FIELD TWP- The North Woods girls basketball team was hoping to carry momentum from last week’s big wins over Carlton-Wrenshall and Two Harbors into Tuesday’s home tilt against Floodwood, but the Polar Bears squashed that plan with a 71-60 victory.
It was too much of Floodwood’s Kenzie Kiminski for the Grizzlies to handle, as the lanky sophomore knocked down 34 points from all over the court while consistently causing problems for North Woods’ attempted press.
The Grizzlies played solid ball early, taking a 15-12 lead on a trey by Helen Koch with just under seven minutes elapsed in the game. But then the North Woods offense sputtered, with a pair of Tatum Barto free throws, their only points over the next six minutes as Floodwood forged a 27-17 advantage. Barto stopped the drought with a driving layup at the 4:48 mark, and the Grizzlies flipped the script and closed out the half on a 13-2 run with scores by Barto, Koch, and Corra Brodeen to reclaim the lead 30-29 going into the break.
Floodwood went back on top to start the second half, but the Grizzlies were still in position for a comeback at 44-38 with over 12 minutes remaining. But with Kiminski doing most of the damage, the Polar Bears took full control with a 21-6 run that gave them an insurmountable 65-44 lead with about three minutes left. North Woods shaved ten points off that deficit after Kiminski fouled out, but Floodwood held on for the 71-60 win.
With a more concerted effort to work the ball into the paint in the second half, River Cheney finished as the Grizzlies leading scorer with 24 points, followed by Koch with 14. The long dry spells pulled down the Grizzlies’ shooting percentage for the game to 29 percent, while Floodwood hit 42 percent. Floodwood held a slight edge rebounding at 55-50.
Head Coach Liz Cheney was at a bit of a loss trying to explain how Floodwood got away from them.
“I have no idea,” she said. “At halftime we talked about needing to pass the ball and move around offensively if we want the defense to get out of position. And they came out and they did not move. Things weren’t going our way. A different night, a different outcome.”
Cheney gave credit to Kiminski’s performance and to Floodwood for getting rebounds at critical times.
“At halftime our energy was just down in the dumps, and that made a big difference, too,” Cheney said.
Two Harbors
The Grizzlies traveled to Two Harbors last Friday and overwhelmed the host Agates 81-30. North Woods’ defense was nearly impenetrable against the overmatched Agates, generating 36 turnovers that turned into 43 points.
Cheney routinely prefers to go deep into her bench to keep players fresh, and she had plenty of opportunity against the Agates to do so, with all but one of the Grizzlies logging more than ten minutes of playing time.
The Grizzlies had four players with double-digit scoring, led by Koch with 18. Talise Goodsky popped in 17, and Barto and Cheney had 14 each.
Last Thursday’s home game against Carlton-Wrenshaw was another romp in the park for the Grizzlies, as only one of the Raptors’ players scored more than one basket from the field. North Woods raced to a 16-0 advantage and led 37-16 at the break. The Grizzlies dominated inside the paint, scoring 36 points to the Raptors’ eight and winning the rebound battle 43-26. North Woods turned over the Raptors 42 times, while committing 29 of their own. North Woods allowed only 11 second-half points in the 65-27 rout.
Cheney and Koch provided most of the scoring punch for the Grizzlies, each notching 20 points. Nine of the Grizzlies’ ten varsity players scored.
“Carlton-Wrenshall and Two Harbors just don’t have the numbers, and their teams are young,” Cheney said. “In Two Harbors on Friday we came out on fire because of our press. They were just on it fast and quick and reading the ball well.”
The girls were scheduled for a road trip to Moose Lake on Thursday, their final game before the winter holiday break. The Grizzlies will play Dec. 27-28 in the Aitkin Holiday Tournament.