By Kevin Cederstrom
The New York Mills girls took an early lead Friday against Wadena-Deer Creek but poor shooting the rest of the way cost them and the Eagles fell 51-39 to the Wolverines.
The Eagles held a slim two-point lead midway through the first half before W-DC jumped ahead 13-11 for good. A Courtney Volkmann 3-pointer extended the Wolverines lead to 17-11. Hannah Rutten got NY Mills within one at 17-16 but W-DC took a 24-20 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Wolverines came out running to start the second half and opened a 13-point lead at 39-26. The Eagles' Emily Salo responded with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven. After a Wolverines score, Betsy Helmeke knocked down a three-pointer for the Eagles, who trailed by just six with eight minutes remaining in the second half.
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That was as close as the Eagles could get with the Wolverines putting the game away at the free throw line for the 12-point win.
In the end, poor outside shooting prevented Mills from any consistent offense. The Eagles shot 29 percent from the field for the game (17-for-58), including a 3-for-16 effort from beyond the three-point arc (18.75 percent). Mills also had trouble getting to the line, going just 3-for-7, while W-DC shot 20 freebies, making 12.
"Yes we had a cold night of shooting, seemed like there was a lid on our basket," head coach Dave Paavola said. "There will be nights like that."
Hannah Rutten led NY Mills in scoring with 12 points and was the only Eagles player in double figures. She also had a team-high nine rebounds to go with three steals. Betsy Helmeke scored eight, including two 3-pointers, for the Eagles. Heather McCall finished with six points and six boards.
For W-DC, Brigetta Berg had a game-high 15 points, followed by Courtney Volkmann with 14.
Tuesday at NCE
Tuesday's game against Norman County East in Twin Valley was postponed due to snow. The game will be made up tonight (Dec. 6).
The Eagles open their Park Region Conference schedule at Bertha-Hewitt on Dec. 7. Mills split with Bertha-Hewitt last year against the Bears, who finished in second place in the conference with a 9-3 record (17-4 overall).
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Mills returns to the Sports Center on Dec. 11 when they host Verndale. Verndale beat the Eagles twice last year as the two teams finished with identical 6-6 Park Region Conference records.
Friday, November 30
Wadena-Deer Creek 51, New York Mills 39
W-DC 24-27--51
NYM 20-19--39
Eagles--Hannah Rutten 12, Betsy Helmeke 8, Heather McCall 6, Bobbi Smith 4, Kristen Perala 4, Emily Salo 3, Morgan Kahilainen 2.
Wolverines--Berg 15, Volkmann 14, Moenkedick 9, Grothmann 9, Kephart 2, Perkins 2.
Field Goals--NYM 14/42, WDC 15/30; 3-pointers--NYM 3/16, WDC 3/7; Free Throws--NYM 2/7, WDC 12/20; Rebounds--NYM 29 (Rutten 9); Assists--NYM 13 (Perala 6); Steals--NYM 13 (Helmeke, Rutten 3); Turnovers--NYM 18; Team Fouls--NYM 18, WDC 14.
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Tuesday, December 4
NYM at Norman County East
Postponed due to snow.
Game will be played Thursday, Dec. 6.
Park Region Conf. All
Sebeka 0-0 2-0
Menahga 0-0 2-0
Pillager 0-0 1-1
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Bertha-Hewitt 0-0 1-1
New York Mills 0-0 1-1
Verndale 0-0 0-1
Henning 0-0 0-2
