REBEL GIRLS BASKETBALL SEASON COMES TO AN END

GBB VS HLOF

The Sub-Section 3A South tournament began this past week with the MCC Rebels playing in two games before their season came to an end on Saturday afternoon in Worthington. The Rebels got to have one more home game on Thursday night as the 7thseeded team in the sub-section, The Heron Lake Okabena Fulda Coyotes came to Slayton as the 10th seed. The Rebels knocked off the Coyotes twice this season but both games were played over a month ago. The Rebels would pick up their tenth win of the season as their suffocating defense put the clamps on HLOF.

MCC took control of the game with their defense. In the first 18 minutes of the game, the Rebels forced 17 turnovers. The turnovers gave the Rebels extra possessions and shots but limited the Coyotes’ opportunities to score. The Rebels scored 22 of the first 24 points in the game. The Rebels held the Coyotes to just 6 points in the first half. When the Coyotes missed a shot, they didn’t get many second-chance opportunities to score.Thea Schneider led MCC with 10 first-half points while Ava Deacon scored 7 and Jayda Hellewell added 6. The Rebels led at the half 30 to 6.

The Coyotes scored the first points of the second half, but the Rebels were not going to allow a comeback. The Rebel defense still forced 9 second-half turnovers and on offense, the Rebels only gave the ball away 5 times. MCC’s rebounding remained strong, which meant a lot of one-shot trips for HLOF. Thea Schneider and Kelli Miller scored 5 each to lead the Rebels in the second half as MCC got the win, 51 to 16.

MCC forced 26 turnovers in the game on Thursday night while only giving the ball up 13 times. MCC dominated the glass, not allowing the Coyotes to get multiple attempts to score each trip down the floor. Thea Schneider led the game in scoring with 15 points. Jayda Hellewell and Kelli Miller scored 8 points each. The Rebels picked up their 10th win of the season for the first time in five years. MCC’s playoff victory would send them to Saturday’s quarterfinals against secondseeded WWG Chargers.

GBB VS WWG

The MCC Rebels played the Westbrook Walnut Grove Chargers for the third time this season on Saturday. The top 4 seeds all won on Thursday in Section 3A which meant the brackets were what was expected. That wouldn’t change on Saturday, which meant the high seeds won all eight games. WWG, the second seed in the south, got the win over the Rebels in the third game of the day.

The Rebels would play the Chargers tough the first ten minutes of the first half. MCC led a couple of different times early in the game, as Jayda Hellewell and Thea Schneider scored early baskets. MCC had the game tied at 13 with eight minutes to play in the first half but MCC scored just one more basket in the first half and that would come five minutes later. In that time, Abby Wiggins scored nine points as the Chargers pulled away. Ava Deacon made a three-point shot with three minutes left. The Chargers led at the half 37 to 16.

The Rebels never got back in the game in the second half, scoring just nine points. The Chargers didn’t light up the scoreboard in the second half, as they scored just 21 points, but with 5:50 to play in the second half, the running clock was put into play, as the Chargers lead grew to 35 points. Abby Overman was able to add a couple of baskets for the Rebels but the Rebels season was over with a 58 to 25 loss to the Chargers.

The Rebels won 10 games this season which was a strong improvement over the past several seasons. MCC played ten players at the varsity level with four seniors ending their careers on Saturday. Abby Overman, Jayda Hellewell, Lily Daniels, and Kylie Knakhmus helped lead the Rebels this season and they will be missed. Overman led the Rebels with 11 points on Saturday and was the only player for the Rebels in double figures. That leaves 7 underclassmen returning for the Rebels next year plus a JV who played strictly a JV schedule this season until late in the year when Calleigh Doeden got called up to the varsity level because of an injury. The Rebels will have a chance to improve on this season next year if they put in more time and develop their shooting. MCC was one of the better defensive teams this season, but struggled to put the ball in the basket. Good teams develop through hard work from March to November, not playing games between November and March.