Pequot Lakes used a 14-4 run to close out the first half and a 10-0 run early in the second half to spark a 69-47 Mid-State Conference win over the Park Rapids girls basketball team Tuesday night at the Area High School gym.
A jumper by Kayla Stursa and a layup by Brittany Sayler on a pass from Alyssa Klingenberg kept the Panthers within 22-17 with 5:50 to play in the first half.
Another jumper by Stursa made it 26-19 before Pequot Lakes closed out the final 4:45 with a 10-2 run. Stursa hit another jumper to account for the Panthers' only points in that stretch as the Patriots carried a 36-21 lead into the break.
Klingenberg opened the second half with a jumper and 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 36-26 with 16:40 to play. But a 3-pointer by Emily Lueck and two baskets by Katie Finn extended Pequot Lakes' lead to 46-26 with 12:40 remaining.
Four free throws by Hannah Wolff, a layup by Klingenberg and two jumpers by Wolff kept Park Rapids within 55-37 with 7:19 to play. Pequot Lakes used two layups by Kylie Beltz and two baskets by Madison Engen to spark a 12-2 run as the Patriots pushed their lead to 67-39 with 3:16 left.
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Park Rapids capped off its scoring with a 3-pointer by Heather Tretbar, a layup by Holly Roepke and a jumper by Sayler.
Wolff led the Panthers with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Stursa added 11 points. Tretbar had six rebounds and Sayler had four assists for the Panthers, who fell to 0-3 in the conference and 2-13 overall.
Mindy Howard scored 18 points to lead a balanced attack for the Patriots, who improved to 4-1 in conference play and 12-1 overall. Pequot Lakes turned the ball over only nine times while shooting 55 percent from the field.
"We handled their press pretty well, we had better movement on offense and we had better rotation on defense," said Park Rapids head coach Jason Mielke, whose team has allowed an average of 70 points a game while scoring 38 points a night during its current five-game losing streak. "We played a lot better, but we're still giving up way too many points."
The Panthers traveled to Detroit Lakes for a conference game Friday night and will play at Staples-Motley in another Mid-State Conference game Thursday night.
PEQUOT LAKES: Beltz 3 1-4 8, Engen 7 0-1 14, Finn 4 0-0 8, Noska 2 0-0 4, Thomas 1 2-4 4, Howard 7 2-2 18, M. Lueck 1 0-2 2, Soukup 2 1-1 6, E. Lueck 1 2-2 5. Totals: 28 for 51 (FG), 8 for 16 (FT).
PARK RAPIDS: Wolff 4 4-4 12, Stursa 4 3-4 11, Tretbar 3 0-2 8, Lawrence 0 2-2 2, Klingenberg 3 0-0 7, Carlson 0 0-0 0, A. Christenson 0 0-0 0, Lundin 0 0-0 0, Roepke 1 1-4 3, Sayler 2 0-0 4. Totals: 17 for 55 (FG), 10 for 16 (FT).
Halftime: Pequot Lakes 36, Park Rapids 21. Three-point field goals: Beltz 1, Howard 2, Soukup 1, E. Lueck 1, Tretbar 2, Klingenberg 1. Total fouls: Pequot Lakes 17, Park Rapids 11. Rebounds: Park Rapids 28 (Wolff 7, Tretbar 6, Stursa 4, A. Christenson 3, Lawrence 3, Roepke 2, Sayler 2, Klingenberg 1). Assists: Park Rapids 12 (Sayler 4, Wolff 4, Klingenberg 2, Carlson 1, Lawrence 1). Steals: Park Rapids 4 (Wolff 2, Sayler 1, Tretbar 1). Turnovers: Pequot Lakes 9, Park Rapids 18.
