POCAHONTAS—West Bend-Mallard dropped a pair of non-conference matches here on Thursday, Dec. 1 in the season opener for the squad.

The purple-and-gold lost to the Storm Lake Tornadoes 39-33 and before falling to Emmetsburg by the score of 63-18. Freshman Mason Knapp was the lone Wolverine to go 2-0 in the evening with a fall in 1:08 and a forfeit victory.

HUMBOLDT—Five Algona High School girls’ wrestlers placed first in their bracket at the Humboldt Scramble held on Friday, Dec. 1 with a total of 12 squads competing.

Alyssa Olson, Malyn Davis, Jenna Stohr, Ryan Haynes and Gretchen Gorham all won their classes while teammates Harley Tobin, Eliza Schultz, MaKayla Erpelding and Katie Ludwig each finished in second place.

MILFORD—The North Union Warriors wrestling team turned in one of their best team performances as they finished in third place in the Okoboji/Hartley Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 3.

The green-black-and-silver ended up in third place in the 11-team field with 160.5 team points that was bested only by Bishop Heelan and West Hancock tied for first place with 170 team points.

GRAETTINGER—Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire out-scored West Bend-Mallard 10-6 in the final eight minutes to rally for a 39-36 win over the purple-and-gold on Thursday, Dec. 1 in girls’ basketball play.

The home team started fast with a 10-3 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter and led 17-13 at halftime. The Wolverines rallied in the third period to take a 30-29 advantage into the final eight minutes of action before the Titans rallied for the win.

ALGONA—Algona scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back again in a 61-17 North Central Conference girls’ basketball victory on Friday, Dec. 2 over the Hampton-Dumont Bulldogs.

The home team built a 17-6 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter and took a commanding 37-10 advantage at halftime. Algona also led 51-14 at the end of the third period of play.

ARMSTRONG—Top-ranked (Class 3A) Estherville-Lincoln Central forced over 25 turnovers that led some easy baskets in a 58-33 non-conference girls’ basketball contest played on Monday, Dec. 5.

Leading 5-4, the visitors finished the first stanza on an 8-0 run to hold a 13-4 lead at the quarter break. E-LC held a 31-10 advantage at halftime and led 47-20 heading into the final eight minutes of action.

GRAETTINGER—Graettinger-Terri/Ruthven-Ayrshire raced out to a huge first period lead and went onto a 65-43 non-conference boys’ basketball victory on Thursday, Dec. 1 over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines.

The home team started fast with a 26-7 advantage at the end of the first stanza. The Titans led by 11 points at intermission at 37-26 and led 48-32 at the conclusion of the third quarter of play.

ARMSTRONG—Estherville-Lincoln Central built an eight-point first quarter advantage and went onto a 54-36 non-conference boys’ basketball win over the North Union Warriors on Monday, Dec. 5.

The visitors led 19-11 at the end of the first period of action and were ahead 32-22 at intermission. The Midgets also led 44-31 after three periods of basketball play.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

WEST BEND—North Union rallied from a four-point halftime deficit by outscoring West Bend-Mallard 36-16 in the second half to a 50-34 non-conference boys’ basketball season opening win over the purple-and-gold on Monday, Nov. 28.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

ARMSTRONG—A scrappy, pesky North Union defense pocketed 22 steals that led to many easy baskets in a 74-36 season-opening non-conference girls’ basketball victory on Tuesday, Nov. 22 over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

FORT DODGE—Bishop Garrigan broke a 2-2 tie with a 13-0 run and never looked back, cruising to a 76-40 non-conference season opening boys’ basketball victory on Monday, Nov. 28 over the St. Edmond Gaels.

After Jack Grandgenett and Jackson Palmer traded hoops to start the contest, the visitors rattled off 13 straight points to take a 15-2 advantage.

MINNEAPOLIS—Competing against a couple of outstanding Minnesota girls’ basketball teams, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears split a pair of contest over the weekend in the Twin Cities Tip-Off Classic played at the St. Thomas Academy High School.

ALGONA—Algona came out hot in the first quarter by making 10 field goals, including four triples and never trailed in a season-opening 81-69 non-conference boys’ basketball win over Monday, Nov. 28 over Estherville-Lincoln Central.

The home team raced out to 24-15 advantage at the end of the first period and took a 46-39 lead to the locker room at intermission. The red-and-black also led 60-53 heading into the game’s final eight minutes of action.

MASON CITY—Five members of the Algona Bulldog girls’ wrestling squad went 3-0 on the night to place first on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at the Riverhawk Invitational.

No team scores were kept as a total of nine different teams competed at the meet. The red-and-black had a great showing on the evening as they went 22-6 the matches they wrestled and recorded a total of 20 falls.

ALGONA—Playing for the second time in 24 hours, the Algona Bulldog girls’ basketball squad edged the Forest City Indians 39-38 in non-conference basketball action played on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Lauren McLaughlin hit the game-winning three-point field goal with 19 seconds remaining and A’Lailah Perry registered a huge block with four seconds left before a last-ditch 12-foot jumper by the Indians rattled harmlessly off the rim at the buzzer.