By John George
The New York Mills girls basketball team took their first road trip Thursday to Twin Valley to take on Norman County East in a make-up game from Dec. 4. The trip went well for the Eagles as they came home with a 56-41 win.
Emily Salo and Hannah Rutten helped Mills build a big first half lead. Salo hit four three-pointers and Rutten dominated the lane as the Eagles took a 32-18 lead into the half.
Rutten continued to dominate in the second half, scoring 13 of New York Mills 24 points. She finished with game highs in scoring (23) and rebounds (13). Salo hit one more three-pointer in the second half to finish with 16 points.
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Kristen Perala led the team with three assists, despite leaving the game early in the first half with a cut to her nose. She was expected to return for the Dec. 7 game at Bertha-Hewitt.
Win in conference opener
The Eagles made it back-to-back road wins Friday night with a 49-43 win at Bertha-Hewitt in their Park Region Conference opener.
NY Mills dominated in the paint. Rutten led all scorers with 21 points to go with a 12 rebounds and five steals, both game highs. Heather McCall added eight points, eight boards and four assists.
"There is no doubt that teams will try stop our inside game," head coach Dave Paavola said. In Bertha, we hit enough outside jumpers to win the game, but we will have to keep improving. Free throws have been a trouble spot also, but we will keep working hard and hopefully we can steadily improve."
Eagles dominate Verndale
Everything was working for NY Mills Tuesday night as they cruised to a 63-21 win over Verndale.
Rutten scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and Morgan Kahilainen hit a pair of t3-pointers to help give the Eagles a 35-14 halftime lead.
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Mills really turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, allowing just seven points to the Pirates.
Bobbi Smith had a season-high eight points and led the team with 13 rebounds and five steals. Kristen Perala added 10 points to go with five steals and three assists.
The Eagles will remain at the Sports Center this week as they host Sebeka Dec. 14. Mills has lost six straight against the Trojans (3-1, 1-0 Park Region) dating back to the 2003-04 season.
The NYM Holiday Tournament will be Dec. 21-22.
Thursday, December 6
NYM 54, Norman County East 41
NYM 32-24--54
NCE 18-23--41
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Eagles--Hannah Rutten 23, Emily Salo 16, Kendra McCall 6, Heather McCall 4, Morgan Kahilainen 4, Betsy Helmeke 3.
NCE--Bekkerus 12, Bain 10, Bergstrom 6, Nogowski 6, Varriano 5, Stene 2.
Field Goals--NYM 13/48, NCE 14/61; 3-pointers--NYM 6/14, NCE 0/3; Free Throws--NYM 12/19, NCE 13/27; Rebounds--NYM 30 (Ruttten 13); Assists--NYM 15 (Perala 3); Steals--NYM 9 (4 with 2 each); Turnovers--NYM 13; Team Fouls--NYM 15, NCE 12.
Friday, December 7
New York Mills 49, Bertha-Hewitt 43
New York Mills 26-23--49
Bertha-Hewitt 18-25--43
Eagles--Rutten 21, Helmeke 9, McCall 8, Salo 5, Perala 4, Hessig 2.
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Bears--Finck 19, VanDenheuvel 9, Kapphahn 4, Kimber 4, Tindal 3, K. Stokes 2, A. Stokes 2.
Field Goals--NYM 22/44, BH 15/40; 3-pointers--NYM 1/8, BH 2/4; Free Throws--NYM 2/10, BH 7/12; Rebounds--NYM 29 (Rutten 12); Assists--NYM 14 (Salo, Rutten 4); Steals--NYM 16 (Rutten 5); Turnovers--NYM 10; Team Fouls--NYM 15, BH 16.
Tuesday, December 11
New York Mills 63, Verndale 21
Verndale 14- 7--21
New York Mills 35-28--63
Eagles--Rutten 12, Perala 10, K. McCall 9, Kahilainen 8, Smith 8, Welter 6, Menze 5, Hessig 3, Helmeke 2.
Pirates-- A. Johnson 7, Bethke 6, Kempe 4, E. Johnson 2, Kern 2.
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Field Goals--NYM 20, V 8; 3-pointers--NYM 4, V 0; Free Throws--NYM 7/13, V 7/8; Rebounds--NYM 39 (Smith 13); Assists--NYM 10 (Perala 3); Steals--NYM 19 (Smith, Perala 5); Turnovers--NYM 12; Team Fouls--NYM 11, V 14.
Park Region Conf. All
Sebeka 1-0 3-1
New York Mills 1-0 3-1
Verndale 1-0 1-1
Pillager 1-1 2-2
Bertha-Hewitt 1-1 2-2
Menahga 0-1 3-1
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Henning 0-2 0-4
