Basketball roundup

• Two Harbors girls' basketball

Casey Cross goes in for a lay-up. Photo: Jill Innis

Talk about it

Scrappy Two Harbors girls make their way through a tough season

The Agates lost a pair of contests last weekend and are coming off of a five game series in which they played some of the toughest teams in the state of Minnesota, said Coach Chris Lemke. Friday at home they lost 65-27 to the McGregor Mercuries (13-2 for the season). The Mercuries jumped out to a 37-8 lead at halftime. Laura Schraufnagel led the Agates with 12 points and MaiKayla Collins led the Mercuries with 15 points.

Saturday on the road, the Agates fell by a score of 91-37 to the International Falls Broncos (12-4). On Thursday the girls face the Esko Eskomos (13-1), a team recently ranked second in the state. About the team’s growing pains and losses, Lemke takes a practical approach.

“My hope is that the players learn from this level of play. We have a choice - we can lose confidence and start thinking about warm summer days or we can use this experience to motivate us and get a little better every day. We have a plan for this program that involves both season play and off-season training/play. Playing teams like this should help to enforce the importance of the off-season,” he said.

Top scoring Agate girls are Krista Keranen with an average of 15 points per game, Lane Schraufnagel with 9.5 and Briana Stuberud with 4.7. The team is currently seventh out of 11 teams in the Polar League.

TH boys’ won and lost in last weekend’s contests

The Agate boys split a pair of contests last weekend. They defeated McGregor 64-48 at home and lost 73-53 at International Falls.

Kyler Kinn led the Agates versus the I-Falls Broncos with 11 points and Calvin Luhrsen contributed another 9. Ben Humbert with 15 points was one four Broncos in double figures. The Broncos led 46-11 at halftime.

Leaders in scoring for the team are Alex Lemke with a 13.3 point per game average, Charlie Pavlisich with 10.3, and Hunter Preston with 8.

The team is currently eighth of 11 teams in the Polar League.

Silver Bay girls press on

Last Friday the Mariners lost a home contest 75-37 to the Carlton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs led at halftime by a score of 47-20. Alicia Nopola of the Mariners, who leads the Polar League in scoring, led all scorers with 28 points. Five Bulldogs finished in double figures led by Brooke Camps and Clarissa Nelson with 12.

Leaders in scoring for the Lady Mariners are Alicia Nopola with an average of 21 points per game, followed by Tara Dow with 6.5 and Aubrey Thun, 3. The Silver Bay girls are tenth out of 11 teams in the Polar League.

Silver Bay boys meet the Carlton Bulldogs

The Mariners lost at home to the Carlton Bulldogs by a score of 64-37 last Friday. The Bulldogs led 37-24 at halftime. Kyle Blood led the Mariners with 19 points in the game. He is currently third in scoring in the Polar League Conference. Eben Fischer added another 9 points for the Bay. Erik Adams led the Bulldogs and the game with 24 points.

Blood leads the team with average points scored per game with 25, followed by Fisher with 16 and Spencer Tiboni, 7. The Mariners are in tenth place in the league.

Tammy Francois contributed to this story.

Tags: two harbors, silver bay, sports, basketball