The Annandale girls basketball team played three games last week. The Cards began by defeating Dassel-Cokato and ended the week with a win over St. Cloud Cathedral, but in the middle lost to WCC-West rival New London-Spicer.
The loss kept the Cards in third place in the conference with a 5-2 record.
Annandale 58, Dassel-Cokato 33
The team traveled to Dassel-Cokato High School Tuesday, Jan. 30, for a WCC-West game against the Chargers.
"The Chargers really struggled in the first half when we went with our full-court man-press," said Annandale Head Coach Matt Dreier, whose team held Dassel-Cokato to a mere six first-half points.
The Cards were able to pick up the pace of play, even though they didn’t get a lot of steals.
"We started out the game going 7-for-14 from the three-point line," Dreier said. "It was fun to see our shooting pick up, as we have not been shooting well from the outside the last few games."
In the second half, Dreier went to a two-three zone.
"The Chargers ended up hitting some shots against the 2-3," Dreier said. "But we were able to get everyone cycled in during the second half."
Hannah Purcell led the Cards with 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Annandale 33 25 – 58
Dassel-Cokato 6 27 – 33
Team statistics
Field goals: Dassel-Cokato 13-58 (22%), Annandale 22-49 (45%)
Three pointers: Dassel-Cokato 4-13 (31%), Annandale 8-19 (42%)
Free throws: Dassel-Cokato 3-10 (30%), Annandale 6-8 (75%)
Rebounds: Dassel-Cokato 25, Annandale 36
Turnovers: Dassel-Cokato 9, Annandale 10
Individual statistics
Points: Purcell 23, Spaulding 8, Medvec 7, Helget 5, Lillehaug 4, Lindquist, Neutz and Atkinson 3, Mandel 2
Three point: Purcell 3-3, Helget 1-1, Lindquist and Medvec 1-2, Atkinson 1-3, Neutz 1-5, Gagnon, Lillehaug and Provo 0-1
Rebounds: Purcell and Spaulding 9, Medvec 5, Atkinson 3, Meidinger, Mandel and Neutz 2, Burd, Gagnon, Broich and Reimer 1
Assists: Helget and Purcell 3, Atkinson and Broich 2, Lillehaug, Stang and Spaulding 1
Steals: Helget and Purcell 2, Atkinson and Neutz 1
Blocks: Spaulding 6
Fouled out: None
New London-Spicer 49, Annandale 46
The Cards had a tough battle when they headed to New London-Spicer to face the Wildcats Friday, Feb. 2.
"We traded baskets all night, looking for a chance to get a few in a row, but it didn’t happen for either team," Dreier said. "They did a nice job taking us out of our rhythm on offense in the first half, and we struggled to get the looks that we wanted."
Neither team had more than a six-point lead the entire game. The Cardinals hit a shot right before the half to cut the Wildcats’ lead to four, 18-22.
"In the second half, we made a few adjustments and were able to get our looks inside," Dreier said. "That allowed us to be patient and get good looks repeatedly."
Late in the game the Cardinals managed to get the lead back. Shea Oman, the Wildcats’ point guard, made a clutch shot to tie the game.
"They got the ball back again and Shea hit another clutch shot, from way behind the three-point line, to put them up by three," Dreier said.
Hannah Purcell led the Cards in scoring with 18, but Allie Spaulding was not far behind with 15. Spaulding added eight rebounds, two assists, five blocks and two steals.
Annandale 18 28 – 46
New London-Spicer 22 27 – 49
Team statistics
Field goals: Annandale 19-41 (46%), New London-Spicer 18-45 (40%)
Three pointers: Annandale 4-10 (40%), New London-Spicer 7-12 (58%)
Free throws: Annandale 4-4 (100%), New London-Spicer 6-7 (86%)
Rebounds: Annandale 20, New London-Spicer 9
Turnovers: Annandale 12, New London-Spicer 5
Individual statistics
Points: Purcell 15, Spaulding 13, Medvec 12, Atkinson, Lillehaug and Neutz 2
Three point: Medvec 4-4, Atkinson and Neutz 0-2, Purcell and Lillehaug 0-1
Rebounds: Spaulding 8, Purcell 7, Atkinson 3, Lillehaug and Medvec 1
Assists: Spaulding 5, Lillehaug, Purcell and Medvec 2, Neutz 1
Steals: Spaulding 2
Blocks: Spaulding 5, Purcell 1
Fouled out: None
Annandale 51, Cathedral 37
The Cardinals traveled to St. Michael-Albertville Saturday, Feb. 3, for a match-up against 16-3 St. Cloud Cathedral.
"Cathedral is a tough team that has a very good shooter and three big athletic girls," Dreier said.
The Cards got off to a great start in the first half, knocking down five three-point shots.
Cathedral struggled from the field in the first half, and the Cardinals went into the locker room ahead by eight points, 25-17.
"In the second half, we got off to a slow start and Cathedral got the game within a couple of points," Dreier said. "We had some big baskets in the second half and 10 free throws as well."
Defensively the Cardinals were able to play a 2-3 zone the entire game. "That slowed Cathedral down on offense," Dreier said.
Cathedral’s best player was held to five points in the first half. She made four three-pointers in the second half and finished with 17 points.
Hannah Purcell led the Cardinals with 18 points and five rebounds. Freshman Alison Helget was impressive, scoring 10 points, including two three-pointers.
Annandale 25 26 – 51
St. Cloud Cathedral 17 20 – 37
Team statistics
Unavailable
Individual statistics
Points: Purcell 18, Helget 10, Medvec 7, Spaulding 5, Atkinson 4, Lillehaug 3, Broich and Neutz 2
Three point: Purcell and Helget 2, Atkinson, Lillehaug and Medvec 1
Rebounds: Spaulding and Neutz 8, Purcell and Broich 5, Atkinson, Helget and Medvec 2, Jones and Burd 1
Fouled out: None
Up next
■ Friday, Feb. 9, the girls travel to Watertown-Mayer High School for a 7 p.m. WCC-West game against the Royals.
■ Tuesday, Feb. 13, the Cardinals host the Litchfield Dragons for a 7 p.m. WCC-West game.