HJ Sports Blog

By Stephen Wiblemo
Sports Editor
The Dassel-Cokato girls basketball team was hoping to get a little confidence back Thursday night after their loss in the final seconds to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted the week before.
The Chargers were facing Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity, a team they knew they could beat but couldn’t take for granted.
DC players knew they were the better team if they played like they could, and that is what they did as they pounded the Bulldogs for a 56-16 win.
“I think this game was really good for us,” DC senior Katelyn Nelson said. “Basketball is a long sport, and at this point in the season is when it starts getting harder. We have to continue to stay strong.”
DC’s defense was all over the Bulldogs, forcing 28 LPHT turnovers. They also held them to just one point in the second half.
The Chargers were in control from the beginning, but it wasn’t exactly a pretty start. After about the first 12:30 of play the score was only 17-7. Both teams picked up the scoring a little more down the stretch, and DC went into halftime with a 31-15 lead.
In the second half the Chargers came out even better than the first. DC continued to score and didn’t allow the Bulldogs an easy look at the basket.
“The first half we kind of killed ourselves a little, but the adjustment we made at halftime was just to be mentally tougher,” DC head coach Matt Whittaker said. “That showed. We didn’t make some of the same silly mistakes, and we forced them to earn baskets.
“I also think it helped us to pull off the press. It was getting us out of position and causing us not to work as hard in the half-court set.”
Half way through the second half the Chargers had a commanding lead, and it was time to take out the varsity players. DC’s junior varsity didn’t let up either, though. They continued right where the varsity defense left off, and senior Deb Rokala even added to DC’s total with a couple of buckets.
Nine players total scored for the Chargers, and Julie Munson led them with 14 points including four three-pointers. Hailey Schminke knocked down nine, and Courtney Smith had eight, respectively.

Thur., Jan. 28
DC 56, LPHT 16
Dassel-Cokato (23 5-11 56)
Hailey Schminke 9, Caitie Schulte 4, Courtney Smith 8, Julie Munson 14, Nicole Nelson 4, Kate Nelson 3, Molly Range 8, Abby Thomson 2, Deb Rokala 4
Lester Prairie/HT (5 5-24 16)
Three-pointers: DC-5 (Munson 4, Schminke 1); LPHT-1
Rebounds: DC-31 (Schminke 3, Schulte 4, Smith 5, Munson 1, Nicole Nelson 2, Kelsey Hartkopf 3, Kate Nelson 3, Range 4, Thomson 3, Andrea McCain 1, Anna Webster 2, Rokala 1); LPHT-24
Turnovers: DC-16, LPHT-28
Halftime: DC-31, LPHT-15
DC holds on for 46-39 win over Glencoe-Silver Lake
The Chargers headed south Tuesday to take on WCC rival Glencoe-Silver Lake in Glencoe. The Panthers have had a rough season with only three wins so far, but DC didn’t want to underestimate them.
In the end, the Chargers got a 46-39 conference win, but it wasn’t a pretty finish. At one point in the second half the Chargers were sitting comfortably with a 38-25 lead. But, the Panthers suddenly caught fire, and DC chilled, to come within five-points of the lead.
Although the Chargers were happy to finish with a win, they know they didn’t finish GSL off like they should have at the end.
“We had some individual plays that were nice tonight, but as an overall whole, we didn’t get it done,” DC head coach Matt Whittaker said.
According to Whittaker, he felt DC’s confidence was down against the Panthers, perhaps due partly to the gut-wrenching loss they suffered Saturday to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.
“Our confidence is definitely shaken right now, and you can’t suddenly make up for that,” Whittaker said. “We couldn’t practice (Monday) because of the snow. There are no excuses for it, but I’m just saying our confidence is shaken and that showed tonight.”
The two teams battled to score in the first half, and the game crawled along at a slow pace in the beginning. With 6:05 left on the clock the two teams were only tied at 11.
DC managed to creep out to an 18-15 lead, and in the final minute Kate Nelson finished off a couple strong plays in the paint to give the Chargers a 22-15 lead at the half.
The second half started with DC slowly, but surely, building on its lead. The Chargers’ lead grew to as much as 13 points, but then they hit a wall.
DC’s lead suddenly began to crumble as they couldn’t finish at the basket and started turning the ball over, which resulted in the Panthers scoring transition baskets. The Chargers finished with 24 turnovers, six more than the Panthers.
“We got up 13, and they (GSL) didn’t start doing anything different,” Whittaker said. “Maybe they played a little more junk trap, but we just panicked, weren’t strong, and didn’t make plays we needed to.
“The big thing, too, is that we didn’t learn from our mistakes. We continued to make the same mistakes.”
DC didn’t score a field goal for the final six minutes of play, but fortunately their defense and free-throw shooting was enough to hold the lead.
Julie Munson led the Chargers with 13 points. Abby Thomson had 11, and Molly Range had seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Tues., Jan. 26
DC 46, GSL 39
Dassel-Cokato (14 14-23 46)
Hailey Schminke 3, Caitie Schulte 2, Courtney Smith 3, Julie Munson 13, Kelsey Hartkopf 1, Kate Nelson 6, Molly Range 7, Abby Thomson 11
Glencoe-Silver Lake (15 6-13 39)
Three-pointers: DC-3 (Schminke 1, Smith 1, Munson 1, Thomson 1); GSL-3
Rebounds: DC-38 (Schulte 4, Smith 6, Munson 4, Nicole Nelson 2, Hartkopf 7, Kate Nelson 3, Range 8, Thomson 4); GSL-32
Turnovers: DC-24, GSL-18
Halftime: DC-22, GSL-15