GIRLS REGULAR SEASON ENDS WITH A WIN AGAINST HLOF

The MCC Rebel Girls played their first Subsection 3A South playoff game on Friday night in Slayton. The Rebels were the 8th seed, so played host to the 9th-seeded Coyotes of Heron Lake Okabena Fulda. The Rebels beat the Coyotes twice during the regular season 51-27 in Fulda and 56-34 in Slayton. The Rebels were looking to make it a season sweep and advance to Super Saturday where they would face the topseeded Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles. The Rebels hadn’t played in a Super Saturday event since 2019 when they beat Adrian.

When you play in a pigtail game, as the Rebels and the Coyotes were on Friday, clearly things during the season didn’t go as you had hoped they would. The game does give you a chance to pick up another win during the season and a chance to build some momentum looking forward to next season. The Rebels played some terrific defense against the Coyotes throughout the game. MCC showed more full-court pressure than they have all year and it would force the Coyotes into 35 turnovers throughout the game. Those turnovers set up scoring chances and really limited the number of shots the Coyotes would get. Jayda Hellewell played great in the first half for the Rebels, scoring 11 points, while Abby Overman and Casey Miller would help seal the win in the second half. Anna Fest scored a game-high 11 points for the Coyotes in a losing effort. The Rebels would get the win 52 to 37.

The Rebels picked up their 6th win of the year, four more than a year ago. The Rebels were led in scoring by Jayda Hellewell who finished the game with 13 points. Casey Miller scored 11 points in her final Rebel home basketball game. Abby Overman added 9 points, as the Rebels advanced to the Quarter Finals. Anna Fest was the leading scorer for the Coyotes, while Kelli Renneke ended the game with nine points in their final varsity basketball games. The Rebels would have to turn things around quickly, as they opened up Saturday against SWC at 11:00 am.

Taylor Larson