight game the Lakers have held the opposition to under 35 points.

Sydney Dahl led the onslaught with 19 points, while Lauryn Ankeny added 17 points, Megan Thorfinnson had 11, Jayda Kolstoe scored eight and Olivia Danielson ended the night with seven points.

The Lakers led 36-16 at halftime before outscoring the home team 37-9 in the second half.

Also scoring for the Lakers were Addy Kath and Kendall Danielson with three points each, Alia Randt and Amber Peabody with two points each and Phemie Oeltjen with one.

Waska 79, at Rocori 21

Minnewaska (9-2) 40 39 — 79

Rocori 18 4 — 22

WASKA stats:  32-74 FG (10-28 3pt); 5-7 FT; 17 assists; 5 blocks; 29 rebounds; 25 steals; 7 fouls; 10 turnovers . . . Scoring:  Addy Kath 25, Sydney Dahl 22, Lauryn Ankeny 10, Alia Randt 5, Olivia Danielson 4, Berlynn Green 4, Carly Jergenson 3, Kendall Danielson 3, Jayda Kolstoe 3   . . . Rebounding:  Randt 5, Dahl 5, Megan Thorfinnson 5, Green 4, Ankeny 3, O. Danielson 3, Kolstoe 2 . . . Assists:  Ankeny 4, Thorfinnson 4, O. Danielson 3 . . . Steals:  Ankeny 8, O. Danielson 6, Thorfinnson 3, K. Danielson 2, Green 2, Kath 2 . . . Blocks:  Dahl 3

ROCORI stats:  Stats not available

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at Waska 86, Benson 28

Benson 10 18 — 28

Minnewaska (10-2) 53 33 — 86

WASKA stats:  35-64 FG (10-23 3pt); 6-7 FT; 14 assists; 3 blocks; 30 rebounds; 19 steals; 12 fouls; 9 turnovers . . . Scoring:  Alia Randt 20, Lauryn Ankeny 19, Lauren Stryhn 11, Sydney Dahl 9, Megan Thorfinnson 8, Jayda Kolstoe 6, Carly Jergenson 5, Amber Peabody 4, Addy Kath 2, Olivia Danielson 2 . . . Rebounding:  Thorfinnson 6, Danielson 5, Kath 4, Randt 3, Dahl 3, Jergenson 3, Ankeny 2 . . . Assists:  Thorfinnson 3, Kolstoe 2, Danielson 2, Ankeny 2, Randt 2 . . . Steals:  Thorfinnson 6, Kath 3, Randt 2, Ankeny 2, Kolstoe 2

BENSON stats:  9-40 FG (5-13 3pt); 5-5 FT; 4 assists; 22 rebounds; 4 steals; 14 fouls; 26 turnovers . . . Other stats not available

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Minnewaska 73, Litch 25

Minnewaska (11-2) 36 37 — 73

Litchfield 16 9 — 25

WASKA stats: . . . Scoring:  Sydney Dahl 19, Lauryn Ankeny 17, Megan Thorfinnson 11, Jayda Kolstoe 8, Olivia Danielson 7, Kendall Danielson 3, Addy Kath 3, Alia Randt 2, Amber Peabody 2, Phemie Oeltjen 1 . . . Other stats not available

WCA stats: . . .  Scoring:  Isla Dille 9, Kelsey Palmer 3, Kierra Lease 3, Grace Holmgren 2, Emma Knudsen 2, Anna Sorgatz 2, Jamiah Taylor 2, Katelyn Guggemos 2 . . . Other stats not available

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