The Cardinals hosted the Drummond LumberJills on Thursday, Feb. 8th, for their Parents Night. This was the second time the Cardinals faced the LumberJills in the regular season. The first time the two teams played was at Drummond High School. The Cardinals started off strong with the lead, but fell behind and could not get back. They took a loss and departed Drummond preparing to avenge themselves when the LumberJills would face them on their home court.

The game started with the junior varsity teams facing off at 5:45 p.m. The first time the two J.V. teams played, the Cardinals crushed them.  It was a slow start however, as they had some trouble scoring in the second game. The Cardinals were determined not to let the LumberJills get too far ahead on such an important night and were behind by only one at halftime, the board frozen at 11-12 for the break. Drummond’s lead was due to Abby Traaholt who was knocking down shots behind the three-point line; she made a total of 9 of her team’s 12 points in three-pointers in that first half. The two teams went head-to-head in the second half. Sara Kangas made 8 points in the second half to give the Cardinals a better chance. Taylor Nicoletti then made a run with a fast-break lay-up and finishing 3-4 from the free throw line. Their efforts, however, fell short and the LumberJills pulled through, stealing the win 27-24.  Sophomore Sara Kangas had a stellar night, hardly missing any shots putting up 18 points total that night and Aurora Grant followed close behind with 14 points.

Before the varsity game, there was a quick break to recognize the athletes’ amazing parents and all that they do. Warm-ups started next and the varsity team was ready to do some work. The first half was slow going, with both teams only scoring 19. The Cardinals played great defense causing the LumberJills to take up most of the time trying to get a good play. The Cardinals on the offense side missed a lot of easy shots, however.

In the second half, the Cardinals knew they had to take control of the game and also keep containing the LumberJills. Chloe Sipsas was unstoppable on her drives to the hoop, scoring 15 points. She also dominated the boards with 10 rebounds, and even pitched in one assist and steal.

The star player of the second half was Rylee Nicoletti, a junior. Rylee discovered her go-to move by cutting into the middle of the lane and floating the ball into the hoop. She scored on this move several times before the LumberJills called a timeout to try and stop her. Not only did she score many middle floaters, but she had five steals for the night leading to a few break-away lay-ups as well. She ended the night with outstanding stats: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Overall, this helped the Cardinals take a dominating win over Drummond 53-29.

The Cardinals had a strong night and multiple players contributed to the win.  Signe Branham had 8 points, Heather Ranta and Myla Lahti each had 5 points, and Sara Kangas, a sophomore, made the last point of the game with one free-throw.

Thank you, parents, for all your dedication to our school and your athletes! We greatly appreciate your support! Congrats to Rylee Nicoletti on an outstanding game and to the rest of the team on a great win! The first round of Regionals for the girls’ team is on Tuesday, Feb. 20th, at South Shore as they face off against Luck. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. and the Cardinals would love your support!