ELY— The Timberwolves struggled offensively on Tuesday as they fell 63-30 to Cherry.
“We ran into a very good team tonight and struggled to hit our shots,” said Ely Head Coach Darren Visser. Senior Erika Mattson scored 17 points but was the only Ely player to reach double figures. Meanwhile, Cherry junior Jessa Schroetter dominated scoring, with 29 points.
Ely managed just 12 points in the first half as the Tigers’ defense kept the Wolves off balance.
Also scoring for Ely were eighth-grader Grace LaTourell, with five points, freshman Rachel Coughlin, with four points, and senior Brielle Kallberg, with three.
The Wolves found the winning formula this past Saturday, playing at Grand Marais. With time expired in their matchup with Cook County, Ely’s Mattson, who led Ely scorers with 18 points, calmly walked to the free-throw line and sank her shot to give the Timberwolves a come-from-behind victory, 50-49.
It was an improbable turnaround after a slow start left the Timberwolves down by as much as 16 points in the first half. But the Wolves slowly whittled away at the Vikings’ lead and closed the gap to eight points as of halftime. Ely closed that gap further and the lead changed hands a few times in the final minutes. With six seconds left, Ely regained possession in their end with the score tied but couldn’t advance the ball as the Vikings applied a full press. As time ran out Mattson hurled a Hail Mary shot from mid-court and was fouled in the process, giving her the chance to win the game.
“This was a game in which our team showed a lot of grit and determination,” said Visser. “Playing short-handed due to injuries and players being gone, our team really stepped up and rose to the challenge.”
Ely’s Kallberg had a strong night, tallying 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. LaTourell added ten points while sophomore Ande Visser had four points.