Playing a make-up game at Ellsworth last Saturday, February 16, Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda freshman guard Chrissy Hermeling kept the Coyotes in contention by sinking five 3-pointers as she scored 19 points in a 66-46 loss to the Panthers in a Red Rock Conference varsity girls’ basketball game.
Hermeling played a fine all-around game for the Coyotes as she also dished off four assists and pulled down five defensive rebounds.
Ellsworth worked to a 31-20 halftime lead and outscored HLOF by nine points (35-26) after the break as the Panthers maintained a double-figure lead and improved to 6-11 overall and became 4-10 in the conference.
HLOF dropped to 1-22 for the season and fell to 1-13 in league action.
Sophomore Morgan Gehl (two steals, two assists, one offensive rebound) scored 11 points for the Coyotes against Ellsworth, while junior cousin Khloe Gehl (six points, three defensive rebounds, one steal), senior McKenzie Evers (six points, eight defensive rebounds, four assists, one steal) and junior Kailee Haberman (four points, three rebounds, three assists) each contributed in multiple ways for HLOF.
Junior Kelsey Fuerstenberg (two offensive rebounds, one steal), junior Rebecca Salentiny (offensive rebound) and freshman Taryn Evers (defensive rebound) also helped the Coyotes compete favorably at Ellsworth, as did junior Brittany Lais, sophomore Grace Kilian and freshman Taylor Haberman.
Coyotes 20 26 = 46
Panthers 31 35 = 66
Coyotes (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) K. Haberman 0-2-0-4, M. Gehl 2-2-1-11, K. Gehl 2-0-0-6, M. Evers 0-1-4-6, Hermeling 5-2-0-19, Totals 9-7-5-46.
HL-O/Fulda varsity girls earn 19-18 lead during first-half action
Playing well in the first half at Okabena Friday night (February 15), the Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda Coyotes varsity girls’ basketball team earned a 19-18 lead on undefeated and state-ranked Hills-Beaver Creek.
The Patriots, however, countered with a 19-6 run and claimed a 37-25 halftime advantage. The second half was dominated by H-BC which posted its 21st consecutive victory by a final score of 70-33.
Six players scored for the Coyotes, including a team-high 10 points by McKenzie Evers, who also claimed six rebounds (four defensive) and had a pair of steals.
Juniors Kailee Haberman (seven points, two rebounds, two steals, one assist), Kelsey Fuerstenberg (six points, four rebounds, two assists) and Khloe Gehl (six points, two assists) combined for 19 HLOF points.
Freshmen Chrissy Hermeling (three points, two defensive rebounds) and Emily Madison (one point, one offensive rebound) also scored for the Coyotes.
Sophomore point Morgan Gehl (three rebounds, two assists, two steals), junior Brittany Lais (two defensive rebounds), junior Becca Salentiny (one steal) and freshman Taylor Haberman (one offensive rebound) also contributed statistically for the Coyotes, who snagged a total of 21 rebounds (seven offensive, 14 defensive) in the game.
HLOF was five-of-nine on three-point shots (55.6 percent), but just eight-of-33 on two-point field goals (24.2 percent) and two-of-six (33.3 percent) at the free throw line.
Patriots 37 33 = 70
Coyotes 25 8 = 33
Coyotes (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) K. Haberman 1-2-0-7, K. Gehl 2-0-0-6, M. Evers 1-3-1-10, Hermeling 1-0-0-3, Madison 0-0-1-1, Fuerstenberg 0-3-0-6. Totals 5-8-2-33.
