By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

ALGONA—A hot-shooting Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys basketball team defeated the North Union Warriors on Friday, Jan. 28, by the score of 74-59 in a Top of Iowa Conference contest.

The black-and-gold was successful on 26 of 45 overall field goals in the game for 57.7 percent, including eight of 17 behind the three-point line to earn their fifth victory of the season.

ALGONA—Algona avenged a loss earlier in the season with a 48-38 North Central Conference win over the Humboldt Wildcats on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Three Bulldogs reached double figures in the conference victory in Lauren McLaughlin leading the way with 16 points followed by Casey VanOtterloo with 12 points and Tora Solbach tossed in 10 points.

WEST BEND—Stepping outside of Twin Lakes Conference play, the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine girls basketball squad earned a 45-33 non-conference victory on Thursday, Jan. 27, over the St. Edmond Gaels.

Kierstin Montag poured in a game-high 23 points and yanked down 11 rebounds in the contest to lead the purple-and-gold to the win.

ALGONA—Humboldt used solid first and third quarters as the sixth-ranked Wildcats defeated the Algona Bulldogs 67-49 in North Central Conference boys basketball action on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

The visitors led 14-7 at the end of the first period and took a 29-22 advantage to the locker room at halftime. Humboldt held a 47-31 at the conclusion of the third quarter of play.

EMMETSBURG—West Bend-Mallard earned a Twin Lakes Conference boys basketball victory on Friday, Jan. 28, with a 54-42 win over the Emmetsburg E-Hawks.

The visitors started fast and enjoyed a 17-4 lead at the end of the first stanza. The purple-and-gold took a 24-17 advantage to the locker room at halftime and led 37-29 at the conclusion of three quarters of basketball.

GARNER—Junior Audi Crooks became the all-time leading scorer in Bishop Garrigan school history in the black-and-gold girls basketball team’s 71-44 Top of Iowa Conference win on Tuesday, Jan. 25, over the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Cardinals.

Molly Joyce poured in 21 points to lead the second-ranked Golden Bears in scoring while teammates Crooks with 16 and Abbie Capesius with 13 points also reached double digits.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

SAINT ANSGAR—Five North Union wrestlers placed in the top eight competitors at their weight to highlight the performances of the Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 29, in annual 16-team Top of Iowa Conference wrestling tournament.

Landon Price placed third at 113 pounds as Dalton Tobin took fourth at 145 pounds. Both Ethan Preston (106) and Gavyn Morphew (126) finished in seventh place and Brennan Bollinger (220) was eighth.

ARMSTRONG—Playing for the second straight night on Tuesday, Jan. 25, the 15^th ranked North Union Warrior girls basketball squad defeated the Belmond-Klemme Broncos 49-32 in Top of Iowa Conference action.

Naomi Jones was the only Warrior in double figures, grabbed eight rebounds and registered five steals while teammate Alivia Charlton hauled in seven rebounds and blocked a pair of Belmond-Klemme shots.

ARMSTRONG—Aiden Lofstrom poured in a career-high 25 points to help lead the North Union Warrior boys basketball team to a 73-25 Top of Iowa Conference victory over the Belmond-Klemme Broncos on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Both Danyal Fothergill and Nick Schiltz also reached double figures with 10 points as Logan Odegaard and Kyan Jones each tossed in seven points.

GARNER—Garner-Hayfield/Ventura built a big first half advantage and went onto a 66-43 Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball win on Tuesday, Jan. 25, over the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears.

Both Andrew Fogarty and Aidan Hovey tossed in 12 points to lead the black-and-gold with Jacob Leerar adding seven more. Jack Grandgenett and Drew Muller contributed four points each as both Grant Haugland and Logan Nemmers scored two points to round out the scoring.

ROCKWELL CITY—West Bend-Mallard picked up their first two dual meet wins of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 25, with a pair of Twin Lakes Conference victories.

Four Wolverines went a perfect 3-0 on the evening in Garrett Fehr (145), Logan Grimm (152), Damon Fehr (160) and Ethan Zaugg (195). Garrett Fehr, Damon Fehr and Grimm each recorded three pins during the night while teammates Lucas Fehr, Garrett Fehr, Damon Fehr and Zaugg all came up with a pair of falls for the purple-and-gold.

ALGONA—The Algona Bulldogs wrestling squad improved to 16-3 overall on the year with a trio of non-conference victories on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The red-and-black defeated Blue Earth, Minn. by the score of 39-36 before topping Estherville-Lincoln Central 64-15 and beat Okoboji/Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn by the count of 67-12.

Five wrestlers went 3-0 during the evening in Jacob Zabka (113), Tate Slagle (120), Hayden Thompson (132), Brandon Harris (152) and Cohen Reffer (220).

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

ARMSTRONG—The North Union Warrior girls basketball squad strengthened their grip on second place in the Top of Iowa Conference standings with a big 48-39 win over No. 7 ranked (Class 2A) West Hancock on Thursday, Jan. 13.

The green-black-and-silver defense was outstanding all night long, limiting the Eagles to 25 percent shooting from the floor during the contest.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

ROCKWELL CITY—Senior Aaron Massner placed second at 138 pounds to highlight the performances of the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines wrestling squad on Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Twin Lakes Conference wrestling tournament.

The purple-and-gold scored a total of 67.5 points to finish in ninth place in the standings as the Emmetsburg E-Hawks were crowned conference champions with a team total of 200.

SPENCER—Stepping outside of North Central Conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 11, the Algona Bulldog girls basketball squad fell to the Spencer Tigers 72-32 inside the spacious Spencer Fieldhouse.

The Tigers, ranked 11^th in Class 4A, shot well during the evening by making 27 of 50 overall field goals in the contest, including seven shots behind the three point arc and went a perfect 11 of 11 from the charity stripe.