GOWRIE—West Bend-Mallard outscored Southeast Valley 17-4 in the final eight minutes to rally for an exciting 44-33 Twin Lakes Conference girls’ basketball win over the Jaguars on Friday, Dec. 1.

The home team build a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The purple-and-gold rallied in the second stanza to take a 22-21 lead at intermission.

HAMPTON—Algona opened North Central Conference girls’ basketball play on Thursday, Nov. 30 with a 43-27 victory over Hampton-Dumont in the “Battle of the Bulldogs.”

Both teams struggled on offense, especially behind the three-point line as the two squads combined to go just 4 of 43 from long distance.

The opening stanza saw a slow offensive flow as a late basket by Bella Jo Dudding gave the visitors a narrow 8-6 lead at the end of the first period.

ALGONA—Sophomore Sacha Alesch poured in a career-high 28 points to lead 10^th ranked Bishop Garrigan to a 66-42 victory over the Belmond-Klemme Broncos in the Top of Iowa Conference opener for both clubs on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

Alesch joined three other Golden Bears in the record book with eight made three-pointers in the contest. She went 8 of 18 behind the arc on the night in the win.

ESTHERVILLE—Sixth-ranked Estherville-Lincoln Central used a couple of big runs in the first half to blow open the game and went onto a 68-31 non-conference girls’ basketball win over the North Union Warriors on Monday, Dec. 4.

A 13-0 run in the opening frame and a 10-0 run in the second stanza gave the home team a comfortable margin as they cruised to the non-conference win.

GOWRIE—West Bend-Mallard went on the road on Friday, Dec. 1 to open Twin Lakes Conference boys’ basketball play and dropped a 64-42 contest to the Southeast Valley Jaguars.

The home team held a narrow 9-8 lead at the end of the first quarter before blowing the game open in the second stanza, taking a 26-12 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

HULL—Making a long road trip on Saturday, Dec. 2, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys’ basketball team fell to a tall and talented Hull Western Christian Wolfpack squad by the score of 75-50 in a non-conference tilt.

The home team started fast taking a 16-4 lead after the first eight minutes of play. The Wolfpack held a 38-15 advantage at intermission and led 59-34 heading into the fourth quarter                              of action.   

ESTHERVILLE— North Union earned a nice non-conference boys’ basketball victory on Monday, Dec. 4 over the Estherville-Lincoln Central Midgets by the final score of 67-57.

The green-black-and-silver led 20-14 at the end of the first period and took a 39-32 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The visitors led 57-54 heading into the final eight minutes before pulling away down the stretch.

CORALVILLE—Freshman Reagan Haynes placed fourth at 170 pounds to highlight the performances of the Algona Bulldog girls’ wrestling squad in the two-day Dan Gable Donnybrook tournament on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
Teammate Malyn Davis took fifth while both Harley Tobin and Reese Taylor were eighth as Mara Davis finished in ninth place.

MILFORD—Two North Union Warrior wrestlers won individual titles on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the Okoboji/Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Invitational.

North Union placed fifth in the team standings with a team score of 138 points as Fulda, Mn. won the team title with a score of 197 points.

The two champions for the green-black-and-silver were Gavyn Morphew at 150 pounds and Brennen Bollinger at 215 and Ethan Preston was the runner-up at 113 pounds.

SIOUX RAPIDS—In their opening matches of the season, the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine boys’ wrestling team dropped a pair of matches held on Thursday, Nov. 30 at Sioux Central High School.

The purple-and-gold fell to the Emmetsburg E-Hawks by the score of 72-11 and was defeated by the Storm Lake Tornadoes by the count of 59-24.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

WEST BEND—Freshman Ainsley Ulrich poured in 29 points in her first high school contest to help the North Union Warrior girls’ basketball squad to a 78-46 season-opening victory on Tuesday, Nov. 21 over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines.

The green-black-and-silver’s aggressive defense forced 31 Wolverine turnovers, many live-ball turnovers that resulted in breakaway layups for the visitors.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

ARMSTRONG—North Union’s scrappy defense forced 28 turnovers in a 68-40 season-opening victory on Monday, Nov. 27 over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines.

The green-black-and-silver pocketed a total of 15 steals and shared the basketball well with 20 assists in their 30 made field goals.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

FOREST CITY—In the season opener featuring a pair of ranked Class 3A girls’ basketball teams on Tuesday, Nov. 21, the 11^th-ranked Forest City Indians topped the 10^th-rated Algona Bulldogs by the score of 65-48.

A pair of big runs by the home team was the difference in the contest as the red-and-white had a 10-0 run in the first half and finished the game with a 13-0 run.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

ESTHERVILLE—Estherville-Lincoln Central erupted for 26 first-period points and never looked back in an 87-73 season-opening win on Monday, Nov. 27 over the Algona Bulldog boys’ basketball team.

The red-and-black hit 20 of 34 field goal attempts in the first half, going 18 of 25 in paint in opening two quarters for 72 percent.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

ALGONA—Bishop Garigan scored the first 11 points of the game and never looked back in a 78-17 season opening victory on Tuesday, Nov. 21 over the St. Edmond Gaels.

The new-look Golden Bears splashed 12 of 22 three-point field goals in the win, forcing many Gael turnovers and came up with 21 steals.