The Luverne girls’ basketball team won two conference games and one non-conference, and they lost to South Dakota No. 2-ranked Vermillion by one point this past week.
LHS beat the Arrows 45-42 in Pipestone Jan. 24 and Redwood Valley 56-21 in Redwood Falls Jan. 27 before losing a 32-31 heartbreaker to Vermillion at Augustana University on Jan. 28.
On Monday, the Cardinals handily beat Mountain Lake 62-31 at home, putting their season record at 14-3.
The Cardinals are scheduled to host Fairmont Thursday, Feb. 2, and St. James Area Friday, Feb. 3.
LHS 45, Pipestone 42
Luverne girls’ basketball team handed the Arrows a 45-42 conference loss in Pipestone Tuesday, Jan. 24.
“It was reminiscent of an old school southwest conference battle between two evenly matched teams,” head coach TJ Newgard said.
“Both teams played really good defense throughout the game and made the other team work for everything they got.”
And it did take teamwork to beat Pipestone by three points.
“I thought Christina Wagner was the difference maker with her ability to stretch the defense and knock down four threes,” Newgard said.
Senior Christina Wagner led the Cardinals in scoring with 14 points. She also contributed seven rebounds and three steals.
Her twin sister, senior Elizabeth Wagner added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Junior Kira John contributed eight points, 10 rebounds, one assist and three steals.
Other Cardinals helping the score were senior Averill Sehr with five points, senior Emma Beyer and junior Tori Serie both netted three points. Senior Jocelyn Hart added two points.
LHS 56, Redwood 21
The Cardinal girls traveled to Redwood Valley Friday, Jan. 27 to take down the Red Wood Cardinals 56-21 in a conference matchup.
“It's always tough to make that long trip and then play the first game of a double header,” Newgard said.
Luverne handled the task well by opening up a 28-6 halftime lead.
“A lot of girls were able to get some time and they all brought something positive to the table,” Newgard said.
Luverne had nine of 13 players score in the game, and the four who didn’t score contributed valuable rebounds and assists.
Elizabeth Wagner posted 21 total points, eight rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.
Christina Wagner added nine points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one blocked shot.
Junior Sarah Stegenga sank one three-pointer and two inside the paint for seven points.
Junior Kiesli Smith came off the bench to add five points, three rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
Sehr and Jayden Hart both added four points each.
Serie netted three points, Jocelyn Hart added two and Kira John one point.
Vermillion 32, LHS 31
LHS girls’ basketball traveled to Augustana University to take on Vermillion Saturday, Jan. 28.
Luverne lost by one, 32-31, in a final minute push by the Tanagers.
“We knew we were in for a serious challenge playing the No. 2-ranked team in South Dakota. They came into the game undefeated for a reason,” Newgard said.
“They have a ton of height and a really phenomenal seventh-grade guard. It was a battle throughout.”
He said both teams had trouble mounting offensive runs.
“I was really proud of our defensive effort outside of a couple key possessions where we lost shooters and they were able to make us pay,” Newgard said.
The Cardinals were down six in the third quarter but were able to put together a 9-0 run in the fourth to take a three-point lead with two minutes left.
Vermillion then hit back-to-back threes to take the lead for good.
“This was a game that I think we could have and should have won, but they just made one more play than we did,” Newgard said.
“We will try to learn from it and take those lessons with us as we near postseason play.”
Elizabeth Wagner played hard and posted a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also had one assist, three steals and one blocked shot.
Sehr posted seven points, four rebound, two assists and one steal.
Christina Wagner added five points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and four blocked shots.
John contributed four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Emma Beyer made three points, one rebound, two assists and one steal.
LHS 62, Mt. Lake 31
LHS girls’ basketball team hosted Mountain Lake Monday, Jan. 30, beating the Cubs 62-31.
“It was a very sluggish performance by us. We continued to struggle with offensive execution,” Newgard said.
“Our defense was superb, holding them to one two-point shot made.”
The Cubs made one of 13 shots inside the paint and the Cardinals made 16 of 28 inside.
Luverne was able to spread the shots around, keeping Mountain Lake players on their heels.
Elizabeth Wagner posted 15 points, nine rebounds, one assist and three steals.
“Sarah got back to doing what she does best, that is knocking down perimeter shots for us,” Newgard said.
Stegenga made three 3-point shots and one inside for 11 points. She also had three rebounds.
“Kira was aggressive and played well,” Newgard said
John made nine points, grabbed five rebounds, had three assists and two steals.
“Averill (Sehr) played a really nice game for us on both ends of the floor,” Newgard said.
Sehr netted seven points and had four assists and five steals.
Other Cardinals scoring were Hansen and Serie with six points, Bloemendaal and Beyer with three, and Christina Wagner with two points.