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Reese Gilbertson -
Calleigh Doeden
The Murray County Central Rebel Girls were on the road Monday night to take on the Lakeview Lakers - the Rebels’ final non-conference game of the season.
The Lakers were one of the best teams the Rebels faced this season, with a 13-3 record and just coming off a win over last year’s Section 3A champions, the MACCRAY Wolverines. Monday’s game turned into a thriller as the Rebels looked to pull off a big upset. The Rebels’ defense has been impressive all season - the pressure they have put on teams has been terrific and Monday was no different.
Unfortunately, the Rebels’ have missed too many makeable shots, costing them games their defense had given them a chance to win.
The Rebels forced Lakeview into 18 first-half turnovers, while only turning the ball over 7 times. The Rebels got up a ton of shots, but not enough went in as the Rebels scored 22 points in the first half. They held Brynn Stensrud and Anah Schmidt to just 11 combined points. The Lakers freshman guard Addyson Jorgenson picked up the slack with 10. Lakeview led at the halftime break 25 to 22.
The second half saw Kat Miller and the Rebels get hot and take their first lead. Miller was red hot, scoring 15 second- half points and moving her team from down 4 to up 4 in no time. Reese Gilbertson struggled shooting in the first half but scored 10 in the second as the Rebels tried to hold the lead. The game went back and forth, but the Lakers had a key 40-second stretch where they scored 7 points and took a 3-point lead. MCC didn’t give in, and with 22 seconds to play, the Rebels had the ball with a chance to win the game.
The last-minute effort failed. The Lakers got the rebound and made 2 free throws with 8 seconds left, putting them up by 3. Kat Miller looked at a long 3-point shot to tie the game, to no avail. The Lakers beat the Rebels 61 to 58.
The Rebels forced 35 Laker turnovers in the game, which helped the Rebels get up 91 shots from the field. MCC also got to the free throw line 17 times. The Rebels made 22 shots from the field and just 7 free throws. They were led in scoring by Kat Miller with 20 points. Gilbertson would add 10, Ava Deacon and Calleigh Doeden added 9 each and Kate Blankenship added 8.
The Lakers were led by Schmidt who finished with 22, Jorgenson added 18, and Stensrud finished with 15. It was a tough loss for the Rebels but a good indicator just how good they compete, especially with the roster getting healthier. The Rebels will be at home Thursday against RTR.
