The Lady Bulldogs were in control of the game throughout the first half. Paynesville’s defense contained Melrose to only 17 first half points.
The composure kept by the girls was evident as they refused to get rattled when Melrose would make a little run. Paynesville was the aggressor for the majority of the game, and this clearly showed on rebounding. Rebounding, a 36 to 24 edge for Paynesville, as well as a few timely steals in the last few minutes, directly led to the first conference win of the year.
The Lady Bulldogs had four different players that posted at least six rebounds each. Sophomore Jaime Wuertz led the way by grabbing 11 boards. Junior Carin Frenchick came off the bench to contribute an additional eight rebounds.
Captains Tanya Lieser and Amber Michaelis led the scoring with 14 and 13 points respectively.
Paynesville: 16 8 12 7 - 43
Melrose: 12 5 11 13 -41
Cathedral
Last Tuesday evening, Dec. 1, the Paynesville lady hoopsters traveled to St. Cloud to battle the Crusaders of Cathedral High School. The first quarter set the stage for what would be a disappointing conference opener for the Bulldogs.
Cathedral jumped out to a 13-2 advantage and never looked back. The first quarter score of 20-4 proved to be an obstacle that Paynesville could never recover from.
The Crusaders would connect on 13 free throws in the first half, as Paynesville would only mange to attempt 14 free throws for the game.
Cathedral’s inside combo of Anne Laraway and Kit Casey overmatched Paynesville. These two eclipsed 26 points between them in the first half alone.
Once again, the two leading scorers for Paynesville were Amber Michaelis with 12 and Tanya Lieser with 15.
Sophomore Jaime Wuertz led the team with seven rebounds. Sophomore point guard Steph Krupke tallied three steals and six assists in the losing cause.
Paynesville’s 29 turnovers and inability to stop Cathedral’s inside game were the deciding factors.
Cathedral: 20 15 9 21 - 65
Paynesville: 4 10 18 20 - 52