By John George
Things started well for the Lady Eagle basketball team at their own Holiday Tournament last week, but ended on a sour note.
NY Mills opened the tournament on Friday with a 62-45 win over Browerville.
The combination of Betsy Helmeke and Hannah Rutten led the Eagles to a 37-22 halftime lead. Helmeke scored eight of her 12 points in the first half, while Rutten put in 12 of her game-high 22 in the first 18 minutes.
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Rutten also led the team with 11 rebounds and six steals. Helmeke added five assists and two steals to her point total.
Kristen Perala was also in double figures with 10 points and led the team with six assists. Sam Welter had a fine all-around game with six boards, five steals and two assists to go with three points.
In the championship game on Saturday, Mills struggled from the field all afternoon in a 50-25 loss to Battle Lake.
The Battlers started the game with a 16-2 run and went on to a 32-9 halftime lead. Mills' defense was much better in the second half, but they could get the offense going and were outscored 18-16 in the period.
NY Mills finished with just nine field goals and were just 4-for-8 from the line.
Rutten had seven points, six rebounds and six steals to lead the Eagles. Bobbi Smith had four points and six rebounds while Helmeke had five steals and two assists to go with six points.
The Lady Eagles will close out 2007 Dec. 28 at Ulen-Hitterdal with a 1 p.m. tip-off. They will open 2008 at Frazee on Jan. 4.
Friday, December 21
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New York Mills 62, Browerville 45
Browerville 22-23--45
New York Mills 37-25--62
Eagles--Hannah Rutten 22, Betsy Helmeke 12, Kristen Perala 10, Emily Salo 5, Heather McCall 4, Sam Welter 3, Morgan Kahilainen 2, Bobbi Smith 2.
Browerville--Perish 12, Duncan 10, Kircher 6, Duncan 4, Brisson 3, Irsfeld 3, Bravo 2, Christensen 2.
Field Goals--NYM 27, B 15; 3-pointers--NYM 1, B 2; Free Throws--NYM 5/15, B 9/18; Rebounds--NYM 41 (Rutten 11); Assists--NYM 18 (Perala 6); Steals--NYM 21 (Rutten 6); Turnovers--NYM 22; Team Fouls--NYM 20, B 16.
Saturday, December 22
Battle Lake 50, New York Mills 25
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New York Mills 9-16--25
Battle Lake 32-18--50
Eagles--Rutten 7, Helmeke 6, McCall 4, Smith 4, Salo 3, Kahilainen 1.
Battlers--Koep 12, Evavold 12, C. Colton 10, K. Colton 7, Nelson 4, Bleichner 3, Nleson 2.
Field Goals--NYM 9, BL 18; 3-pointers--NYM 1, BL 0; Free Throws--NYM 4/8, BL 14/22; Rebounds--NYM 28 (Rutten 7); Assists--NYM 6 (Salo, Helmeke 2); Steals--NYM 13 (Rutten 6); Turnovers--NYM 29; Team Fouls--NYM 17, BL 11.
Park Region Conf. All
Sebeka 2-0 6-2
New York Mills 2-1 5-3
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Pillager 2-1 4-5
Menahga 1-1 7-2
Verndale 1-1 3-3
Bertha-Hewitt 1-2 3-4
Henning 0-3 0-7
