Muskie play gracious hosts to Eagles

With the NorWOSSA playoffs set for a week from today here, the Muskies won just one out of four matches against the visiting Dryden Eagles yesterday afternoon.
The Muskies will wrap up the regular season here Monday against the Kenora Broncos.
The senior girls’ basketball team and both the senior and junior boys’ volleyball squads went down in close matches to the Eagles yesterday. The junior girls’ basketball team salvaged the homestand with a convincing 50-27 win.
Muskie forward Carley McCormick netted a game-high 12 points while Miranda Miller had 10 in a game the black-and-gold controlled most of the way. Rebecca Cornell, Stephanie Madsen, and Jody Caul added five points each.
“There were some adjustments we made from last week’s [29-25 loss to Dryden],” said head coach Mike Busch, whose team leads NorWOSSA with a 5-2 record.
“Carley has become a real leader for us this season.”
But the team’s plans to visit Thunder Bay for some exhibition games this weekend fell through after SSSAA playoffs were rescheduled for this week.
Meanwhile, the senior hoopsters were not so fortunate, falling 44-38 in a game they let slip away in the fourth quarter.
After trailing by eight points at the half, the Muskies battle back with six quick points in a 45-second span in the third quarter to take their first lead at 27-24.
But regular Eagles starter Kristin Wiedenhoeft, who hadn’t played for much in the game nursing an injury, scored all of her eight points in the fourth quarter.
The most damaging were two breakaway lay-ups off long rebounds from Muskie perimeter attempts to extend Dryden’s lead to 40-35 lead with under 90 seconds to go.
Muskie Danielle McGee led all scorers with 10 points, with Hope Wilson chipping in with eight, including two three-pointers.
Head coach Darren Johnson said the first quarter was the turning point of the game as the Muskies (4-3) fell behind early.
“The unfortunate thing is we’ve been down by 10 points early in every game against Dryden,” he noted. “It’s hard to dig yourself out of the hole.
“But [we] fought back and made a really good run in the second half,” he added.
In volleyball action here yesterday, both boys’ teams were each defeated in four-set contests.
The seniors (2-5) lost by scores of 19-25, 25-22, 17-25, and 20-25, but still have a shot to get a bye into the NorWOSSA final next week with a victory over Kenora on Monday.
The juniors (2-5) rallied hard after falling behind 2-0 in their best-of-five match (28-26 and 25-16), responding with a 25-23 win in the third game.
The Eagles needed a mini-comeback of their own to take the fourth set 25-23.