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Casey Miller -
Abby Overman
The MCC Rebels and the HBC Patriots squared off in Slayton on Tuesday night in a Red Rock Conference Girls basketball showdown. Both teams were coming in off wins in their first conference games of the season. The Patriots scored 50 points in the second half in a win over Edgerton Public while the Rebels pulled away for a 12 point win over Adrian Ellsworth. The two teams are about as opposite as it gets. The Patriots are long and fast while the Rebels are stronger and more physical on the court. The Rebels are an older team with 3 seniors starting and another 3 coming in off the bench while the Patriots were led in scoring by a junior and an 8th grader. It would be an interesting game that in the end would be decided by the little things.
The first half was a struggle for the Rebels offense as their defense kept them in the game. HBC got a great boost from 8th grader Olivia Deelstra who scored 10 points in the first half. The 5’11” forward showed terrific speed attacking the basket beating the Rebels off the dribble. Brynn Rauk added six points but the rest of the team only scored 8 points. The Rebels on the other hand fell in love with the three point shot and though they made 3 in the first half they took 16. The Rebels also struggled at the free throw line making just 1 of 6. MCC went over 7 minutes without scoring in the first half and only trailed at the half 24 to 16.
The Rebels scored 36 points in the second half in fact the Rebels had more points in the first 6 minutes of the second half than they did in the entire first half but try as they might the Rebels couldn’t get closer than 5 points. Every time the Rebels made a run in the game the Patriots would answer. With under nine minutes to play in the game the Rebels got within five points and the Patriots would hit 3 three-point shots. Olivia Bork would make two and Larissa Steinhoff would make the other. The Patriots extended their lead back to 11. The Rebels never gave up and kept fighting and though they trailed by over ten points the Rebels stayed aggressive. The Rebels then got hot form the field. Over the final 60 seconds of the game MCC forced 4 turnovers and made 4 shots. Lilly Daniels had a basket and two key steals and Casey Miller hit a big three point shot. In the end the Rebels would lose 55 to 52. It was a crazy final minute of action that showed the Rebels could compete but missed free throws and open shots inside of five feet probably cost the Rebels a win.
The Patriots out rebounded the Rebels by 9 in the game but the Rebels had more assists and the two teams each had 11 steals. The Patriots turned the ball over two more times than the Rebels in the game. The Patriots made 3 more free throws than the Rebels in the game and that was the difference.
MCC was led in scoring by Abby Overman who finished with 12 while Casey Miller added 10. Seanna Swenson playing in her first game of the year finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Olivia Deelstra and Layla Deelstra each scored 14 for the Patriots in a losing effort. The Rebels will play MLAC on Friday in Slayton.
