January 2
One of the biggest things researchers are finding that keeps girls engaged in sports is access to their heroes and mentors—even if it’s just seeing them. To see a banner or a poster or an ad featuring someone like you is monumental. ~ Alana Paterson
Hockey
[Future Cardinals (U-12’s?) warmed up the ice before . . . ]
[The girl/boy hockey doubleheader against Brainerd. The girls had been on the road for a month – their last home game was December 5th. It was a difficult month, playing big schools on their home rinks. Brainerd/Little Falls, last year’s class 2A state runner-up, would also prove to be a tough chore . . . ]
[I noticed again at the pre-game introductions we would be at significant size disadvantage again . . . ]
[The player introductions, the one time in a game a photographer can predict what is about to happen and be ready for it. First up, sophomore Jordan O’Kane (1) . . . ]
[Then senior Mayson Toft (14) . . . ]
[Junior Ali Castle (22) . . . ]
[Junior Anna Doherty (7) . . . ]
[Junior Marki Obert (10) . . . ]
[Sophomore Kaci Trosvig (25) . . . ]
[A secret meeting held in the open . . . ]
[And away we go . . . ]
[Cardinals on the defensive early with freshman Ella Westlund (19) and sophomore Makenna Aure (17) . . . ]
[Makenna scored the Cards first goal . . . ]
[And celebrated . . . ]
[Tough game, not a lot of offense from either team . . . ]
[Anna and Marki, though still only juniors, seem to have been paired together for a really long time . . . ]
[And quite successfully . . . ]
[Then Kaci and Makenna join the party . . . ]
[I’m sure all Cardinal fans are glad she still has another two years ahead of her . . . ]
[Here come Kaci and Anna . . . ]
[And Kaci takes a long shot . . . ]
[Sophomore Hanley Block (28) applies defensive pressure . . . ]
[And appears to have succeeded . . . ]
[Hanley’s linemate freshman Lauren Maras (27) . . . ]
[Kaci and Marki, and if junior Maci Tillesjkor (29) and been out there with them, it would have been the all first name ending “i” line . . . }
[Here comes Makenna again . . . ]
[And then Anna scored the Cards’ second goal . . . ]
[The super young line of Ella, Lauren, and Hanley . . . ]
[I left after the 2nd period to move on to the basketball game. It was clear the Flying Warriors were a bit too big and strong for our Cards. The final score was 6 – 2.]
Basketball
[I think they reviewed what the captains discussed at the hockey game. Likely, as usual, about post-game dining options . . . ]
[I think the ref said whoever lost the coin flip would buy . . . ]
[Warm-ups . . . ]
[Intros: Junior Jaya Hatlestad (3) . . . ]
[Senior Mia McGrane (5) . . . ]
[Senior Ella Grove (11) . . . ]
[Junior Alayna Strand (25) . . . ]
[Junior Lilly Horn (33) . . . ]
[Alayna jumps . . . ]
[Quick and athletic, she often gets the tip against taller players . . . ]
[With four Cards in this shot, I assume the 5th, Mia, got the ball . . . ]
[I just watched in the first half. Brainerd has a good team with some good shooters, but the Card full-court pressure makes it difficult for everybody. I took this shot when I noticed Mia and Ella, our two seniors, had all but 4 of our team’s points. I asked Mia’s mom, who was sitting behind me, who would be our scorers next year. Somehow it always works out . . . ]
[Ella for two. Both she and Mia scored a lot of their points on diagonal drives through the lane and then putting up a short bank shot going away . . . ]
[Alayna jumps center and then plays the point on the press. If you could design a player for this role, it would be Alayna . . . ]
[The Brainerd player, number 24, was a very good player, but I bet she saw Alayna in her dreams that night . . . ]
[Lilly with a catch and shoot . . . ]
[On a “3” . . . ]
[Ella cuts in for a rebound, while junior Mataya Hoelscher (23) readies for defense . . . ]
[Warriors trying to cross midcourt against the press . . . ]
[Lilly appears to be passing in to a posting Ella . . . ]
[And we end with a “3” attempt by the Warriors . . . ]
[The Cards again got to play a lot of players as we won surprisingly handily . . . ]
[Mia and Ella ended up high scorers, with 19 and 17, respectively.]
Winsome
How good does a female athlete have to be before we can just call her an athlete? ~ Unknown
Up Next: Workin’ on it . . .
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