The Wadena-Deer Creek girls basketball team showcased their talents off the court and then followed it up with a 54-33 victory over the Sebeka Trojans on Jan. 16 in Wadena.
Prior to the opening tip, the Wadena-Deer Creek girls basketball team sung the national anthem before the game. Wadena-DC head coach Jordan Cresap said it’s always great to showcase the team’s talents on and off the court. Every member of the team is in either choir or band and Cresap said he feels it is very important to showcase their talents whenever possible.
This is High School Sports! Our kids are students, athletes and artists. Every girl on the WDC basketball team is also in band and/or Choir. Talented, busy, wonderful kids! @MSHSLjohn @PerhamWDCSports @JeremyMillsop @CoreyTackmann pic.twitter.com/3tBgqaUhBa
— WDC AD (@WDCAD) January 17, 2020
“They are so well-rounded and set a great example for others on what it means to be a student-athlete,” Cresap said. “Mike Ortmann does a really great job with our choir and works closely with the team on the anthem.”
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It’s the second year in a row that the team has sung the anthem prior to a game and it’s an act Cresap thinks will turn into a yearly tradition. Cresap said it was cool to see and to hear prior to the game.
After nailing the national anthem, the Wolverines clamped down on the Sebeka Trojans, gaining a measure of revenge from a previous defeat. Cresap said there were a few keys to the victory over the Trojans.
“The first thing that was huge was our effort defensively. We played with great intensity defensively throughout the whole game, no matter what was happening on the offensive side of the ball,” Cresap said. “We also rebounded extremely well as a team. The game was physical and I thought we handled that well with poise and control during key moments of the game.”
The Wolverines were led by Kennedy Gravelle’s 21 points. The senior hit the lone 3-pointers in the game for Wadena-DC when she sank three of them.
“Kennedy had another great all around game for us. She did a little bit of everything,” Cresap said. “(She) hit key shots from inside and out, rebounded well and was all over the lace on defense, blocking/altering shots and getting deflections. She has been very consistent for us this year.”
The Wolverines built up a 19-12 first half lead and continued to extend it with a big second half. The Wolverines outscored the Trojans by 14 in the second half, shutting down Sebeka on defense.
“I think we just tried making things as difficult as possible for them,” Cresap said. “We keyed in on their shooters and made their posts make and take tough shots. In our first match up with them, we gave up a lot of easy buckets and we wanted to eliminate those in our second match up with them.”
Maya Lake led the way for Sebeka with a team-high of 16 points.
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The win snapped a two-game skid for the Wolverines and pulled them back to the .500 mark at 7-7 overall. The Wolverines are 5-3 in the Park Region Conference. Sebeka is now 9-7 on the season and 3-5 in the Park Region Conference.
The Wolverines return to action on Jan. 21 with a home game against Bagley at 7:30 p.m.
SEB 12 21--33
WDC 19 35--54
SEB- Maggie Erickson 4, Kenzie Nelson 3, Maya Lake 16, Jolee Lillquist 4, Alisyn Rathcke 1, Tori Lee 2, Jayde Petersen 3
3-pointers: Nelson, Lake. Free Throws: 7-16. Team Fouls: 21. Fouled Out: Erickson
WDC-Madison Carsten 8, Madison packer 5, Kennedy Gravelle 21, MacKenzie Carsten 5, Lauryn Gravelle 9, Laura Krause 6
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3-pointers: K.. Gravelle 3. Free Throws: 17-20. Team Fouls 17. Fouled Out: Mad. Carsten.
