FIELD TWP – The North Woods girls couldn’t sustain a win streak after a holiday tournament win over McGregor, falling to Cherry at home on Tuesday 76-60.
The Grizzlies kept it close in the early going against the Tigers, trailing 16-12 after eight minutes of play. But Cherry’s press began giving the Grizzlies fits, and the Tigers capitalized by vaulting to a 15-point lead at 36-21. Two baskets by Corra Brodeen, a trey by Brynn Chosa, and a free throw by Tatum Barto kept the game from getting out of hand and had the Grizzlies trailing by 12 at the half, 41-29.
Barto opened the second half with a big trey that got the deficit to single digits at nine, but North Woods couldn’t turn the trifecta into a momentum builder, as the Tigers responded with five consecutive points. The lead dwindled to ten again on a pair of Barto charities with about 11 minutes left, and a bucket by Evalyn Thiel again brought North Woods within nine at 53-44. But each time the Grizzlies threatened to get closer, Cherry answered, and the lead was back to 60-46 with seven minutes remaining. The Grizzlies never seriously threatened after that as the Tigers coasted to the 76-60 win.
The Grizzlies failed to capitalize on a big game by Barto, who had 28 points. Chosa added 13 and Brodeen scored 11.
It was a game filled with missed opportunities for the Grizzlies, Head Coach Liz Cheney said.
“If only we could have not dug ourselves a 18-point deficit at the beginning,” Cheney said. “If only we would have had better passes and not panicked. We have to make some adjustments, and it was a long holiday break.”
But that break did come with a 55-45 win over McGregor in the Aitkin tournament, after an opening night 85-53 loss to Aitkin.
“McGregor was a good matchup for us, and the girls played much better basketball,” Cheney said. “One of the biggest things (for us to improve) is coming together as a team. That hasn’t happened yet – but everyone has something to offer once they can figure out how to communicate non-verbally with each other and just play together.”