TROOPERS REGION QUALIFY
By STU MERRY
Last weekend’s District 10 Girls Basketball Tournament in Turtle Lake proved once again that regular season results don’t often translate into success come tournament time.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament, Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky and Garrison, wind up going into Monday’s Region 5 Tournament as No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, while No. 3 and 4 Wilton-Wing and Underwood advance with No. 1 and No. 2 rankings respectively.
The Lady Troopers held off a tough Max Cossacks team, 67-56 Thursday. Garrison used a balanced scoring attack to subdue Max. Maddi Nieuwenhuis was a power inside, scoring 21. Shelby Gehring scored 12, Ellie Gehring added 11 as did Taylor Kamp.
Friday, the Underwood comets stunned the Troop, 36-33. Ellie had 11 on the night and Maddi 10, but the Troop came up one shot short.
Needing a win to advance to regionals, Garrison struggled against Washburn early, trailing 8-7 after one, but leading 22-14 at the break. The ladies shifted into high gear in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 35-23 to win by 20, 57-37. Ellie knocked down 24 to lead Garrison.
