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February 15, 2000
Falcons rout St. Mary'sBy BOB VARMETTE Journal Sports Writer SLEEPY EYE -- Mary DeCock isn't perfect. Almost, but not quite. The 5-foot-9 senior forward shot 11-for-12 from the field and didn't miss until her final shot. DeCock scored 23 of her game-high 25 points in the first half and led the Red Rock Central Falcons to an 83-33 blowout win over Sleepy Eye St. Mary's in nonconference girls basketball Monday night. "They didn't have much height in there, that made it easier," DeCock said. "My teammates did a nice job of lobbing the ball over so I had wide open shots." DeCock took advantage of the absence of Nicole Steffl -- St. Mary's 5-foot-10 junior post. With Steffl sitting on the bench in street clothes because of a possible concussion suffered last Friday, DeCock dominated on the block. "She's one of their top players, especially inside," DeCock said. "She's a good player defensively. She can really jump. That really helped me out inside -- her not being there." DeCock was perfect until her final attempt -- a 15-footer in the third quarter that went in and out. "It was a situation where they were playing without one of their two best ballplayers," RRC coach Gary Gillis said. "Physically, psychologically that made a big difference for them." Three other players reached double figures for RRC (19-1). Erin Weber added 20 points, including 14 in the third quarter. Carrie Pankonin scored 12 points and Mandey Gillis 11 -- nine on 3-pointers. "They're a great team, not a good team, a great team," St. Mary's coach Bruce Woitas said. "They came out and shot the ball very well, that's going to get you into trouble. And we didn't get anybody to step up." Ashley Mathiowetz led St. Mary's (12-8) with 11 points -- the only Knight player to reach double figures. DeCock wasn't the only Falcon to have a good night shooting the ball. RRC was 31-for-63 (49.2 percent) from the field and 7-for-20 (35 percent) from behind the arc. DeCock dominated the inside in the first two quarters, scoring nine points in the first and 14 in the second quarter. Weber -- a 5-foot-7 senior guard -- took over in the third quarter. Weber didn't miss, hitting 5-for-5 from the field, including a pair of 3s. Weber finished the game 6-for-12, 3-for-5 from 3-point land. "They left me open," Weber said. "I just took my shots, the shots I normally take. I had been struggling with my shooting. This was another game in the right direction." RRC just had too many weapons for the Knights. "We feel that we have more than just two good ballplayers," Gary Gillis said. "We're going to go to the well as long as its not dry. They stuck in their man and overplayed (DeCock), Our kids did a good job of getting her the ball." RRC led 14-7 with 1:43 left in the first quarter with nine of the points from DeCock. St. Mary's, meanwhile, was having its problems offensively. The Knights shot 3-for-8 from the field in the first quarter, but turned the ball over eight times as the Falcons took a 21-9 margin into the second quarter. RRC went on a 10-4 run to start the second quarter as DeCock continued her hot hand. The Knights continued to struggle offensively, turning the ball over seven more times and shooting only 2-for-12 from the field. The Falcons continued the onslaught in the third quarter, hitting 11 of their 15 shots from the field in scoring 30 points. By late in the third quarter, most of the RRC starters were on the bench. The Knights, although they outscored the Falcons 10-8 in the final quarter with their reserves, still struggled. St. Mary's shot 3-for-14 from the field in the final quarter and finished the game shooting only 25 percent from the field. "You've got to give them credit defensively," Woitas said. "They made a lot of nice plays. But with Nicole usually playing a lot of the game, and not having her in there, it makes a difference. "She and Ashley are usually in there 28 to 30 minutes a game. With only Ashley in there, that kind of threw off the whole flow for our offense." In the junior varsity game, St. Mary's won, 39-33. RRC will be at Comfrey tonight for a Red Rock Conference game. The Knights will host Buffalo Lake-Hector as they return to Tomahawk Conference action. Steffl is questionable for the game. RRC 21 24 30 8--83 SESM 9 7 7 10--33 RRC (83): Nickel 0-0 0-0 0, Lyle 0-0 0-1 0, Altermatt 1-3 0-0 2, Gillis 3-11 2-2 11, Weber 6-12 5-6 20, Goeman 0-3 2-2 2, Madson 3-4 0-0 6, DeCock 11-12 3-3 25, Pankonin 5-9 1-2 12, Gramstad 2-7 1-1 5, Meyer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-63 14-17 83. ST. MARY'S (33): Mathiowetz 4-11 3-4 11, Braulick 0-1 1-6 1, Eickhoff 0-1 0-0 0, Schroepfer 2-9 0-0 4, St.Berkner 1-2 0-0 3, Sprenger 1-4 0-0 2, Moldan 1-4 1-2 3, Pelzel 0-2 0-0 0, Eckstein 0-3 4-4 4, Walter 0-1 0-0 0, Fischer 1-1 3-4 5, Dubois 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 10-40 12-21 33. 3-point goals--RRC 7-20 (Weber 3-5, Gillis 3-11, Pankonin 1-1, Altermatt 0-1, Goeman 0-2), St. Mary's 1-9 (St.Berkner 1-2, Moldan 0-1, Dubois 0-1, Sprenger 0-2, Schroepfer 0-3). Fouled out--Madson. Total fouls--RRC 17, St. Mary's 14. Rebounds--RRC 38 (Weber, DeCock, Pankonin 7), St. Mary's 30 (Fischer 5). Turnovers--RRC 11, St. Mary's 25.
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