SPORTS WRAP

There was nothing unlucky about the 13^th consecutive win for the Owatonna girls basketball team. Just the opposite.

A half-court shot by Maryn Pool went through as the final horn sounded at Austin in late January, lifting the Huskies into first place in the Big Nine Conference. It was the third game decided by two points or less in a string of victories that had reached 14 by this writing.

After a 2-4 start to the season, the team has also climbed to the top of the section standings and has one of the best defenses in the state, giving up just 45 points per game. That’s down 10 points per contest from the first six.

Senior Lexie Klecker says the defense has come around. “I like that we cause teams to turn over the ball so much. And we can push them out of their spots really easily when they’re on offense just because of how aggressive we are at defense.”

Abby Shornock said the defense is the difference even when the offense has an off night, such as in a 32-30 win over Northfield. “It’s just really encouraging, even if we’re not hitting shots, even if we’re all off, as long as we work hard on defense we can still pull through.”

The senior adds the team has come together. “Our ability to connect with each other now. Even as we keep going in each game we connect even more, and we grow. I think that’s really awesome. And our energy has been really high as well.”

Klecker says, “Everybody’s starting to gain a lot of confidence now that we’re on a winning streak. Our shots are all falling. It’s just a little bit easier to run our offense when we know we can make the shots.”

It’s been a great lesson in teamwork states Shornock. “Just trusting your team and knowing that you can pass it to them, and they’ll make the shot for you.”

Second-year head coach Pat Webb says repetition makes the difference. And the pressure defense has led to quick offense with transition points.

Klecker says winning at Rochester Mayo was a big milestone, reversing the result of an early season game. “We haven’t beat them in so long and they’re the team that’s won the Big Nine for the past couple of years. So, it was a really big win for us. To know that we have that under our belts now is really important.”

“Lots of celebration, both on the court and in the locker room as we sang our school song,” said Shornock.

The girls are hosting a Pink Out cancer fundraising game to support Survivor Sisters on Saturday, Feb. 15 versus New Prague. Game time is 1 p.m. It’s also Youth Day.

Floor hockey

Federated Court was the place to be on the first Monday in February as the OHS adapted floor hockey squad hosted South Suburban. Senior Jesse Fonner looks forward to the annual appearance at the high school. “Excited. You get pumped up. You get amped up. Because the cheerleaders are there, pep band.”

Junior Joseph Poole enjoys the game at the high school, but is pleased to play anywhere. “I like it a lot. And I like away games because you get to take the bus ride and be with your friends and coaches.”

Each has played since his seventh-grade year. Coach C.W. Wolfe said, “They’ve been playing with us now, basically combined over 10 years, which is awesome. We have a lot of new faces this year. We lost four seniors last year.” The roster stands at 12.

Fonner scored twice in the 9-2 loss to the Jets. “I like chasing the puck and scoring goals…I like helping people out…We practice how to lift up the puck and how to get better shooting in the goal, aiming at the goal.”

He credits coach Scott Seykora with teaching him to improve his shooting.

Poole told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show, “I enjoy being with my team and helping my team…When you want to score a goal you want to be able to get the puck at the right time and you have to be in the right position to score.”

He says the Huskies are a good team due to their sportsmanship.

Owatonna faces a challenging schedule such as a recent game against Lakeville/Farmington/Burnsville. “It’s tough sledding for us in some games because you’re playing against 6A football schools that are combining. We have a unique thing where we are the only school in the state that does not combine with anybody,” Wolfe points out.

“We have something else that these other schools don’t have where we have that community. It shows when we play at the high school. When you have the pep band, and you have different community members and the cheerleaders. All the different sports teams show up,” said Wolfe.

He also enjoys their home court at the middle school, “It’s compact. You get everybody in there. It gets loud and it gets exciting. It’s a lot of fun to be playing over there too.

Fans and refs

Senior Nolan Ginskey was among the fans at the game. “It was awesome. Just being an athlete, having those atmospheres, just knowing how cool it is for that team to see everyone in the community and Owatonna come to support them. It was fun to be there.”

Bob Rinaldi is in his fourth year as an adapted floor hockey referee. “The kids are out here to have fun and give it all they’ve got. And it’s just fun to see that up and down the court as we go through the game. The kids are trying their best, and if they’re making mistakes, they’re just trying. It’s great.”

He was assisted this year by Matt Skala, who made his floor hockey debut.