The Patriots and the Eagles have had many such showdowns in recent seasons. Both in 2019 and in 2020 H-BC defeated Southwest in a pair of regular season games, only to see the Eagles win both years in sub-section championship clashes.
In Hills on Monday, the Pats won again. And it went right down to the wire.
“We made one more play. That one could have gone either way,” said H-BC head coach Kale Wiertzema.
The game was tight throughout. With 1:49 remaining in the second half, Hills-Beaver Creek freshman guard Layla Deelstra sunk a 3-point shot to put her team ahead 50-48. Southwest Christian senior post Maren Nerem answered with a free throw at 1:25. H-BC’s Abby Knobloch hit a free throw of her own at 1:12.
Seconds later, the ever-present Deelstra forced a jump ball with Nerem, and the possession went to the home team. With 28 ticks to go, Rauk drove the lane for a layup and a 53-49 Patriot advantage. Southwest’s Cybil Vander Top’s two free throws with 20.7 seconds left brought her team back within two, but at :17.5 Knobloch made two charity tosses to provide a 4-point cushion. Moments later, Vander Top converted a layup, and after a Southwest time-out with 11.7 seconds to go, the Eagles returned to foul Rauk on the in-bounds pass. She calmly sunk two to push the margin back to four.
The win upped Hills-Beaver Creek to 3-0 on the young season. It was the first loss for Southwest in four outings.
Rauk finished with 16 points. Deelstra had 10 and Knobloch had nine.
Nerem led Southwest Christian with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Morgan Pap contributed 10 points.
More so than her scoring, Deelstra made a huge difference with her defense. Her aggressiveness was only matched by her quickness.
The fast, athletic Patriots often were able to fill the passing lanes when Southwest Christian had the ball, and they came up with several key steals. Their anticipation was remarkable, and Deelstra was especially successful when it counted the most.
A member of the H-BC track team in the spring, the 5-7 Deelstra participates in the 100, 200, and the 400 and 800-meter relay teams. Her track skills were in focus Monday night.
“I just jump to the ball and try to steal it, and try to get down the court as fast as possible,” she said after the game. “I honestly like defense better than offense, because I’m more confident doing that.”
Hills-Beaver Creek’s second-half, full-court defense, of course, wasn’t by accident.
“We’re long. We’re athletic. That was our way of trying to keep it out of Maren’s hands. That was our best defensive game of the year,” Wiertzema said.
Nerem, one of southwest Minnesota’s best inside scorers and rebounders, had been a thorn in the side of the Patriots on both ends of the basket. Typically, when she gets the ball down low, good things happen for the Eagles. But she missed about four minutes of action after she drew her fourth foul with 8:14 to go. Her mother, SWC head coach Denise Nerem, said that hurt.
But that wasn’t all that hurt.
“We had lots of turnovers (31). We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t shoot well on the road,” she declared. “They shot 60 percent from two, so that’s tough. And we shot 34. I also wasn’t pleased with our rebounding tonight.”
Clearly, Coach Nerem is getting a bit tired of losing to H-BC in the regular season. She’s had the Patriots’ number in the postseason, but she was hoping the Eagles could get one before the playoff season begins.
“We have high expectations, so we don’t take those things lightly. But we are going to get better,” she concluded.
Southwest Christian 29 53
Hills-Beaver Creek 25 57
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January 26, 2021 at 12:00PM
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Showdown: H-BC edges SWC in another exciting girls basketball clash - The Globe
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