LESTER PRAIRIE – When the Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted girls basketball teams met Tuesday night, there were three different 1,000-point scorers on the floor. HLWW had two – CJ Decker and Alexa Schumann, while LP/HT had one – Marissa Radtke.
Scoring 1,000 career points is impressive indeed, but it was a different player who stole the show on both ends of the floor, to lead HLWW to an impressive 65-46 victory on the road.
From the opening tip, junior Abby Niesen was locked in. Whether scoring on the offensive end or defending LP/HT’s Radtke, Niesen was up to the task. She helped the Lakers get off to a quick start, as she knew what she needed to do for HLWW to be successful.
“She’s guarded a lot of 1,000-point scorers in her career,” HLWW coach Ryan Petersen said about Niesen. “She likes to step up to the challenge. She knows that’s her role. She embraces that role, and she has fun with it.”
Niesen held Radtke to just seven points in the win for HLWW. As a team, the Lakers held the Bulldogs to just 46 points. It was the fifth time in seven games this season that HLWW has held a team to 52 or fewer points.
“They’ve been locked in defensively,” Petersen said. “I’m really proud of their effort. Even in practice, they’ve been doing a great job of flying around and getting after it. It’s translated to the floor so far this season.”
The Lakers scored the first five points of the game to get off to a quick start. A steal and layup from Niesen gave HLWW a 15-6 lead with just over 11 minutes left in the first half, forcing an LP/HT timeout.
HLWW would finish the first half on a 21-8 run, to take a commanding 36-14 lead into the locker room at the break.
It was Niesen who gave the Lakers a spark early on, but HLWW’s seniors also gave the Bulldogs fits all game long. Both Decker and Schumann delivered big performances once again.
“This is a good game for us to learn from,” LP/HT coach Mike Lee said. “Decker and Schumann have a lot of experience. Those two definitely make everyone around them better. It’s a good learning experience for us. We don’t like to lose, especially to the area teams, but as long as we learn from it, I’ll be OK with it.”
Keeping Schumann in check was a big focus for the Bulldogs defensively. A double team was necessary on her each time she got the ball inside, but she seemed to make the right play time and time again.
“We did a little too much,” Lee said about double-teaming Schumann. “She’s a good player inside. Our help came, and we left Ellie open on the other side a little too much. That’s the stuff we have to learn.”
Schumann presented a challenge inside for the Bulldogs all game long. A true post player, she finished with 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting, 14 rebounds, and three assists.
“We haven’t really seen her dump it off like she did tonight, so that was really nice to see,” Petersen said about Schumann. “It’s something else she can expand to her game. She did a great job of finding her teammates, and was a great teammate like she always is.”
The win for the Lakers improved their winning streak to five games. While HLWW is certainly confident, Petersen is happy about the way his team has been focused on each game.
“They’re confident,” Petersen said. “I told them in the locker room how proud I am. They don’t get too high and they don’t get too low. They stay even-keeled. They just take care of business. It’s been fun.”
Myranda Hentges led the way for the Bulldogs with 13 points. Taylor Ebert was also in double figures with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
For LP/HT, the loss snaps a three-game winning streak. They’ll look to learn from this one and move on, as they have one more game before the Christmas break.
“Good basketball teams have short memories,” Lee said. “After a big win, you’re back the next day practicing hard. After a loss, you’re back the next day practicing hard. We’ll see what it’s like tomorrow. If we can practice and get ready for Norwood tomorrow, we’ll be OK.”