The Cardinal girls played two hard-fought games last week, winning one and losing one.
The Cardinals’ overall record is now 10-4. In the Wright County Conference Annandale is now 0-2.
At this time last year the Cardinals were 0-2 in the WCC- West Division and 5-7 overall.
Annandale 48, Sartell-St. Stephen 40
The girls traveled to Sartell-St. Stephen on Monday, Jan. 19, for a non-conference game against the 10-3 Sabres. The Cardinals came into the game at 9-3 and came away with a win over the larger 3A school.
"Sartell was a great defensive battle for us," said head coach Amy Gagnon. "We have been shooting cold for the past couple of games and really wanted to focus on defensive stops. In basketball you can’t always rely on shooting well, but defense will always be a sure thing.
"The girls did a great job playing team defense and shutting down players. We need to stay focused on defensive intensity, as this is a weakness for us this year. We put shots in when we needed to, and it was enough that night."
Team statistics
Shots made:: 17-44, 39 percent
Three point: 2-13, 15 percent
Free throws: 12-18, 67 percent
Offensive rebounds: 9
Defensive rebounds: 21
Assists: 13
Steals: 4
Blocks: 1
Turnovers: 13
Personal fouls: 7
Individual statistics
Points: H. Spaulding 25; Purcell 6; D’Heilly 4; Reimer 4; Groth 4; Atkinson 5.
Three point: Atkinson 1; Purcell 1.
Free throws: H. Spaulding, 5-7; Groth 2-2; Reimer 2-2; D’Heilly 2-4; Purcell 1-2.
Rebounds: Purcell 10; H. Spaulding 7; D’Heilly 5; Reimer 3; Medvec 2; Groth 2; Atkinson 1.
Assists: Atkinson 5; Groth 5; Purcell 1; Reimer 1; Medvec 1.
Steals: Groth 2; Spaulding 1; Purcell 1.
Blocks: Spaulding 1
Personal fouls: Spaulding 2; Reimer 2; Groth 2; Atkinson 1.
Litchfield 67, Annandale 65
The Cardinal girls traveled to Litchfield Thursday, Jan. 22, for a WCC-West game.
The game was a battle right from the opening tip-off. Both the Cardinals and the Dragons shot very well from the outside.
"Litchfield didn’t win from any lack of effort by our girls," said assistant coach Matt Drier. "We left it all on the court and the girls have nothing to hang their heads about. It was just a tough loss."
The Cards got into foul trouble early in the game, which allowed the Dragons to play aggressively.
"We were down two with 15 seconds left and I decided to go for the win with how we were shooting from the outside," Drier said.
Brittany Reimer made a hustle play on a long rebound to knock the ball off a Litchfield girl, giving the Cardinals the ball with five seconds left.
"We looked in to Hannah Spaulding and the ball was knocked out to one of our girls for another three-point chance, but we couldn’t convert on it," Drier said.
Hannah Groth had a tremendous night, putting up 17 points with four three-pointers in the first half alone.
Allie Spaulding gave the Cardinals some big minutes in the second half.
"That gave us a double post presence at a key time in the game," Drier said. "Hannah Purcell gave us a strong scoring presence both inside and outside. Jenna Loch helped us out with her hard-working defense."
With Hannah Medvec leaving the game with an injury, Atkinson, Groth and Reimer stepped up and played much of the second half.
Team statistics
Shots made:: 24-46, 52 percent
Three point: 11-19, 58 percent
Free throws: 6-8, 75 percent
Offensive rebounds: 8
Defensive rebounds: 12
Assists: 9
Steals: 0
Blocks: 0
Turnovers: 16
Personal fouls: 18
Individual statistics
Points: Groth 17; H. Spaulding 13; Atkinson 11; Purcell 11; Reimer 4; Loch 4; Medvec 3; A. Spaulding 2.
Three point: Groth 5-7; Atkinson 3-6; Medvec 1-2; H. Spaulding 1-1; Purcell 1-2.
Free throws: Atkinson 2-2; H. Spaulding 2-2; Reimer 2-2.
Rebounds: Reimer 6; H. Spaulding 6; Groth 3; Atkinson 2; D’Heilly 1; Purcell 1; Medvec 1.
Assists: Reimer 4; H. Spaulding 2; Medvec 1; Loch 1; Purcell 1.
Steals: None
Blocks: None
Personal fouls: H. Spaulding 4; Groth 3; A. Spaulding 2; D’Heilly 2; Reimer 2; Atkinson 2.
Coach delivers
Gagnon and her husband welcomed a new member to their family on Thursday, Jan. 22, an 8-pound-11-ounce, 21-inch, baby boy, Brody Michael Gagnon.
Up next
■ Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Cardinals will host Mound-Westonka for a WCC-West game at 7 p.m. at Annandale High School. The White Hawks are 5-12 for the season.
■ Friday, Jan. 30, the Cards will host Dassel-Cokato for a 7 p.m. game at Annandale High School. The Chargers were 6-6 at the beginning of the week.
■ Tuesday, Feb. 3, the team travels to Delano for a 7 p.m. game. Delano had a record of 11-7 at the beginning of this week.