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   The Hill City-Northland (HCN) Storm celebrated Parents and Senior night Jan. 30th by hosting the Northwoods Grizzlies. With it being both an important conference and section matchup the game did not disappoint fans. The packed gym created a fun atmosphere for the Storm and helped raise the intensity for both teams. The Storm started out strong, unfortunately Maddie Barnes, one of the Storm’s starting Senior’s went down early with an ankle injury. This changed the dynamics of the team and they had to adjust quickly. Going a little deeper on the bench, the Storm continued to play very well and held on to finish with a commanding win with a score of 76 to 49. 

   Nora Wake finished with her first career triple double, 20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. Charity Berg had 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Ashlyn Schwarz scored 10 points, had 10 rebounds and two assists. Madi King had eight points, nine rebounds and Jasmine Kingsley had nine points and eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. Carsyn Nihart added three points, five rebounds and three assists and Avery Ruyak contributed four points, while Gauge Lego had two points.  

   “I was very proud of how the girls played tonight, I felt bad for Madi having to miss out on playing time during her Senior night. We are hoping her injury isn’t too bad and she’ll be back with us shortly as the season is winding down here very quickly. We’re going to keep on working hard as we prepare for playoffs,” said Alec Wake.

   On February 2nd, the Storm traveled to Southridge to face them for the second time this season. This time things didn’t go as well for the Storm with Barnes still out with an injury and shooting ice cold for about the first 10 minutes of the game. The Storm managed to claw their way back into the game ending the first half trailing by just four points. The second half was a back-and-forth lead between the two teams, both teams only playing six or seven players, so fatigue was definitely setting in. A Storm foul with about 10 seconds left put a Southridge player on the free throw line where she sank both. The Storm was able to get to the line themselves, adding one more point but finishing just short of the win. The game ended with a final score of 45 to 46.

   Wake finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Berg had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. King contributed 11 points and had 10 rebounds. Kingsley had nine points, three rebounds and two assists. Nihart grabbed three rebounds and had two assists.

   “That’s the second game this season where we just fell short. Sometimes those painful losses though teach players valuable lessons. You can’t dwell on it though and you have to keep pushing through. We also have to learn how to adjust when you have players out because of injuries, foul trouble, sickness, etc. It’s part of the game and sometimes you have to take on roles that you normally wouldn’t have to,” added Alec Wake.

   Friday, Feb. 6 saw the girls on the road in Sebeka before hosting the Ogilvie Lions on Monday, Feb. 9 in Rember. On Tuesday, Feb. 10 the Storm will again hit the road and travel to Hinckley-Finlayson. The Storm will end the week by hosting Northome/Kelliher in Hill City on Thurs. Feb. 12.  

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