MW WOMENS BASKETBALL: Granstra’s double-double leads MW past Ridgewater

WORTHINGTON — Katey Granstra went 8 of 11 from the floor for 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota West Lady Jays past the Ridgewater Warriors Wednesday night in a Minnesota College Athletic Conference Southern Division women’s basketball game.

“I think we ran our offense better than we normally do,” Lady Jay center Katey Granstra said. “We ran it through instead of just settling for a bad shot. We took the time to make an extra pass and get the open look. No one was selfish at all tonight.”

The Lady Jays controlled the game for most of the first half and jumped out to a 33-22 lead heading into halftime. But Minnesota West’s 11-point lead quickly evaporated when Ridgewater came out hot at the start of the second half.

“At the beginning of the game we got some great momentum and were able to hit some shots,” MW coach Mike Fury said. “But then we started to think we could run whatever we wanted and we let them back in a little bit.”

The Warriors went on an 18 to 11 run right out of the gate at the start of the second with the help of eight points from Raeann Sorenson along with four points each from Courtney Kramer and Cameo McNeley. After the run, Minnesota West’s lead was just four with just over 10 minutes left in the game.

“We seemed to be content with the lead we had at the beginning of the second half,” Granstra said. “Then we realized we were getting down again and weren’t getting our offense through, but once we picked that up again it all clicked.”

And click they did.

After allowing the Warriors to creep back into the game, the Lady Jays put the pedal to the metal and went on a 22-7 run over a 7 minute span to blow the game open.

“It was a great effort by everybody,” Fury said. “That is one of our strengths. I think we are pretty well balanced on offense. Granstra had a great game; that is as good as she has played all year.”

During the run, Granstra picked up 10 points with a mixture of layups and putbacks. Brittany Hulstein was also a key part of the Lady Jays second half run, scoring seven points from all over the offensive end.

“I think giving it to the point so they could look down at me and see if I was open helped us a lot in the second,” Granstra said. “They were doing a good job of noticing when I was open and when I wasn’t and then they were taking shots that were better trying to force it to me.”

Another key part to Minnesota West’s second half surge was strong play on the defensive end of the floor. Over that same 7 minute stretch where the Lady Jays scored 22 points, the Warriors made just one basket and picked up four points from the free throw line.

“That was the other thing too, was that we got some stops on defense,” Fury said. “We were having a little trouble with it at some points and that was when they were able to come back.”

Four of the five starters for Minnesota West were in double-digits with both Granstra and Hulstein picking up double-doubles on the night. Hulstein and Tiffany Gehl led the team with 20 points each, while Lindsey Drooger rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 points. Hulstein also had 10 rebounds for the Lady Jays.

“It was a great contribution by everybody tonight,” Fury said. “That was the key to the win. Everybody stepped up at certain points and it didn’t matter who it was. Everybody stepped up and did their jobs.”

Mara Eichenberger chipped in for the Lady Jays with three rebounds and two assists, while Jes Hermeling picked up two points on the night.

“The key was being a little bit more patient for us on offense,” Fury said. “That is a very good win against a good team. We are really happy with that win.”

Leading the Warriors in scoring was Sorenson with 13 points and McNeley with 10 points.

With the win, Minnesota West improves to 11-5 on the season and 2-1 in the Southern Division. The Lady Jays face the Golden Rams of Anoka-Ramsey Community College in the first game of a men’s/women’s doubleheader Saturday in Coon Rapids.

Daily Globe Reporter Jordan Willi

may be reached at 376-7335.

MINNESOTA WEST 72,

RIDGEWATER 52

RIDGEWATER (11-4, 1-1 MCAC SOUTHERN): Kalenberg 4-14 1-2 9, Runke 2-8 3-6 7, Wilner 0-0 0-0 0, McNeley 3-13 4-4 10, Knisley 1-6 3-4 5, Sorenson 6-16 0-0 13, Kramer 4-8 0-0 8, Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-65 (31%) 11-16 (69%) 52.

MINNESOTA WEST (11-5, 2-1 MCAC SOUTHERN): Hermeling 1-2 0-0 2, Rasche 0-0 0-0 0, Eichenberger 0-3 0-0 0, Kazemba 0-0 0-0 0, Gehl 6-13 6-9 20, Hulstein 8-14 1-5 20, Drooger 6-21 2-2 14, Granstra 8-11 0-0 16. Totals: 29-64 (45%) 9-16 (56%) 72.

Ridgewater 22 30 — 52

Lady Jays 33 39 — 72

3-Point Goals: Ridgewater 1-10 (Sorenson 1-3, Kalenburg 0-7); Minnesota 5-17 (Hulstein 3-4, Gehl 2-4, Hermeling 0-1, Eichenberger 0-2, Drooger 0-6). Rebounds: Ridgewater 47 (McNeley 7); Minnesota West 40 (Granstra 11).

Tags: minnesota west sports, sports, womens, basketball