Lady Bulldogs Suffer First Hoops Loss

The Milbank Area Lady Bulldogs suffered a 49-35 loss to the Warner Monarchs in non-conference high school girls basketball action Tuesday, December 20, at the Milbank Armory. Milbank Area fell to 2-1 this season.

Both teams struggled to get into the flow of the game. Milbank Area trailed 5-2 midway through the opening quarter and had to go to its bench after starter Mikaela Hoeke committed two fouls. Sophomore Gabbi Cummins went into the game as her substitute and nailed a three-pointer followed by a field goal to spark the Lady Bulldogs and help them take the lead at 7-5.

Warner then found the net for two three-pointers before Milbank Area sophomore, Taylor Thue, hit the hole to pull Milbank Area back to within 4 points. The Lady Dawgs trailed 16-9 at the end of the first quarter.

To start the second quarter, Molly Rick scored her only points of the night to cut the deficit to 16-11. Thue added another bucket. Milbank Area was then cited with several fouls and Warner committed several turnovers. Caryssa Mielitz hit her first field goal of the game with just over a minute left in the first half to cut the Warner lead to 24-17. Hoeke followed with a three-pointer to narrow the margin to 26-20 when the half ended.

Milbank Area struggled on both ends of the floor throughout the third quarter and were held scoreless. Warner added 10 points to its total to widen their lead to 36-20 heading into the final stanza.

The Lady Bulldogs continued to play hard, but did not score until midway through the final quarter. Milbank Area outscored Warner 15-13 in the final period, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.

“I thought we battled in the first half,” stated Lady Bulldog head coach Brian Pauli. “We really struggled offensively in the second half. Give Warner credit, they took us out of what we wanted to do and then we started forcing things offensively.”

Cummins led the team with 12 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Hoeke tallied 5 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 3 steals. Mielitz ended the game with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocked shots. Thue contributed 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist. Rick added 2 points and 3 rebounds.

Also adding to the totals for Milbank Area were:Sophia Seffrood and Jaecy Engebretson, 2 points and 1 rebound each; LaChasity Finley, 2 points; Kylie Kasuske, 2 points; Mackayla Schuelke, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal; and Shea Hooth, 1 rebound.
Milbank Area went 14 of 42 from the field for 33 percent shooting. They finished the game with 20 rebounds, 18 steals, 8 assists, 2 blocked shots, and 17 turnovers.

Warner made 56 percent of its shots from the field, hitting 15 of 27 attempts. The Monarchs secured the victory with 27 rebounds, 13 steals, 5 assists, and 18 turnovers.

Milbank Area travels to Webster Thursday, December 22, to take on the Bearcats. The junior varsity game begins at 6:30 p.m. Varsity follows.

Senior Mikaela Hoeke.

Click here to see our photo album from the game.