MACA girls turn tables on Montevideo

Well, this was refreshing: The MACA girls debuted in post-season play with a 42-39 win. It was a road triumph over Montevideo. 

Many years have passed since I was at the Montevideo gym. I remember the big beautiful mural painting that showed the profile of a traditional Native American. Monte was the "Mohawks" then. The Tigers defeated today's Monte "Thunder Hawks" by this margin of three. Quite the morale-builder for the Tigers who have had ups and downs. 

The downs have been almost cringeworthy if I may use that word. I'm speaking of losses to Minnewaska Area and Mayer Lutheran mainly. There have been definite "ups" as well. Friday falls squarely in that category. But I wouldn't want to put money on our chances in the next game. I haven't been following New London-Spicer this season but historically they are very tough. So that's who we play next. Game-time is 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The West Central Tribune gives the location as "the Big Red gym." 

The WC Trib has a heading about our success this morning (Saturday). It's the score in nice large type: Morris/CA 42, Montevideo 39. I have given up trying to get that paper to call us by our right name which is "MACA." They probably don't even know about the existence of my blogs. Well, Mongo just pawn in game of life. 

The MACA girls entered tournament play as the No. 5 seed. So it was a slight upset for us to beat No. 4 Monte. It was easy to see why Monte had the higher seed: Back on December 10 the T-Hawks beat us 49-27. Put aside the MACA won-lost record at present - it is 10-17. Monte finishes the campaign at 11-17. 

Let's see, what kind of highlights does the WC Trib share about the game? Well, it informs us that Monte's Teagan Epema scored 14 points and stole the ball three times. Also, that Brooke Lindeman scored 12 and that Lily Eisenlohr had six rebounds and three assists.

Let's see, any details about the winning Tigers? No, nothing. They had "stats not available" for MACA. I would have enjoyed catching some details. Time for someone representing MACA to call the sports editor there and maybe shout some choice words, some maybe not suitable for publication? 

Is there anywhere else on the web where I might find some details? Could our own SCT be troubled, I mean within a day or two after the game? I'm happy to give them two days. How long do we have to wait after a Monday or Tuesday game?

But look at the stream of UMM Cougar news on the SCT website. Why do they behave like this? They should have someone on the staff who is eager to share with us, champing at the bit after a game like Friday's. Will this situation ever be addressed? 

I enjoy writing about high school sports so let's look at the Monte details. These details are readily available. So we see Teagan Epema standing out, 14 points. Brooke Lindeman put in 12 points. Here are the others: Jillian Magnuson 6, Hallie Helgeson 4 and Lily Eisenlohr 3. Eisenlohr made their only 3-pointer. She also led in rebounds with six and assists with three. Epema had three steals.

 

Update: It is noon Saturday as I prepare to click on "publish" for this post. I checked the radio station website and they report that Addison Cihak scored 16 points vs. Monte and Chloe Fehr scored 13. Nice to get that info and thanks, but ideally it would be nice to see a complete scoring list. Jeez, it wouldn't be that much more trouble, would it? Remember the standards that were held up for me when I was at the newspaper?

Minnewaska 63, Litchfield 26 

Would you believe the Minnewaska Area Lakers are merely the No. 2 seed? I would never bet against the Lakers. This is a team with a 24-3 record. They sure started the 2025 playoff season like gangbusters, thoroughly handling the Dragons of Litchfield at 'Waska. They adjusted for the absence of Alia Randt, a starting guard, who was out on concussion protocol. The Lakers next play KMS. 

The West Central Tribune reports stats for both teams. It was really a night for Lauryn Ankeny to shine. I usually look for her as the leader in steals but not necessarily in points. Look how she did Friday: 21 points. 

After her we saw typical scoring standouts Sydney Dahl 14 and Megan Thorfinnson 10. Jayda Kolstoe put in eight, Kendall Danielson 6 and Addyson Kath 4. 

Thorfinnson and Danielson each made two 3-pointers and Ankeny made one. Ankeny not only led scoring, she topped rebounds with seven. Kath dished out three assists. Yes it was Ankeny leading in steals with seven followed by Thorfinnson and Dahl each with three. Dahl and Thorfinnson each had three shot blocks. 

Litch's top scorer was Emma Knudsen with nine points. She was joined by Isla Dille 6, Kelsey Palmer 4, Anna Sorgatz 4, Jamiah Taylor 2 and Katelyn Guggemos 2. Dille made two 3-pointers. 'Waska had things well under control at halftime, up 37-16.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com