Chargers keep rolling

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Editor

NEW ULM -- The Minnesota Valley Lutheran girls basketball team cruised to its 12th straight win Friday night, defeating McLeod West 62-33 in Tomahawk Conference action at MVL gym.

Erin Czer led the Chargers with a game-high 17 points. Teammate Jessica Merseth had 13 points, five rebounds and five steals, and Sarah Gronholz contributed 12 points, five boards and three blocked shots.

Laura Loncorich's 16 points led the Falcons.

"This is the start of the second half of the season," MVL coach Dave Biedenbender said. "Our No. 1 goal was to send a message -- to ourselves and everyone else -- that we're ready and we're on a roll."

It certainly looked that way early as Merseth's assist on Julie Dzwonkowski's basket spurred the Chargers to the first eight points of the game. Loncorich would end the string with a free throw, but her six first-quarter points would be all McLeod West could muster. MVL had runs of 6-0 and 8-0 later in the quarter before Gronholz's buzzer-beater made the score 23-6 at the end of one.

"We wanted to send that message, and the girls responded," Biedenbender said. "They responded with intensity, both offensively and defensively."

Massive substitutions in the second quarter after another 6-0 run by MVL gave the Falcons life, and Steph Todd stepped up with a pair of buckets as part of a 14-6 run to end the half. Teammate Steph Farenbaugh had a pair of fast-break baskets in the string, and the Chargers led just 35-20 at the break.

"Our subbing disrupted our flow a little bit," Biedenbender said. "But I'm not going to take anything away from McLeod West -- they are well-coached, they play hard, and they do a good job. You can't relax when you're playing against them."

That trend would continue through the third as Czer and Gronholz would score all 10 Charger points. Todd's 3-pointer kept the Falcons lurking, down 45-29 at the end of the stanza.

"I told (the team) between quarters that we're not sending that message," Biedenbender said. "We have to send a different message than we had been sending, and the girls responded once again."

MVL would hold the Falcons scoreless for almost half the fourth quarter, and by the time Ashley Glaeser hit a free throw with 4:09 left the Chargers held a 52-29 lead. They would put the game away with an 8-2 run later in the quarter.

With the win, MVL now stands at 12-1 overall and a perfect 10-0 in Tomahawk play. The next game for the Chargers is Tuesday at Wabasso.

MCLEOD WEST 6 14 9 4--33

MVL 23 12 10 17--62

MCLEOD WEST (33): Loncorich 16, Todd 7, Farenbaugh 4, Olson 2, Wieweck 2, Stockmann 1, Glaeser 1.

MVL (62): Czer 17, Merseth 13, Gronholz 12, Morgan 7, Unke 7, Dzwonkowski 4, Grams 2.