On Tuesday, Feb. 20 the Lennox High School girls’ basketball team began their Region playoff run, hosting a strong Dakota Valley team.
Lennox led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter but watched as Dakota Valley battled back to take a three point lead at the half.
Despite being down in the fourth quarter, the Lennox girls dug deep to hang on to the 59-56 victory.
“It was a really exciting game to be a part of and what you would expect from two talented Dak XII teams playing in the postseason,” said LHS head coach Adam Quail.
“We started the game extremely well but credit to Dakota Valley as they had a tremendous second quarter and led by three at half. The second half was also a rollercoaster as we were down nine in the fourth quarter but were able to come together and find a way to pull out the win. I was really impressed with our toughness and never give up attitude throughout the second half,” continued Quail.
For the Orioles, Kuyper led the way with 20 points, going nine of 14 from the field. She also had four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Dani Highum scored 12 points, had four rebounds, and five assists. Teagen Sturm had nine points, two rebounds, a team-high seven assists and three steals. Andie Peters finished with seven points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Karlie Bosma had six points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Ashlee Sweeter finished with three points and three steals. Ryan Hanssen had two. Points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal.
With the win, the Orioles advanced to the second round of Regions, traveling to Vermillion.
Lennox trailed in the opening quarter but outscored the Tanagers 17-6 in the second quarter to take the 20-13 lead at the half. A back and forth battle in the second half was tipped to Vermillion’s favor as they scored back to back threes late in the fourth, allowing them to grab the 47-42 victory, ending the Orioles’ season.
“It was another fun atmosphere to play in front of as we were really impressed with the contingent of Lennox fans who made the trip down to Vermillion! Vermillion is a very talented team, and we knew going into the game that it was going to be close throughout,” said Quail. “We really executed our defensive game plan well in the first half as we kept some of their talented offensive players in check. Throughout the second half I thought we gave them too many offensive rebounds which led to second chance points and in the end a few sequences went Vermillion’s way late in the game which helped decide the outcome. I was very proud of how the team competed and left it all out on the court.”
For the Orioles, Kuyper finished with a double-double scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Both Sturm and Hanssen finished with eight points. Highum contributed seven, Peters six and Bosma two. Hanssen grabbed six rebounds and Highum four. Highum led the team in assists with four and in steals with three.