No doubt this time for GFW girls

By DAVE CLARK

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- It was a game where one team wants to keep moving and the other team just wants to move on.

The Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds girls basketball team beat the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds 54-31 Friday night and Thunderbirds coach Becky Busse breathed a big sigh of relief.

"We played Minnesota Valley Lutheran and we lost in the last seconds, then we played Wabasso close and lost in the end. The win boosts our confidence back up and they know they can play," said Busse.

For NUC coach Mary Dengerud, it was a step back for a team that she knows can play better.

"We just didn't play with any poise," said Dengerud. "We didn't take care of the ball and they took advantage. We weren't adjusting well to their defenses. We just have to forget about this game and move on to the next one."

There were 56 turnovers in the game, 34 for the Greyhounds and 22 for GFW, but while GFW was able to garner 23 points off those turnovers, the Greyhounds had just 10. After the T-Birds took a 2-0 lead to start the game, there were nine straight turnovers by the two teams.

Finally, the T-Birds' Ashley Vorwerk and Alisha Kruggel scored the next 10 points compared to a lone hoop by NUC's Katie Gieseke and GFW was up 12-2. The T-Birds took a 14-7 lead into the second quarter, as their press and defense around the basket troubled the Greyhounds and didn't give them an opportunity for open looks at the hoop.

"Their halfcourt press bothered us," said Dengerud. "We were creating some turnovers in the first half and that just put us in a hole."

GFW opened the spread to 24-7 in the second quarter on a running layup by Nicole Black, two short jumpers by Vorweck and two buckets off turnovers by Krystie Kaukola. But with 4:25 to go in the half, NUC went on a 13-4 run with the highlight being a trey from Nikki Fischer with :30 to go that cut the GFW margin to 26-20 and put the Greyhounds as close to the lead as they would get the rest of the evening.

Vorwerk continued to keep the T-Birds strong with four of their next eight points as they moved ahead 34-22 in the third. Liesl Genelin provided a temporary lift for the Greyhounds with a three pointer that made it 34-25, but Vorwerk and Ashley Busch came back for GFW and the T-Birds took a 38-28 lead into the final stanza.

The Greyhound offense had little luck penetrating the T-Bird defense the first three quarters, and it evaporated to almost nothing in the fourth. GFW outscored the Greyhounds 16-3 with a trey by Alisha Kruggel with 5:27 to go that made it 47-28, the final straw for the Greyhounds.

"We're basically even on height and it was nice to able to force it inside," said Busse. "Vorwerk scored and started to kick it in and Busch was able to put offensive boards in and draw fouls. We've been letting the other team shoot 15-20 more free throws a game and tonight at halftime, I told the team our goal was five fouls for the half and that's what we got."

Vorwerk led all scorers with 20, with Fischer the only Greyhound in double figures with 11. GFW's Kruggel was next with nine, while teammate Cassie Schmidt had eight along with NUC's Genelin.

GFW is now 2-4 overall, 2-2 in the Tomahawk conference, while NUC drops to 1-4, 1-3. The T-Birds travel to play Springfield on Tuesday night at 7:30, while the Greyhounds host Sleepy Eye St. Mary's on Tuesday night at 7:30.

GFW 14 14 10 16--54

NUC 7 13 8 3--31