MACA girls get win No. 4, here vs. Milbank SD

The MACA girls began the 2015 portion of their slate with an overwhelming win. Let's have a toast to the Tigers after their 65-35 win over their foe from "across the border." And then let's toast the new year.
This was a home win over Milbank SD. The Willmar newspaper continues to refer to our teams as "Morris/Chokio Alberta" instead of "Morris Area Chokio Alberta." Isn't the latter the official name? Don't I see "MACA" sewn onto warm-up shirts and the like? Is the Willmar paper taking it on itself to second-guess how we refer to ourselves?
Not that some second-guessing isn't called for. I have written on more than one occasion that we should simply go by "Morris" and "Morris High School" just like in the old days. We could begin our school song by chanting "MHS" again, just the way composer Bob Schaefer intended. Why refer to C-A when we don't refer to Cyrus or Donnelly or any other communities? Maybe a high school should just be named for where it's located. It's understood that a school our size attracts kids from a wider radius. I predict someday it will happen.
 
MACA 65, Milbank 35

The Tigers used balanced scoring in this non-conference win. Tracy Meichsner scored 12 points followed by Correy Hickman and Kayla Pring each with ten. Then came Lauren Reimers with nine, followed by: Becca Holland (7), Elizabeth Tiernan (6), Moira McNally (5), Lacee Maanum (2), Sam Henrichs (2) and Piper Gibson (2).
Holland made the only MACA three-pointer. Meichsner vacuumed the boards for 13 rebounds. Hickman dished out six assists while Gibson had five. Hickman stole the ball five times.
This was the Tigers' victory No. 4 of the season against five losses. Coach Dale Henrich will be coaxing his team to get on the right side of .500. That goal is within reach if the squad can perform like it did in the second half Monday. Coach Henrich had to smile as he watched his team outscore the South Dakotans 42-18 in the second half. At halftime the Tigers were up by just six points, 23-17. Maybe it was a display of superior conditioning.
Milbank goes by the "Bulldogs" nickname. The Bulldogs sputtered in their shooting on Monday. They had a stat of just 24 percent. The winning Tigers made 27 of 64 shot tries from the field. In freethrows our numbers were a solid ten of 15.
Caryssa Mielietz was the only double figures scorer for the visitor, with her ten points. Kaley Withers put in eight points. Then came Brittany Ackerman and McKenzie Mertens each with five points. Gretchen Beirsbach and Mackayla Schuelke each put in two, and Karlee Mertens had one. These totals add up to 33 points, not 35, but this is how the Willmar newspaper reported it. This is a common discrepancy in the Willmar newspaper.
Milbank made no 3-point shots. Mikayla Wiendland collected seven rebounds and she also had two assists. Withers had two steals.
Will victory No. 5 be quickly forthcoming for the Tigers? We're into the new calendar year now. We'll find out as soon as tonight (Tuesday).

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