By Shane PalmquistThe Cardinal girls hockey players seem to have everything going their way. It appeared that way in the past week, as they set the cruise control and shut out Fairmont, Worthington and Dodge County.LUVERNE 6, FAIRMONT 0Tuesday night Luverne goalie Sarah Schneekloth got her own hat trick of sorts by posting her third consecutive shutout as Luverne once again held their opponents scoreless. It didn’t take long for the host Cardinals to get on the board as both Sadie Dietrich and Natalie Domagala got goals within the first minute of the first period. Chessa Ossefoort and Katie Dahl both added goals of their own to build a 4-0 lead after one.Cardinal Assistant Coach Nick Domagala said, "The girls communicated and passed well, then took the open shots and made them count."The girls came out in the second period playing great on both sides of the puck and picked up two unassisted goals from Abby DeWispelaere and Natalie Morgan. Steph Steensma, Amanda Niessink and Morgan all picked up one assist each to help in the victory.LUVERNE 8 , DODGE COUNTY 0The Luverne scoring machine came home Saturday to dismantle Dodge County.Natalie Domagala not only got a hat trick but added two more goals to finish with five . Sarah Schneekloth picked up Saturday where she left off Thursday by playing the role of a wall, registering 19 saves to record her second consecutive shutout.Luverne also got goals and assists from Dietrich (one goal, one assist) Natalie Morgan (one goal, one assist), and a third-period power-play goal from Katie Dahl. Chessa Ossefoort, Steph Steensma and Paige Olson all picked up an assist. LUVERNE 10 WORTHINGTON 0What could be Luverne’s most memorable game of the season came on the road last Thursday at the expense of the gracious host, Worthington Trojans.Sadie Dietrich reached the century mark in career high school goals by netting the magical goal with 5:28 to go in the first period. She added two more in the second only 30 seconds apart for the hat trick.She not only took advantage of her teammates’ passing to her, but she also helped out their cause by hooking up on five more goals to finish up with an impressive eight points. If that wasn’t enough excitement for the girls, there was plenty more as Natalie Domagala got her own hat trick by netting four of her own goals to go along with one assist.Luverne wasn’t quite done yet with adding story lines to this game as goalie Sarah Schneekloth got her first shutout of the season, rejecting 12 Trojan shots. Steph Steensma, Paige Olson and Mikki Fitzer added their own goals in this game while Olson, Katie Dahl and Heather Kruse each were credited with an assist.Luverne will try to continue its winning ways next week, first hosting St. Peter Tuesday before traveling to New Ulm and Windom to finish out the week.

The Adrian girls basketball team started the 2005 basketball season in fine fashion last week by claiming a couple of Red Rock Conference wins. On Thursday the Dragons traveled to Westbrook and defeated Westbrook-Walnut Grove 49-27. The following night Adrian again relied on their defense while defeating Red Rock Central 42-32. The two conference wins bring the Dragons’ conference record even at 4-4, while overall Adrian goes to 4-7. The Dragons’ next game will be tonight when they travel to Comfrey.Adrian 49, W-WG 27After allowing the Chargers to take an early 4-2 lead, the Dragons defense stepped it up and got things rolling for themselves. The defense led Adrian to a 16-7 first quarter lead. Three different Adrian players recorded four or more steals in the game. Emily Thier led all Dragons with a season-high five steals, while Kelly Banck and Brittany Bullerman made off with four steals each. Banck and Bullerman, along with Courtney Thier, led Adrian with four points each in the opening period.The Adrian defense got more stingy in the second quarter, allowing the host team only a last-second field goal. Meanwhile, the Dragons put up a 10 spot to give themselves a 26-9 halftime lead. A 16-4 Adrian advantage in the third period sealed the win for the Dragons. Banck again had the hot hand in the third quarter by scoring eight points.W-WG did win the fourth quarter 14-7, but it would not be enough to prevent the Dragons from winning their second consecutive game 49-27.From the floor Adrian netted 40 percent of its shots by making 24 field goals in 60 tries. The Chargers were held to just 12 field goals in 37 attempts for 32 percent. Neither team went to the free-throw line often with only 11 fouls called in the game. Adrian committed just five fouls to the Chargers’ six. W-WG made all three of its free-throw attempts. The Dragons shot a cool 25 percent, hitting only one free throw in four tries.Kelly Banck led the Adrian offense with 14 points. Junior Brittany Bullerman also reached double digits with 11 counters. Other Dragons to reach the scoring column were Kayla Bullerman with eight points, the two Thiers, Emily and Courtney, with six points each, and Amber Loosbrock and Kelsey Tjepkes with a fieldgoal apiece. The Dragons held a 31-28 rebounding advantage with Banck, Loosbrock, and Tjepkes all grabbing five caroms each. Courtney Thier, Brittany Bullerman, and Kayla Bullerman all recorded four rebounds. As a team, Adrian had 15 offensive rebounds and 16 on the defensive end.For the game the Dragons committed only seven turnovers while forcing their opponent into 20 miscues. Adrian recorded a season high 19 steals. Emily Thier and Kelly Banck led the winners in assists with four each.Box Scores:J Bullerman:0-0-0/0=0, E Thier:3-0-0/0=0, K Tjepkes:1-0-0/0=2, K Banck:7-0-0/0=14, N Lynn:0-0-0/0=0, K Thier:0-0-0/0=0, S Lynn:0-0-0/0=0, J Reisdorfer:0-0-0/0=0, C Thier:3-0-0/0=6, K Bullerman:4-0-0/0=8, N Runia:0-0-0/0=0, B Bullerman:5-0-1/2=11, A Loosbrock:1-0-0/2=2Adrian 42, RRC 32Avenging an early-season loss to the Falcons, the Dragons got a career best from senior Amber Loosbrock in beating the Falcons of Red Rock Central 42-32. Loosbrock would record her first ever double-double by scoring a season high 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.After falling behind 5-2, Adrian went on an 8-2 run to finish the quarter holding a 10-7 lead. It would be a lead they would never relinquish. Kayla Bullerman got the Dragons going by scoring four opening period points. Adrian padded its lead in the second stanza by going 7 of 9 from the free-throw line. The Dragons finished with 16 quarter points, while holding the visitors to single digits (8 points) for the second consecutive period. The inside strength of Loosbrock and Brittany Bullerman led Adrian to their 11-point halftime lead, as they scored six and five points respectively.The Dragons started the second half with a 4-0 run to open up a 15-point lead; however, the Falcons responded with a 7-2 run to cut the Adrian lead to 32-22 heading into the final period. RRC finally reached double digit quarter points by scoring 10 points in the final eight minutes, but the Dragons were able to maintain their 10-point lead by netting eight of 12 free throws.Both teams scored 25 points from the field with neither team shooting well. Adrian made 12 of 43 shots for 28 percent, while its opponent netted 11 field goals in 47 tries for 23 percent. The Dragons won the game on the free-throw line where they shot 74 percent making 17 free throws in 23 trips. RRC hit 7 of 15 free throws for 47 percent.On her way to her game-leading 12 points, Loosbrock would go perfect from the free-throw line, making six of six. Kelly Banck also reached double digit points for the Dragons, scoring 11 points. The Bullermans, Brittany and Kayla, scored nine and eight points respectively. The Dragons also got an important two points from sophomore Kelsey Tjepkes.Adrian controlled the boards by out-rebounding the Falcons 36-24. Brittany Bullerman and Kayla each grabbed eight caroms. Point guard Emily Thier made off with six rebounds.The Dragons forced RRC into 12 turnovers, while committing 14 of their own. Banck led Adrian with 4 assists, Thier and Kayla Bullerman chipped in with three assists apiece. Box Scores: J Bulleman 0-0-0/0=0, E Thier: 0-0-0/0=0, K Tjepkes 1-0-0/0=2,K Banck 2-1-4/7=11, N Lynn: 0-0-0/0=0, K Thier 0-0-0/0=0, S Lynn:0-0-0/0=0, J Reisdorfer 0-0-0/0=0, C Thier:0-0-0/0=0, K Bullerman 2-0-4/6=8, N Runia 0-0-0/0=0, B Bullerman 3-0-3/4=9, A Loosbrock 3-0-6/6=12

The Ellsworth girls varsity basketball team turned the table on R-T-R Friday in Tyler by defeating the Knights 59-49 in Camden Conference action.The Panthers outscored the host team 25-12 in the first half by playing tough, aggressive team defense to set the tone for the second half.R-T-R came out smoking the third quarter by outscoring Ellsworth 20-16 with three treys, four two-pointers and shot three for five from the line. Ellsworth still led 41-32 at the end of the third stanza.The Knights kept creeping closer in the fourth quarter and came within five counters, but they were forced to foul the Panthers to stop the clock to no avail as the winners cashed in eight for 10 from the charity stripe.Ellsworth shot 59.5 percent (25 of 42) from the field compared with R-T-R’s 33 percent (16 of 49) due to the Panthers’ defense. The Knights were nine of 14 (64 percent) to the Panthers’ 80 percent (eight of 10) from the foul line.Laurel Drenth and Amy Tiesler paced the winners with 18 and 12 counters respectively, followed by Rosie Lewis’ nine, and Rachel Kvaale and Amy Timmer each scored six to round out the top scorers.The winners won the battle of the boards 26-20 with Laurel Drenth and Amy Tiesler leading the way with eight and six.Brittney Kramer was charted with four assists, three steals and two rejections.Laurel Drenth again led the way with five assists, five deflections and five steals.Each team turned the ball over 16 times, a much-improved category for the Lady Panthers.The Panthers are 6-3 and 4-1 in conference play, tied with Lincoln-Hi and Lakeview for top honors.

By Shane PalmquistCardinal basketball was in high gear last week with Luverne hosting Windom Friday, then traveling down to Lennox, S.D., on Tuesday, winning both those games.That sets up a big week for the boys as they host Edgerton tonight, then play two huge conference games at home hosting third-ranked Marshall Friday and Pipestone Tuesday.LUVERNE 63, LENNOX 51Tuesday night Luverne traveled the interstate to Lennox looking to keep the momentum on their side. They did just that by shooting 19 of 29 from the free throw line and not allowing Lennox to shoot one. "Getting to the free-throw line that many times helps a lot, and not letting them shoot one … I don’t think that’s been done before," said Tom Coach Rops.Luverne led 43-28 at halftime but came out a little sluggish in the third allowing Lennox to close the gap to 47-43 after three quarters. "The guys played an excellent first half, probably the best half all year. We missed some shots in the third but kept our composure and made enough plays down the stretch to keep the lead."Brandon Deragisch recorded a double double, scoring 12 and pulling down 11 rebounds. John Tofteland and Brad Herman also had good games, both finishing in double digits, Tofteland with 12 points and Herman with 11.Luverne shot a little better than 50 percent from the field and held on to the ball with only six turnovers, which certainly increases the chances for a victory.LUVERNE 67, WINDOM 40A great all-around game both offensively and defensively from senior Brandon Deragisch led Luverne to another conference win at home Friday.This improves Luverne’s record to an impressive 10-2 mark. Deragisch finished the game with 11 points, six steals and pulled down seven rebounds.Coach Rops said, "We gave up some easy baskets early, but we took those away and swung the game into our favor."Trailing 17-15 after the first quarter and leading only by six at the half, Luverne came out firing in the second half. Building a 19-point lead to close out the third quarter, Luverne’s defense clamped down on the visiting Eagles, holding them to only 13 second-half points. "Our defensive pressure took a toll and wore them down," Rops said.Dusty Antoine caught the scoring fever as well, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 15 points. Jared Pick also played a solid game on both sides of the court finishing with 11 points and six rebounds. John Tofteland contributed 10 points for Luverne. The team shot 37 percent from the field and forced 18 turnovers.

By Lexi MooreThe Hills-Beaver Creek School Board meeting Monday night began with a presentation from Meredith Mammen, a Certified Public Accountant with the firm Turbes Drealan Kvilhaug & Co out of Worthington.Mammen presented an audit of the Hills-Beaver Creek school district’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2004.School district officials were allowed to include a Management’s Discussion and Analysis report with the auditor’s report. This report gave them an opportunity to justify the finding of the audit.The H-BC district ended the fiscal year with a deficit of $838,781. Total revenue was $2,772,962 while total expenditures were $3,611,743.According to the report, H-BC’s general fund balance decreased by $483,579 from the prior year due to a number of factors, including:ohigher utility costs due to a faulty heating system; ohigher transportation costs due to the increase of fuel and maintenance on the buses; oincreased special education payments, increased costs due to higher insurance; othe locker room project cost, which exceeded the $400,000 bond issue.Mammon explained that the bond issue money for the locker room was actually received and included as revenue during the 2003 fiscal year, but the project was not paid for as an expense until the 2004 fiscal year. These numbers are reflected in the deficit.Board members asked questions and made recommendations for future budgets before voting to approve the audit prepared by Turbes Drealan Kvilhaug and Co.

By Lexi MooreWayne Ward, city maintenance manager, was on hand to discuss a water leak at New Vision co-op. The problem was discovered on New Year’s Eve.Water in the fertilizer building at New Vision had not been shut off this winter. When Ward responded to a complaint about low water pressure in the area, he discovered water coming from the inside of the fertilizer building.Ward said, "It was pouring out of there."The council voted to bill New Vision for the 25 gallons of water that were lost during the leak.Jon and Tedra Voss, Hills, were visitors at the meeting. They were having sewer line issues at their home located at 400 S. Central Ave.The couple reported that Hansel Plumbing had been to their residence to fix the sewer problems and discovered roots growing in the sewer lines.Hansel began cleaning roots from the line but stopped after realizing the problem was with the city’s sewer lines.Voss reported, "I’ll tell you how bad the roots are. They are growing through cast iron pipe."After a short discussion the council agreed to resolve the issue in the spring."You have done your stuff. In the spring the city will do our part," was the resolution proposed by Mayor Jim Jellema.Ward plans to dig out the old pipes and replace them with PVC pipe. He said roots will not be able to penetrate the PVC pipe.The council also agreed to pay the $50 Hansel Plumbing bill for the Vosses.Other city matters:oThe council addressed complaints regarding the sidewalk north of the Hills water tower along State Hwy 270. The sidewalk had not been cleared of ice, which had caused children to walk on the highway.oWard reported that the sidewalk had been cleared and that he would take the Mayor’s recommendation to put salt or sand down.oThe council agreed to put the old city truck up for auction on Jan. 29.oCouncilwoman Joanne Goehle and Councilman Dana Dahlquist did not attend the meeting.oA scheduling conflict forced the Hills City Council to meet Monday night instead of Tuesday this week.

By: Lexi MooreHills-Beaver Creek School officials announced that there had been a break-in at the school over Christmas vacation. The intruders accessed the building through closet windows on the roof.After checking every room and closet in the building, the only property determined to be stolen was the surveillance recorder. The incident was reported to local authorities, and the surveillance system is operating again.The break-in was announced at Monday’s school board meeting.Elementary reportTodd Holthaus, H-BC Elementary School principal, began his portion of the meeting by congratulating students who had participated in the National Geographic Bee at the elementary school on Friday.The event is sponsored by National Geographic.Holthaus’ report included several important dates in the upcoming
Monday, Jan. 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the elementary school will be hosting Family Math Night.
Tuesday, Jan. 18, the SISBRO company will present the book, "Stranger in the Woods," by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick.Student teacher Morgan Sunne from Dakota State University, Madison, S.D., has been helping with Don Bosshart’s sixth-grade classroom.Holthaus said, "We are very fortunate to have her with us. She is bringing in creative ideas and resources. Student teachers are on the cutting edge of education."Superintendent David Deragisch’s high school report congratulated the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams on their outstanding seasons so far. He also congratulated the junior high knowledge bowl team on their competition Friday in Marshall.In other district news:
Problems with the heaters on bus No. 4 caused drivers Mike and Ron to use bus No. 1 on their regular routes.
Members voted to promote Halley Tollefson from After School Program Assistant to After School Program Coordinator. Former coordinator Heather Erickson resigned from her position at the school board meeting in December.
School board officers were elected. All officers will remain in their former positions.
Board members voted not to change the meeting dates and times. The H-BC School Board will continue to meet on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7:30.

By Katie McGaffeeFriday night the Patriot girls took on ML-B-O at home. Melinda Feucht netted 18 points with six rebounds and two assists. Chelsi Fink made 13 points and grabbed four rebounds and two assists. Kerri Fransman had 12 points, five steals and three assists. "The girls did a good job of moving the tempo of the game, causing a number of turnovers," Coach Goehle said. "We also were more patient on the offensive end in the second half, which helped us to get better shots."The Patriot girls traveled to Comfrey for a rescheduled game on Tuesday, Jan. 11.They’ll travel to W-WB today, along with their non-conference game on Saturday against West Lyon.

By Katie McGaffeeThe Patriot boys enjoyed their second win in a row on Thursday, Jan. 6.The varsity boys took the win with Tyler Bush netting nine points and grabbing 12 rebounds and nine assists. "The game was good, everyone played well." Bush said, "We didn't score very well, so we did other things like hustling and making the extra passes to score."Wiertzema sunk 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Wysong made 13 points and had five rebounds. "We played very hard against a big physical team," Coach Steve Wiertzema said. "Their size frustrated our offense, but we adjusted well."The junior varsity boys won with a score of 53-42. Aaron Esselink netted 17 points. The Patriots took on the Panthers in Ellsworth Tuesday, Jan. 11, and then traveled to West Lyon to take them on in a non-conference game on Saturday.Box Scores:Bush 0 4 1-3 9, Wysong 0 6 1-2 13, Wiertzema 1 9 6-8 27, Baker 0 1 0-0 2, LeBoutillier 0 2 0-0 4, Rozeboom 0 1 0-0 2.