Moral victory

Staff

Published Sunday, January 30, 2005

By Jim Lutgens, Tribune Sports Editor

OWATONNA - Again, the Albert Lea High School girls' basketball team displayed the ability to compete with the best the Big Nine has to offer.

But the Tigers again waited a little too long to do it.

The ALHS girls played even with conference-leading Owatonna through three quarters

but couldn't recover from a 17-8 first-period deficit and lost 65-54 on the Huskies' court Friday night.

"The girls played some real good team basketball again tonight," said Tigers coach Karol Hansen.

"We have definitely improved in some areas of the game that will help us come tournament time."

Hansen's biggest concern at this point is that the Tigers don't become disheartened by coming so close to but not beating the conference's top teams.

"The girls are getting better every game we play," said Hansen. "Our goal is to be playing our best basketball at playoff time, and I think the girls are on their way to doing that. They played with a lot of heart and a lot of class tonight. I just hope they realize the progress they're making every time they step on the court."

The leaders Friday: Hali Hendrickson 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals, one block; Niki Hendrickson 12 points, two rebounds; Kat Ladwig eight points, one block; Liz Thompson seven points; Ellie Holmen seven points; Annika Smed three rebounds, two assists; Cara Thorn four assists; Leah Walters two assists.

The Tigers' record fell to 4-8 in the Big Nine and 6-13 overall while Owatonna improved to 9-2 and 12-4.

The Tigers host Winona Tuesday.

(Contact Jim Lutgens at tribsports@albertleatribune.com or 379-3437.)

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