Lucas Punkari
They’ve won games by simply having more firepower than their opponents.
Now they’ve proven they can win the tight defensive battles, too.
With the ability to win games in different styles in their back pocket, the Muskie junior girls’ basketball team has started the NorWOSSA season with a 3-1 record—despite having one the youngest squad in the three-team loop.
“I think we’re all extremely proud of how the team is playing at this point,” enthused head coach Marla Knutsen.
Their latest victory came here last Thursday afternoon as Fort High withstood a late charge by the Kenora Broncos to come away with a 31-27 win.
“We didn’t score in the entire third quarter, and I think that definitely contributed to Kenora coming back on us,” Knutsen noted.
“We had the opportunities and we were taking the shots, but they just weren’t going in.
“And I think because of that, we started to panic a little bit out there and we started to throw the ball away to the other team,” she added.
Tied at 25-25 with 90 seconds left on the scoreboard, the Muskies were looking for someone to lead the way and reclaim the lead—with Grade 10 player Keira Lindgren stepping up to the plate.
She netted a pair of baskets on identical in-bound plays, and also made a key steal to help her team win a third-straight game after dropping their season-opener to Dryden.
“It felt really good to be the player that helped our team get the lead back,” Lindgren smiled afterwards.
“It was the same play both times on the in-bound play where I scored,” she noted. “And when I made that steal, we running our press there and we weren’t supposed to let our man get the ball.
“In all three plays, I guess it all worked out,” Lindgren reasoned.
“It’s funny about how we were able to take the lead because all through the beginning of the game that in-bound play wasn’t very effective,” Knutsen admitted.
“But I guess Kenora wasn’t picking up on the fact the Keira was getting open, and our in-bounder was able to notice that she was open and that was all that we needed.”
Earlier in the week, the Muskies gained a measure revenge on the Eagles, earning a 43-35 victory in a rematch Tuesday of the season-opening contest that Dryden had won.
“The girls were running the offense really well as they were seeing the open man and taking good shots,” Knutsen said.
“We also used our full-court press for the first time on Tuesday there, and while it still needs a little bit of work, I thought it went pretty well for first-ever go at it,” she added.
On the other hand, it was a week of mixed results for the Muskie senior girls, who fell 22-20 in overtime to Kenora here Thursday after having knocked off the host Eagles in a tight 29-28 decision on Tuesday.
The Muskies were down 22-17 as the clock wound down in the extra frame against Kenora. But despite a three-point shot from Mary Strain with less than 20 seconds to go, the black-and-gold were unable to complete the comeback.
Their NorWOSSA record dropped to 2-2.
“I thought the girls had a lot of hustle out there and if it wasn’t for the mistakes that they had had late in the game, I think we would have had a comfortable five-point win,” reasoned head coach Dan Bird.
“We gave the ball away a lot late in the game, and that’s the one thing that we really need to shore up on in the final five minutes of the game as we move forward,” he stressed.
In the Muskies’ one-point win over the Eagles two days earlier, Bird felt the team’s rebound play and hard work on defence were key contributors.
“In the first half against Dryden, we really controlled the boards on both ends of the court, and that made all the difference in the world for us,” he remarked.
“As well, our team defence was a lot better as we could see all 10 feet moving when the ball was moving, and that’s the way you have to play defence in this league as it’s so competitive.”
Both Muskie volleyball squads will be in tournament action this coming weekend at Thunder Bay before resuming NorWOSSA action next Wednesday (Oct. 19) in Kenora.
