The Luverne girls’ basketball team won two games and dropped a heart-breaker to Marshall.
LHS beat Tracy 71-32 Feb. 14 at home and traveled to Worthington Feb. 16 to beat the Trojans 76-39, before losing to Marshall 51-37 in Windom Feb. 18.
The Cardinals’ next game is Saturday, Feb. 25, at home against Minnesota Valley Lutheran in subsection play.
LHS 71, Tracy 32
Luverne hosted Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Tuesday, Feb. 14, winning the 71-32 game.
“We continued to play really good team defense, which allowed us to keep our unbeaten record at home intact,” head coach TJ Newgard said.
Luverne caused TMB to turn the ball over 22 times in the game, as a team posting six blocks, 13 steals and 41 total rebounds.
“I’ve been really impressed with the girls and their ability to bring it every night without a letdown,” Newgard said.
Senior Elizabeth Wagner led Luverne with 15 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds and had two assists.
Junior Sarah Stegenga added 14 points, one rebound and two steals.
Junior Kira John played tough inside, scoring 10 points with six rebounds. She had two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Senior Averill Sehr posted nine points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Cardinals.
Junior Kiesli Smith used her height to sink five points and grab five rebounds. She also had two steals and one blocked shot.
Seniors Christina Wagner and Jocelyn Hart both added four points in the game.
Wagner had four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Hart had nine rebounds and one blocked shot.
Seniors Emma Beyer, Lauren Hansen and Jayden Hart made three points each for Luverne.
Beyer added three rebounds, one assist and two steals. Hansen had one rebound and one steal. Hart blocked one shot for Luverne.
Junior Dennie Sandbulte made one free throw, had one rebound and one blocked shot.
LHS 76, Worthington 39
The Luverne girls’ basketball team traveled to Worthington Thursday, Feb. 16, beating the Trojans 76-39 for a conference win.
“We were in a bit of foul trouble in the first half, but Dennie Sandbulte came in and provided some superb minutes,” Newgard said. “She was able to contribute on both ends and really was one of the main reasons we held a lead at halftime.”
He said Kira John held her own on the court among some large Trojan players.
“Kira was awesome all night attacking their bigs,” Newgard said. “When she believes in herself and plays with confidence, she’s nearly unstoppable.”
He added that Christina Wagner came up with some timely offensive plays.
“She hit two threes to start the game, and that opened up driving lanes for her later on in the game,” he said.
Christina Wagner led the Cardinals, scoring 17 points. She also had two rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
John played big inside, posting 15 points with four rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.
Elizabeth Wagner made 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had two steals and one blocked shot for the Cardinals.
Junior Tori Serie came off the bench, adding nine points, two assists and two steals to Luverne’s game.
Smith contributed five points and two steals for Luverne.
Sandbulte made four points, had one rebound and one blocked shot.
Beyer, Sehr, and Hansen all added three point each for the Cardinals.
Stegenga and Jocelyn Hart rounded out the scoring with two points each.
“That was one of our best wins all year, beating a very good Worthington team,”
Marshall 51, LHS 37
The Luverne girls’ basketball team traveled to Windon to play Marshall in a Big South Conference Showcase game Saturday, Feb. 18.
The Cardinals dropped only their third game of the season 51-37 to the Tigers.
“We dug ourselves an early hole and then got into foul trouble,” Newgard said.
“We were able to battle back a couple different times but didn’t make enough plays on either end to win the game.”
He said turnovers and missed assignments played a role in the loss. Luverne had 23 total turnovers in the game, giving up 28 points to Marshall in the process.
“Nobody in the locker room likes losing, so the girls will learn from this humbling experience and use it to get better as we move into playoffs,” Newgard said.
Elizabeth Wagner led Luverne with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Stegenga made two 3-pointers for six points and had two assists.
Sehr and Serie provided five points each in the game.
Sehr added one rebound, one assist and two steals.
Serie had one rebound and one steal.
Jocelyn Hart netted four points, grabbed six rebounds, with one assist and two steals.
John, Beyer and Christina Wagner rounded out the scoring with two points each.