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   Right before Thanksgiving break the Hill City/Northland (HCN) Storm hosted the Deer River Warriors in a section 7A match up. The full court man press was too much for the Storm to handle.

Despite only an 11 point game at half, the game finished with a score of 40-64. 

   “Between the ball pressure and fatigue setting in, it took us out of our game. We still did well on the boards, but didn’t capitalize offensively on second chances, “ said Head coach, Alec Wake. “We have to put it behind us though and look ahead, because we have another tough week next week.” 

   Charity Berg led the team with 10 points. Maddie King had eight points and 10 rebounds, Maddie Barnes contributed six points, five rebounds and had two steals. Nora Wake added four points and 10 rebounds, while Ashlyn Schwarz pulled down an additional nine rebounds.

   The Storm’s first game back from break saw them hosting the Wolves from Walker. Putting on some ball pressure right from the start, gave the Storm a quick lead, which they held on to going into the half with a score of 28–14. A physical game definitely had an impact on the Storm’s shooting, but their defense kept them in the game and led to a Storm win 45 to 33.

   Berg again led the scoring with 16 points and six steals, followed by Nora Wake with 13 points, 13 steals and eight rebounds. Maddie Barnes had nine points and a half dozen steals while Madi King pulled down 13 rebounds.

   “We knew Walker would look a little different this year after graduating their starting lineup and returning just a couple of girls with significant varsity experience. They always have athletes though, so you always have to be prepared. It would’ve been nice if a few more shots would have fallen, but they did a really good job on defense which led to some points in transition and have continually worked hard on the boards, where we capitalized on some second chance points.” Concluded coach Wake.

   On Thursday, Dec. 4 the Storm hosted Mnt. Iron-Buhl before hitting the road to International Falls Dec. 9, East Central Dec. 11 and Bigfork Dec. 15. The girls will then finish the month with a home game before Christmas break.

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