Chargers trounce BLH

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Editor

NEW ULM -- After a 37-point loss Monday night, MVL head girls basketball coach Dave Biedenbender wondered how his team would respond in Tuesday's Tomahawk Conference matchup with Buffalo Lake-Hector.

He liked what he saw. The Chargers used balanced scoring and a staunch defense en route to a 75-30 rout of the Mustangs at MVL gym.

"I was worried how we'd come back," Biedenbender said of Monday's loss to Springfield. "I told the girls it was important to put that game behind us, to forget about it. We had to come back out and play hard tonight because we still have a conference championship to win yet."

His team left no doubts from the opening minutes of the game as two Leah Morgan buckets spurred an 8-0 run for a quick 10-2 lead. Jessica Merseth and Erin Czer would each score baskets in transition, which would be MVL's main weapon in the game.

BLH's Lindsay Ashburn opened the second quarter with a bucket, but that would be the last points the Mustangs scored for almost six minutes. Meanwhile, the Chargers used defense and transition to score 16 straight points for a commanding 38-9 lead. The advantage stood at 42-13 at the half.

"The key was defense," Biedenbender said of the second quarter. "Defensively we shut (BLH) down, got a lot of steals and a lot of transition baskets off of that. Plus we rebounded well. ... Defense, rebounding and transition baskets were the key there."

MVL would continue to pressure throughout the game, starting the second half on a 9-2 run. The lead would grow to 57-20 at the end of three on jumpers from reserves Gretta Nelson, Danielle Kramer and Rebekah Olson. Ten different Chargers scored in the game.

"We know that (balance) is necessary," Biedenbender said. "Especially after losing (center) Sarah Gronholz, we have to have people pick it up in other positions. Julie Dzwonkowski had some hoops tonight, Leah Morgan gave us some points, Gretta Nelson ... and others, too. That's exactly what we need to do if we want to compete down the stretch."

Merseth would score six points in a 10-2 fourth-quarter run before substitutions began en masse, with the Chargers holding a 67-24 lead.

Czer led MVL with a game-high 22 points. Merseth added 16 points, four steals and two blocked shots, Dzwonkowski contributed 10 points and six rebounds, and Morgan finished with nine points.

Ashburn was a big bright spot for BLH, scoring 15 of her team's 30 points. Teammate Dani Witter scored six.

The Chargers (18-3, 16-1 Tomahawk) will travel to face Cathedral Friday night.

BLH 7 6 7 10--30

MVL 22 20 15 18--75

BLH (30): L.Ashburn 15, Witter 6, Aguilar 4, Hauer 3, Berg 2.

MVL (75): Czer 22, Merseth 16, Dzwonkowski 10, Morgan 9, Nelson 6, Kramer 4, Schuh 2, Grams 2, Olson 2, Unke 2.