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Kinsey cracks 1,000 points in 48-point game

David Colburn
Posted 1/25/23

FIELD TWP- Grizzlies senior Hannah Kinsey got by with a little help from her friends on the North Woods girls basketball team last week as she eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring plateau in the …

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Kinsey cracks 1,000 points in 48-point game

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FIELD TWP- Grizzlies senior Hannah Kinsey got by with a little help from her friends on the North Woods girls basketball team last week as she eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring plateau in the Grizzlies’ 72-33 home win over Nashwauk-Keewatin.
In pregame warm-ups it was clear the Spartans would have problems matching up with the Grizzlies’ size, particularly 6’1” Kinsey, and from the outset North Woods took advantage of that edge. Kinsey scored the Grizzlies’ first two baskets on short jumpers as the Grizzlies quickly opened up a 13-5 lead, eight of those points coming from Kinsey. Helen Koch knocked down a three-ball that ignited a 21-6 North Woods run in which Kinsey scored 12 more points, and the Grizzlies held a comfortable 37-17 lead at the half.
Kinsey had 21 points at the break, and a milestone that was 47 points distant at the beginning of the game suddenly appeared to be within reach.
“Last year against Nashwauk she had 32, and she had 30 the other night,” North Woods Head Coach Liz Cheney said. “Now we were going on the road for a while, so at halftime we gave her the choice – do you want to do it, because we’ll feed you the second half until you do it. And she decided yes. So that’s what we did.”
The Grizzlies came out running disciplined offensive sets that put Kinsey into scoring position, and she responded with sharpshooting accuracy, locked in on mid-range jumpers in the lane and along the baseline. She picked up a few putbacks on Grizzlies misses, stepped out beyond the arc to drain a three, and led a fast break score as the Grizzlies’ lead continued to build. Kinsey was five points shy of 1,000 when the running clock kicked in at 62-24 with nine minutes to play, but with 5:38 left she took a pass down low from Kiana LaRoque on a pick and roll play and banked home the bucket that put her over the top with 1,001 points and 48 for the game. Officials stopped play to give Kinsey, the Grizzlies, and the crowd the opportunity to celebrate her achievement.
“I wasn’t expecting to hit it tonight, but my team helped me out a lot. They were amazing at feeding me,” Kinsey said. “They were awesome.”
But while her teammates got her the ball, Kinsey still had to knock down the shots, and she attributed her improved shooting this season to her offseason training.
“We shoot a lot in practice, but throughout the summer I worked really hard on my shots because I knew coming into the season, I was close to getting 1,000 and that was one of my long-term goals. But honestly, I wasn’t expecting to hit it this school year.”
Because of Kinsey’s huge game, no other North Woods players scored in double figures as the Grizzlies moved to 8-9 on the season. The Grizzlies hope the win will be a springboard to more victories in a lengthy five-game road stretch. North Woods won’t be back on the home hardwood until they host Mesabi East on Feb. 13.