The Lennox High School girls’ basketball team enjoyed a busy week last week, earning wins over Western Christian and St. Thomas More, and falling to a strong Vermillion team.
On Jan. 14 the team hosted Western Christian and using a strong second quarter where they outscored Western Christian, 18-5, Lennox went on to take the decisive 54-21 victory.
“Western Christian is a big, athletic team so we really needed to pick up the tempo and pressure them out on the perimeter,” said LHS head coach Adam Quail. “I thought we did a great job turning them over 35 times while holding them to 21 points on 25% shooting.”
Lennox had three shooters in double figures with Andie Peters leading the way with 15 points. She also had two rebounds and one steal. Ryan Hanssen and Libby Kranz each had 11 points. Hanssen also had seven rebounds and Kranz had two rebounds, one assist and four steals.
Bergan Musser finished with five points, two rebounds, and two steals. Tori Gerdes finished with four points, one rebound, two assists, and led the team in steals with six. Adie McVey and Gavyn Herlyn each had three points. McVey also had one rebound, and one assist. Herlyn led the team in assists with eight and had one steal. Jayla DeCou finished with two points, one assist and one steal.
Following the game against Western Christian, the Orioles traveled to Vermillion to face a Tanager team who only has one loss on the season. After trailing at halftime, Lennox rallied in the third, outscoring Vermillion 17-8; however the Tanagers held on for the 59-47 victory.
“During our Vermillion game we had a poor second quarter which really put us in an uphill battle for the remainder of the game. We shot well, but the difference in the game was our turnovers and lack of urgency on the boards,” said Quail. “I was pleased with how we competed in the second half but vs a talented team we can’t give up a 20 point quarter and expect to have success.”
Gerdes led the team with 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Kranz finished with nine points, five rebounds, and three assists. Musser had seven points, two assists and one steal. Peters finished with six points, three rebounds, and one assist. Hanssen had five points, one rebound, and one assist. Karlie Bosma also had five points, two rebounds, and two assists. Herlyn had four points, four rebounds, and two assists.
On Saturday, Jan. 18 the Orioles bounced back with a 48-38 win over St. Thomas More in the Hanson Classic at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
“It’s always fun playing a rival in a neutral gym, so playing St. Thomas More in the Corn Palace was a fun experience for the team,” said Quail. “STM is really tough defensively, so we knew we were going to have longer possessions and great shot selection in order to score above STM’s average points allowed of 35 points per game.”
Lennox led 21-16 at the half, and used an 18-12 third quarter to seal the win.
Kranz led the team with 13 points, hitting three of five three pointers. She also had one rebound and one steal. Peters also hit three three-pointers in the game to provide 11 points. She pulled down six rebounds and five assists. Hanssen finished with ten points, five rebounds, and one assist. Bosma finished with six points, two rebounds, and one assist. Musser and Gerdes each had four points. Musser also had four rebounds and one assist. Gerdes had five rebounds and two assist.
The Orioles will host West Central on Thursday, Jan. 23 in double header action with the LHS boys. The LHS girls are scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m.