Colfax girls rally to defeat Somerset, pound Durand Panthers for D-SC win

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

Email

Submit

← Back

by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

Playing a non-conference game as part of a doubleheader with the boys, the Lady Vikings were behind as much as 11 points in the first half but put things together to pull out a 60-50 win over Somerset January 16 in Colfax. Two days later they went on the road to Durand to begin the second round of Dunn-St. Croix Conference play and they blew out the Panthers 38-28.

The Colfax girls have a busy week with three conference games on the slate. In back-to-back contests, the Vikings were in Mondovi Monday evening to makeup a game that was postponed January 12 due to winter weather and back home the following night to face Boyceville. They travel to Spring Valley this Friday.  

Somerset

The Spartans are a Division 3 team and play in the Middle Border Conference. They were a good match for the Vikings as the game was tied several times, with the last tie at 40-40 late in the second half before McKenna Shipman hit back to back shots to give the Vikings a lead they would not relinquish.

Jeanette Hydukovich gave Colfax a 2-0 lead but the Spartans went ahead 9-3 before a Viking steal off their full court press led to a three-point shot by Shipman. Shipman scored in the paint but Somerset took a 19-8 lead on five buckets in the paint. Jada Anderson stole the ball and drove in for a layup, Hydukovich dropped in a close range shot with a free toss, Anderson assisted Kaysen Goodell for two points and Shipman added two more points to close the gap, down 19-17.

The Spartans upped their lead to 25-17 but Goodell connected on a jumper and Sierra Shipman dropped in a deuce. Defense turned into offense again as Autumn Niggemann picked off a Spartan pass and sent the ball to Sierra Shipman for two more points and the half ended with Colfax behind 28-23.

McKenna Shipman put on quite a show to start the second half, starting with a shot in the paint. She followed by drilling a triple from the top of the key to knot the score at 28-28. Somerset took the lead back about 10 seconds later but McKenna Shipman dropped in a pair of free tosses to make it 30-30. The Spartans responded again for a 32-32 score then used a five point run to go up 37-32. Niggemann scored from the lane, Brynn Sikora dropped in a free toss and Hydukovich scored on an offensive rebound to make it 37-37.

Somerset went up on a free throw but the Viking defense forced another turnover and Hydukovich scored off it for a 39-38 Colfax advantage Sikora dropped in another free throw but a couple of Spartan freebies made it 40-40.

McKenna Shipman continued to have the hot hand as she knocked down a long jump shot and scored on a fast break layup for a 44-40 lead. After the Spartans added a bucket, Goodell drove through the lane for two points and added the free throw with it. Somerset responded with a triple but the Vikings were in the bonus and McKenna Shipman went to the line and hit one of two free tosses. She followed that with a three-point shot then showed off her athletic ability with a spinning layup and it was 53-45 for the Vikings.

Colfax was in the double bonus with 2:22 left in the game and they sealed the win at the charity stripe. McKenna Shipman dropped one in, Jordyn Bowe went to the line twice and went 1-for-2 both times and Anderson went twice, connected on all four of her shots to finish it off.

McKenna Shipman finished with a season-high 27 points to lead the Vikings, with 20 coming in the second half. Hydukovich added nine points and Goodell seven. Colfax was 15-for-30 at the foul stripe and made three triples.

Somerset was led by Nichols with 13 points while their leading scorer Julie Rybacki, who averages 17 points a game, was held to 11 points. The Spartans were 11-for-20 from the free throw line with a trio of triples.

Durand-Arkansaw

The 10-point win doesn’t begin to tell the tale of the game as the Vikings got some revenge after losing to Durand-Arkansaw back in December. The Viking defense completely shut Durand down in the first half, either by forcing turnovers or not allowing Durand to get any clear shots at the hoop. They held Durand-Arkansaw to just four points on four free throws and for all practical purposes it was over at the intermission with Colfax up 18-4.

Colfax wasn’t exactly burning up the nets themselves but Anderson drove end-to-end for a layup, Sikora hit a jumper and McKenna Shipman scored off an in-bounds pass for a 6-0 lead. Two Panther free throws put them on the board but Colfax scored the next 10 points with Goodell canning a free toss, McKenna Shipman drilling a three pointer, Goodell scoring from close range, Sikora made 1-of-2 freebies, McKenna Shipman scored in the paint and Goodell made another free throw. Durand finally added their two free throws with a minute left in the half and Sierra Shipman scored for the 18th Viking point to head into the intermission.

After McKenna Shipman and Jaycey Bowe scored in the lane it was 22-5 and the Panthers finally scored their first field goal of the game. They managed to drop in a triple after that but McKenna Shipman and Sikora both had one of their own to up the score to 28-10. Hydukovich canned a couple of buckets and Goodell was 4-for-4 at the charity stripe, while Emma Hoyt came up with five points for Durand to make the score look a little better for their team. 

McKenna Shipman once again led the Vikings in scoring with 12 points while Goodell and Sikora both collected eight each. Colfax made just 9-of-20 free throws with a trio of triples. Hoyt finished with 11 points for the Panthers and her team made 7-of-13 free tosses with their own trio of triples. 

“This was an excellent defensive outing for our team,” Colfax coach Courtney Sarauer said after the win.