Menahga’s defense held Wadena-Deer Creek to only two field goals in the first half as the Braves breezed to a 46-28 Park Region Conference girls basketball victory at Wadena on Friday, Feb. 14.
A jumper by Janie Tormanen, a 3-pointer by Maryn Pinoniemi and two layups by Tara Hendrickson gave the Braves a 9-0 lead. After Kennedy Gravelle hit a 3-pointer for W-DC, a layup by Hendrickson and a layup off a steal by Pinoniemi pushed the Braves’ lead to 19-3. Two layups by Hendrickson and jumpers by Pinoniemi and Tormanen gave Menahga a 28-7 advantage at the half.
Gravelle opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers to cut the gap to 30-15, but a layup and a jumper by Hendrickson and jumpers by Tormanen and Pinoniemi gave the Braves a 38-17 advantage. Two jumpers by Pinoniemi and layups by Tormanen and Hendrickson concluded the scoring for Menahga. Gravelle, Madison Carsten and Summer Pettit hit 3-pointers for the Wolverines in the final 9:44.
Tara Hendrickson’s 18 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists led the Braves, who won despite making only 1 of 11 3-point attempts. Pinoniemi finished with 15 points and four steals while Tormanen had 10 points and eight rebounds. Kate Hendrickson had four rebounds and two blocked shots while Lela Peterson had five steals as Menahga forced 22 turnovers to conclude conference play with a 12-2 record. The Braves improved to 18-7 overall.
Gravelle (14), Carsten (11) and Pettit (3) provided all of the scoring for the Wolverines, who fell to 9-5 in the conference and 14-11 overall despite making 6 of 12 3-point shots.
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Henning captured the conference title with a 13-1 record. Following Menahga and W-DC in the conference standings were New York Mills (8-6), Pillager (6-8), Sebeka (6-8), Verndale (2-12) and Bertha-Hewitt (0-14).
MENAHGA: K. Hendrickson 1 0-0 2, Pinoniemi 6 2-2 15, L. Peterson 0 1-2 1, T. Hendrickson 8 2-4 18, Tormanen 4 2-4 10, M. Peterson 0 0-0 0, Am. Lake 0 0-0 0, Pfeifer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 for 38 (FG), 7 for 12 (FT).
WADENA-DEER CREEK: Pettit 1 0-0 3, Carsten 4 2-2 11, Gravelle 4 2-2 14. Totals: 9 for 28 (FG), 4 for 4 (FT).
Halftime: Menahga 28, W-DC 7. Three-pointers: Pinoniemi 1, Pettit 1, Carsten 1, Gravelle 4. Team fouls: Menahga 5, W-DC 11. Rebounds: Menahga 21 (Tormanen 8, K. Hendrickson 4, T. Hendrickson 4, Pinoniemi 3, L. Peterson 2, M. Peterson 1). Assists: Menahga 9 (T. Hendrickson 3, Tormanen 2, K. Hendrickson 1, Pinoniemi 1, L. Peterson 1, M. Peterson 1). Steals: Menahga 16 (L. Peterson 5, T. Hendrickson 4, Pinoniemi 4, Tormanen 2, K. Hendrickson 1). Blocked shots: Menahga 4 (K. Hendrickson 2, T. Hendrickson 1, Pinoniemi 1). Turnovers: Menahga 14, W-DC 22.
