REBEL GIRLS FALL TO COYOTES

The MCC Rebel Girls Basketball team wrapped up their pre-Christmas portion of their schedule Friday night in Fulda. The Rebel girls won’t play again until January 4th and the Rebels were looking to go into their break with a much-needed win. The Heron Lake Okabena Fulda Coyotes were also looking for a needed win but not because they just wanted to get a win but because it would give them a 4-4 record. The Coyotes are an experienced team with 7 seniors who play and several starters who have played at the varsity level for three seasons and more. The Rebels would put together a good first half but it was the second half that would prove to be too much for the Rebels.

The Rebels defense was aggressive in the first half as they created 14 Coyote turnovers which led to the Rebels scoring 10 points in transition. The Rebels have not had many easy baskets all season long so to get points on the fast break was huge for the Rebels. HLOF got the ball into the paint early in the game and it caused foul trouble on the Rebels who couldn’t defend without hearing a whistle. Taryn Evers would score nine first-half points but she made five of her seven free-throws. With Evers making plays in the low post the Rebels had to drop more players into the paint which allowed open three-point shots and Chrissy Hermeling and Emily Madison would take advantage of the extra room. Hermeling and Madison each made two three-point shots and Faith White would add another. Seanna Swenson would score 8 points for the Rebels all in the paint. Casey Miller and Mary Lou McNab each scored 5. The Rebels would make 11 of their 31 shots in the first half while the Coyotes made 9 of 24.

The second half would see the Coyotes take control of the game out of the halftime break. Hermeling would hit three threes to open up the HLOF lead. The Rebels were struggling to shoot but they also began turning the ball over compared to the first half. When HLOF turned the ball over it wasn’t in a position for wide-open Rebel layups but rather the Rebels would have to set up an offensive set and run a play. The Coyotes were not allowing the Rebels to have anything easy. MCC made 11 shots in the first half but they only made 5 of 29 shots in the entire second half. The Coyotes on the other hand made 7 of 27 but with their free throws the Coyotes would pick up a 60 to 47 win.

Seanna Swenson led the Rebels with 8 points while adding 7 rebounds. Emily Rohrer finished with 7 points and 11 rebounds plus 3 blocks. The Coyotes got 22 points from Chrissy Hermeling and 15 points and 8 rebounds from Taryn Evers. The Rebels and the Coyotes stats were pretty similar. The turnovers were in favor of the Rebels 24-22, The Coyotes outrebounded the Rebels 43-39. The biggest differences in the game came at the free-throw line where HLOF made 9 more than the Rebels and at the three-point line where the Coyotes made 9 and the Rebels made just 2. The loss puts the Rebels at 1-4 on the season and the win gets the Coyotes to 500 at 4 and 4.