Packer girls win AL basketball invite
Published 11:16 pm Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Babaye Oja takes a shot Wednesday at Albert Lea High School during the final round of the Tiger Classic. Oja scored 19 points, had two assists and one rebound. -- Brandi Hagen/Albert Lea Tribune
The Austin girls basketball team put together its best effort of the season when it beat Albert Lea 65-48 to win the Tiger Invite Wednesday.
The Packers (3-6 overall) had season’s best totals in turnovers (15), free throw shooting (82 percent) and bench scoring (14 points) in the win.
Packers' Alex Hansen, Jocelyn Sheehan and Abbey Ball jump for the rebound during the game against Albert Lea in the final round of the Tiger Classic on Wednesday. Austin had 19 rebounds to Albert Lea's 35. Brandi Hagen/Albert Lea Tribune
“This was probably our best game we’ve played all year, it’s nice to get some momentum the other way,” Austin head coach Gary Peterson said.
Babaye Oja paced the Packers with 19 points and sophomore guard Merideth Fritz stepped up with 14 points in her first start.
“It was a good game for Merideth and it was nice to see her step up,” Peterson said.
Steph Justice had eight points and five assists for Austin, which held the Tigers (1-10 overall) to 28 percent shooting from the field.
Austin 39 26 — 65
Albert Lea 26 22 — 48
Austin scoring: Babaye Oja, 19; Merideth Fritz, 14; Steph Justice, 8; Marwa Omot, 7; Jenna Svoboda, 6; Alex Hanson, 4; Taylor Lady, 4; Olivia Grev, 2; Gabby Blanchard, 1; field goals: 37 percent (25-for-67); three-pointers: 8 percent (1-for-13); free throws: 82 percent (14-for-17); rebounds: 34 (Svoboda, 8); turnovers: 15
