Hot-shooting Huskies down Raiders 68-48

The Owatonna Huskies were a force to be reckoned with on the hardwood last week as the girls basketball team put a 69-48 whooping on visiting Northfield to secure a win in their lone game of the week.

Owatonna caught fire from all spots in the offensive half. A blistering 54.2% shooting percentage over the course of the game gave the Huskies a substantial lead to work with.

“We’ve been getting the looks; we’ve just been waiting for them to fall. The first couple of games we couldn’t have asked for better opportunities, but we just couldn’t make the most of them. Today, we were hitting from mid-range and moving the ball really well, and that’s how we’re going to get into our rhythm,” said Owatonna Head Coach Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa.

Northfield hung tough in the first half and trailed 26-24 at halftime, but the Huskies would go on to blow the game wide open when the two teams returned to the court.

Owatonna took the initiative right out of the gate and built its lead to 20 points near the halfway point of the second frame to cruise to its 68-48 victory.

As mentioned by Hugstad-Vaa, the mid-range shooting game was the weapon that ultimately slayed the Raiders, as her team shot a combined 80% from around the key to combine for 22 of its 68 points.

Also playing a factor in the team’s win were points from turnovers, where Owatonna was able to outscore the Raiders 28-23.

Leading the way for the Huskies was junior Morgan Fisher whose 57.1% shooting percentage from the floor translated to a team-high 25 points in the win.

Owatonna’s win against Northfield could not have come at a better time for the Huskies, as the team desperately needed a shift in momentum after losing three straight games.

However, the Huskies will not be able to rest on their laurels as the team prepares to face a daunting Hopkins squad at the Park Center Holiday Tournament scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 29 at 1:30 p.m.

Hopkins currently stands 6-0 heading into the tournament and will pose a significant test to the Huskies, who will need to keep the hot hand to contend with one of the state’s best teams.

Player Stats

vs. Northfield

                    P    R    A

Fisher           25   5    3

Olson           10   7    1

Pool             10   1    7

Brady           5    3    1

Shornock     5    2    2

Neumann      4    3    1

Moran          4    2    0

Gentz           3    0    3

Hodgman     2    0    0

Krumholz      0    1    0