NUC edges Cougars

Greyhound seniors lead Cathedral, Cougar Ashley Gewerth injured

By DAVE CLARK

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The free throw line was the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhound girls basketball team's best friend Thursday night.

The Hounds went 19-25 from the freebie spot and beat the Cedar Mountain Cougars 53-49 Thursday night in an otherwise wild and wooly affair where neither team ever had more than a six point lead.

It was also the final home game at NUC for Greyhounds seniors Liesl Genelin and Katie Gieseke, who combined for 22 points and provided key leadership throughout the game against a Cougars team that has no seniors on the roster.

"They (Genelin and Gieseke) wanted to bring it home," said NUC coach Mary Dengerud. "They said 'You're not going to take it from me.'"

For the Cougars, it was another lesson learned for a very athletic, but young team.

"We had some opportunities, but we had some turnovers down the stretch," said Cougar coach Ken Thiesen. "The kids kept playing hard and kept the effort level up to give them a shot at the end. Plus, Cathedral did really well from the free throw line."

The first quarter was a defensive affair, with the Cougars up 10-9 going into the second stanza and probably wishing they had made the three seemingly easy layups they missed in the first eight minutes.

The offensive tentativeness on the Greyhounds part continued into the second quarter, as they didn't score any points until Gieseke hit two freebies with 4:14 left in the half to cut the Cougars lead to 14-11.

Ashley Kokesch responded immediately for the Cougars with a trey to give them a 17-11 lead. The Cougars were able to keep their six point lead going with a layup and turnaround jumper from Samantha Madsen, with the Greyhounds staying in the game by hitting all eight of their free throws in the quarter.

Down 25-21 at halftime, the Greyhounds came out energized to start the third quarter, with Genelin scoring consecutive hoops to tie the game at 27, then give the Greyhounds their first lead since the opening minutes, 29-27.

Cedar Mt. responded again from long range, this time a three pointer from Ashley Gewerth that put the Cougars up 30-29. But then Gewerth went down with an injury that took her out of the game and suddenly the Cougars were without their starting point guard.

"We decided to press the second half and we switched the defenses a little bit," said Dengerud. And without Ashley Gewerth, the Cougars started to wilt and play a little looser with the ball.

Cedar Mountain's last gasp came at the start of the final quarter, when Katie Gewerth and Madsen scored quick hoops for a 42-39 lead. The Greyhounds took the lead for good when Julie Siefert hit a three-pointer with 4:15 left in the game to give NUC a 47-45 lead.

The Cougars turned the ball over seven times in the final four minutes, and while it resulted in just five Greyhounds points, it gave NUC the ability to run time off the clock. With :38 left, Kelly Gewerth drove for a bucket that cut the NUC lead to 51-49, but Nikki Fischer then nailed two final free throws for the Greyhounds for the final 53-49 score.

Siefert was the leading scorer for NUC with 15, followed by Genelin with 12 and Gieseke with 10. Madsen led the Cougars with 12, with Katie Gewerth adding 10.

The win moves NUC to a record of 7-12, while Cedar Mt. drops to 3-18. The Greyhounds travel to Hector to play Buffalo Lake-Hector tonight at 7:30.

In B squad action, the Cougars beat the Greyhounds 40-29.

NUC 9 12 18 14 -- 53

CEDAR MOUNTAIN 10 15 13 11 -- 49