Austin girls basketball team downs Raiders
Published 10:44 pm Friday, January 30, 2015
Austin’s Amber Hansen drives into the lane during the first half against Northfield Friday night. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin girls basketball team had to survive a late 3-point flurry, but it did enough to beat Northfield 61-53 in Ove Berven Gym Friday night.
Austin’s Ruth Koang shoots over Northfield’s Ella Stromme and Hannah Edwards (55) during the first half Friday night in Ove Berven Gym. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Packers (8-10 overall, 6-8 Big Nine) looked to be headed to a routine victory when Amber Hansen converted a three-point play to put Austin up 54-44. But the Raiders (10-8 overall, 9-5 Big Nine) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull within 55-53 with 1:04 left in the game.
Northfield never scored again from that point and the Packers put the game away at the free throw line down the stretch.
“They do have a lot of good shooters. They have like four or five kids that can make threes and we talked about getting a hand in their face,” Austin head coach Todd Johnson said. “Good teams are going to make a run and they made their run late in the game. Instead of panicking, our kids stayed tough and they made their free throws down the stretch.”
Austin’s Shayley Vesel had a big night as she finished with 28 points and five rebounds. Vesel did most of her damage inside the paint and she finished 11-for-13 on free throws.
“We were trying to get them to foul. The refs were calling everything and Ruth did a really good job of setting screens,” Vesel said. “We know how to push hard and stay strong the whole game.”
Ruth Koang added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Austin, which has now gone 7-3 overall in the month of January.
Austin’s Shayley Vesel dribbles on the perimeter in the first half against Northfield Friday night. Vesel finished with 28 points. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“I couldn’t be more proud of the group. We only had seven girls play tonight because of injuries,” Johnson said. “Hopefully we’re building towards the playoffs. I want to be that team that people don’t want to play come section time.”
Northfield 19 34 — 53
Austin 27 34 — 61
Austin scoring: Shayley Vesel, 28; Ruth Koang, 10; Alex Hansen, 9; Awenia Nywesh, 6; Amber Hansen, 4; Sydney Murphy, 3; free throws: 69 percent (25-for-36); rebounds: 36 (Koang, 11); turnovers: 13
