Hayfield’s Dynamic Duo: Rutledge and Streightiff have stepped up their game for Vikings
Published 8:34 pm Wednesday, December 21, 2016
- Hayfield’s Carrie Rutledge, left, and Maggie Streightiff have emerged this year as two of the driving forces in the Vikings 4-1 record. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
HAYFIELD — When the Hayfield girls basketball team is looking for a spark on offense, it has two very dependable options to look to.
Hayfield juniors Maggie Streightiff and Carrie Rutledge have both emerged early on this season, which is their third year on the varsity squad for the Vikings. Streightiff, who has the size to score inside and the shooting touch to score from outside, is averaging 19.2 points per game, and Rutledge, who has a quick first step and the ability to finish inside, is averaging 11.6 points per game.
Both players are also leaders on the defensive end of the court.
Hayfield forward Maggie Streightiff turns after a pass during practice in Hayfield Wednesday night. Streightiff has been one of the major cogs pushing the Vikings so far this season. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“We always push each other. I always know where Maggie’s at and she knows where I’m at,” Rutledge said. “We’re all on the same page. If we see one our teammates driving or there’s a girl coming back side, we know where to look for each other.”
Rutledge and Streightiff have been teammates since they were in third grade and they’ve played in a lot of big contests together. The duo have competed in two Minnesota Class A state softball tournaments, they competed in the Section 1A volleyball title match this past fall and they competed in the Section 1AA basketball semifinals last season.
“We’ve played together so long and now things are clicking,” Streightiff said. “We just kind of go with the flow.”
Hayfield co-head coach Kasey Krekling acknowledged that both Streightiff and Rutledge have the ability to take over the game. They also both like to share the wealth on the court, but sometimes Krekling would like to see the duo get a little bit more aggressive with the ball.
“Sometimes we wish [Streightiff and Rutledge] would score a little more points. But with that whole junior class, there isn’t one of them that says ‘I’m better than you.’ They all get along together,” Krekling said. “We have multiple talented athletes in that junior class, and they’re very gifted at whatever they’re playing. It’s nice to know that sometimes I don’t have to do amazing coaching, because they can do it all themselves.”
Hayfield guard Carrie Rutledge moves the ball forward during practice Wednesday night in Hayfield. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield (4-1 overall) started its season off with a 60-37 loss to defending Class AA state champion and No. 2 ranked Plainview-Elgin-Millville and it also has a win over Goodhue, which is the defending Class A state champion and is ranked No. 3. The Vikings trailed PEM by just one point at halftime, but they weren’t able to sustain the intensity.
Rutlegde said that game will serve as a motivator for the rest of the season.
“We played good in the first half of that game and in the second half we need to come out and play. That’s one of our weaknesses,” Rutledge said. “As soon as the second half starts we’ve got to come out and we’ve got to get going. We know what we need to work on and we just need to keep on improving. We’ll be there at the end.”
Streightiff said the Vikings have to focus staying aggressive on defense and on rebounding if they want to continue to make strides this season. She expects that the team will continue to work hard and improve.
“We’re pretty motivated and we know we can be right in the game with [PEM],” Streightiff said. “That was just the beginning of the season and we have a lot of room to improve.”
Hayfield will play at Chatfield 7:15 p.m. Thursday and it will play in the HVL-Three Rivers Showdown in Mayo Civic Center in Rochester 7:30 p.m. Friday.
