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The Luverne girls’ basketball team won two games last week, bringing their season record to 9-1.
The Cardinals beat Worthington 73-53 at home Tuesday, Jan. 10, before traveling to St. James to take down the Saints 79-50 Friday, Jan. 13.
Luverne was scheduled to host Jackson County Central Tuesday, Jan. 17, and they’ll play Windom at home on Friday, Jan. 20. The Cardinals travel to Pipestone Tuesday, Jan. 24, to take on the Arrows.
LHS 73, Worthington 54
The Luverne girls’ basketball team bounced past Worthington 73-54 Tuesday, Jan. 10, in Luverne.
“We got off to a really good start with our press, but then we went into a lull and struggled scoring,” head coach TJ Newgard said.
Luverne missed a few open shots against an aggressive Trojan defense, but the Cardinals managed to finish the first half in the lead 32-27.
“The second half I thought we did a much better job of executing on the offensive end, and we were able to stretch our lead,” Newgard said.
The Cardinals made more open shots and pressured Worthington into making mistakes and turning the ball over.
Luverne extended its lead in the second half, posting 41 points.
Senior Elizabeth Wagner posted a double-double in the game, scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds. She also had eight steals, seven assists and three deflections.
Junior Kira John made 11 points, six rebounds, four steals, one assist and two deflections.
Senior Averill Sehr contributed nine points, three rebounds, four steals, seven assists and one deflection.
Senior Christina Wagner netted eight points, three rebounds, three steals, two assists and four deflections.
Other Cardinals helping the score were junior Sarah Stegenga with seven points, senior Emma Beyer with six, and senior Jocelyn Hart and junior Kiesli Smith each with two points.
LHS 79, St. James 50
The Luverne girls’ basketball team sent conference rival St. James marching out to a 79-50 loss Friday, Jan. 13.
The Cardinals finished the first half leading 45-18.
In the second half the Saints stepped up their game, scoring 32 points to the Cardinals’ 34.
But that wasn’t enough to make up ground from the first half.
Elizabeth Wagner posted a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. She also had four steals, four assists and one deflection.
John added 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Stegenga made seven points, one rebound, had one steal, one assist and one deflection.
Several other players contributed to scoring for Luverne.
Beyer scored seven points, Sehr had six, and Christina Wagner, Jocelyn Hart, Smith and junior Tori Serie all added two points each, with a free-throw point by junior Kayla Bloemendaal.