REBEL GIRLS SECURE TWO WINS IN A ROW THIS WEEK AGAINST MLAC AND RTR

FEBRUARY 6 MCC VS. MLAC

The Murray County Central Rebel Girls Basketball team beat the Adrian Ellsworth Dragons on Monday night in Slayton. The Dragons had been tied for second place in the Red Rock Conference standings heading into the week. The loss to the Rebels moved the Dragons back to third place. Friday night the Rebels played the second place team in the Red Rock Conference. Mountain Lake Area Comfrey has had a terrific season that many didn’t expect at the beginning of the year. The team, led by senior guard Julia Brinkman has surprised many, but on Friday, the Rebels extended their winning streak to 4 games, as they beat the second straight second place team in the conference.

The Rebels have been playing some of the program’s best basketball over the past seven years. The Rebels picked up their tenth win of the year earlier in the week and have a chance to have their first winning season since before Co- To do that, the Rebels will need to beat some of the teams that have already beaten them this year. One of those teams is MLAC, who beat the Rebels by eight points earlier this year. The Rebels came out and took the lead right away. MCC’s Kat Miller was locked in from the outside, as the junior made a pair of three point shots in the first half. Joelle Hellewell came off the bench to make two more three point shots and the Rebels led at one point by 16 points. The Wolverines wouldn’t give up. Mikaya Schroeder, an 8th grader, scored 14 first half points, leading the game in scoring and keeping her team in the game. The Rebels’ Ava Deacon led the Rebels with 12 in the first half as MCC would lead at the half 32 to 24.

The second half was all about Deacon and Defense. The Wolverines matched their first half scoring output with 24 points. Nine of those points came another MLAC 8th grader, Annabelle Hup. Ava Deacon scored 15 second half points, not allowing the Wolverines to get back in the game. In fact, the Rebels extended their lead to twenty plus points. The other Rebels scored five or more points in the second half to help lead the Rebels to a 69 - 48 win.

The Rebels’ defense forced 20 turnovers and held the Wolverines to just 3 made three point shots. The Rebels, on the other hand, made 10 three point shots and took 16 more shots from the field than the Wolverines. With the Rebels out-shooting the Wolverines by several percentage points, MCC picked up the win. The Rebels held star guard, Julia Brinkman to 8 points though Mikaya Schroeder would finish with 18. Ava Deacon led the Rebels with 27 points and 4 steals. Kat Miller finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds. Joelle Hellewell finished the game with 11 points. The Rebels’ bench, in this game, outscored the Wolverines 22 to 13. The Rebels will try to make it 5 wins in a row on Monday when they play at RTR.

FEBRUARY 9 MCC VS. RTR

The MCC Rebel Girls Basketball team had won 4 straight games heading into Monday night’s game at RTR. The Knights beat the Rebels on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Ava Guida just a couple of weeks ago. The Rebels final three games of the regular season came against teams that beat them the first time around, with two of those losses coming in the closing seconds of the game. The Rebels defense rose to the challenge on Monday night as the Rebels would pick up their fifth win in a row.

The Knights got off to a great start, storming out to an 8-0 lead in the first couple of minutes. The Knights hit a pair of 3-point shots and then finished a shot in the paint as RTR took a big lead. MCC would come back, but it took the Rebels time as they struggled to put the ball in the basket. The Rebels defense kept them in the game, and late in the half, Kat Miller and Reese Gilbertson hit back-to-back 3-point shots to give the Rebels a 29 to 28 lead with less than ten seconds to play in the half. With the clock ticking down, Ava Guida beat the buzzer again to give the Knights the lead 30 to 29 at the half.

The Rebels and the Knights went back and forth to open the second half but the Knights had a couple key players in foul trouble. The Rebels tied the game at 39-39 and then with 7:30 to play in the game, Joelle Hellewell made a 3-point shot from the right wing to put the Rebels ahead 42-39. The Rebels did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game, building at one point a 6-point lead. In the end, the Rebels would pick up the win 52 to 48.

The Rebels defense led the way, forcing 28 turnovers and holding the Knights to just 27 percent shooting. The Rebels did struggle to rebound against the Knights, but MCC was able to finish possessions without giving up points. Makayla Hesse scored 13 points and Ava Guida scored 12 points to lead the Knights. Joelle Hellewell scored 16 points to lead the Rebels while Reese Gilbertson added 10 points. Kat Miller and Ava Deacon scored 8 points each. The Rebels won their fifth straight game and will play at HLOF on Thursday.