EDGERTON – Makenzie Pap had a record-setting night for Southwest Minnesota Christian in a girls basketball victory over section stalwart Minneota on Thursday night. The Eagles defeated the Vikings 62-49. Pap had 14 assists and commanded the Eagles as point guard on offense and defense.
“My parents have always taught me not to let the other team change how I play,” said Pap. “Don’t go and play scared of the other team, you have got to go in and play your game.”
It was an intriguing non-conference matchup against two fine southwest Minnesota teams. Minneota went in at 16-4 and Southwest came in at 17-5.
SWC played its game, and executed the start to perfection with a 12-0 scoring run.
“We have had a lot of games where we start out really hot and a lot of that is to do with our defense,” said Southwest Christian coach Luke Drooger. “We rotated really well and put pressure on the ball. We got rebounds and did not give them second chances.”
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The Eagles’ offense was crisp in the first half, as accurate passes and a mismatched Minneota zone led to easy buckets in the paint. Madyson Fey had a hot hand from the 3-point arch with three treys. Fey finished as the games leading scorer with 21 points. Makenna Moss had 16 points and Ana Veldkamp scored 15.
“I knew we had to be ready to go and that we could beat them if we put forth our best performance,” said Drooger. “I am just really proud of them, as far as I know we have never beaten Minneota, so to beat them now on our court with our fans here. We are going to see them again so this should boost our confidence come section tournament time.”
The Vikings’ offense was dormant to start the game, as the Eagles stuck like glue to prevent easy shots. The Vikings trailed 30-17 at half.
Ireland Stassen proved to be a hot hand for Minneota in the second half with three buckets from 3-point range. Stassen finished the game with 19 points. Kenadi Arndt scored 10. Dakoda Hennen scored 11 points.
“Makenzie handles the ball extremely well and I can put her defensively on the best player. I don’t know how many players can do that,” said Drooger. “I have to give credit to our help defense, they were always there ready to help on the drive every time she (Stassen) had the ball.”
The Eagles had a hot stretch where they won 13 games in a row. The Eagles play Murray County Central on Friday.
“We are playing good basketball right now,” said Drooger. “This is the time where we need to be ready to go and play our best basketball because it's almost tournament time.”
“Everything is flowing, we are beating teams and working hard. It’s getting real,” said Pap.
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Minneota 17 49
SWC 30 62
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