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Washington Evening Journal
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Plainsmen happy to be healthy again
Rethman leads Plainsmen in victory with 15 points
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BELLE PLAINE — The Belle Plaine girls’ basketball team is happy to be healthy again this season.
A small roster affected by injuries meant the lady Plainsmen barely had enough players to compete last season. The team had six total players.
Those injured players are back, and so are the varsity numbers. Belle Plaine has 11 on the roster this season.
“It’s a great feeling to have all those girls available on the bench,” Belle Plaine coach Scott Nilles said.
The Plainsmen took advantage of their best opportunity to get a win this season on paper, defeating Collins-Maxwell 37-32 Monday night.
The win broke a 12-game losing streak from last season into this one.
Seven different players scored for the Plainsmen in the victory.
“It was hard-fought,” Nilles said. “We matched up pretty well with them coming in, and I challenged them to be physical and to handle the ball.”
Points were few and far between in the first quarter; the Spartans were held scoreless.
Lacie Rethman had a basket and two made free throws for the Plainsmen, who led 6-0 after a quarter.
The Spartans started to press more consistently in the second, but the Plainsmen allowed no easy baskets.
Layups from Taylor Johnson and Kyla Shaull and a putback from Kennedy Coover gave the Plainsmen a 12-0 lead in the second.
Finally, with 3:13 remaining in the second, the Spartans got on the scoreboard. Triona Scott connected from deep. Jayden Peters also hit a three.
The Plainsmen let 16-6 heading into halftime.
A switch flipped for the Spartans as they came out after the break. They got hot from the field, especially from three-point range. They scored 21 of their 32 points in the quarter.
The Spartans hit four threes, and their press was finally forcing turnovers and turning them into points.
With 3:03 remaining in the quarter, the score was knotted up at 20.
The Spartans took a 27-23 lead heading into the fourth.
Shaull delivered for the Plainsmen in the final quarter. The Plainsmen senior hit seven straight points off two offensive rebound putbacks and a banked in three to give Belle Plaine lead at 32-27.
“We rebounded really well in the fourth,” Nilles said.
After the Spartan made two free throws, the score was 32-31, but the Plainsmen held on for a five-point victory.
Rethman and Shaull both scored in double digits for the Plainsmen, with 15 and 11 points respectively.
Cypress Erickson had 10 for the Spartans.
“We go kind of how our seniors go,” Nilles said. “Kyla is going to have to be more of a scorer down the stretch for us, so it was great to see her be aggressive in the fourth.”
AT BELLE PLAINE
Collins-Maxwell (32): Cypress Erickson 2-8 5-13 10, Haylee Merryman 2-13 1-2 6, Ellie McDonough 1-1 0-0 2, Ava Pasquariello 0-2 0-0 0, Triona Scott 2-2 0-0 6, Kaylee Atwood 0-4 0-0 0, Jayden Peters 2-13 0-3 5, Rosalei Reed 1-3 1-1 3, Leah Kahler 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 10-47 7-19 32
Belle Plaine (37): Layne McLeao 1-7 1-3 3, Kyla Shaull 5-14 0-2 11, Jadie Dahlquist 1-5 0-0 2, Eva Brannaman 1-3 0-0 2, Lacie Rethman 4-11 7-13 15, Kennedy Coover 1-4 0-0 2, Taylor Johnson 1-7 0-0 2, Totals 14-51 8-18 37
Collins-Maxwell 0 6 21 5—32
Belle Plaine 6 10 7 14—37
3-point goals: Collins-Maxwell 5-15 (Erickson 1-2, Merryman 1-3, Scott 2-2, Peters 1-6), Belle Plaine 1-6 (McLeod 0-3, Shaull 1-1, Coover 0-2); Rebounds: Collins-Maxwell 19 (Tschantz, Peters 6), Belle Plaine 55 (Rethman 13); Assists: Collins-Maxwell 8 (Erickson, Merryman 3), Belle Plaine 10 (McLeod 4); Steals: Collins-Maxwell 14 (Peters 6), Belle Plaine 14 (Shaull 5); Total fouls: Collins-Maxwell 18, Belle Plaine 21
