Henning falls to WDC in PRC action

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Henning Hornets picked up a non-conference win over Laporte last Monday night, before falling to Park Region Conference foe Wadena-Deer Creek on Thursday night.

The Hornets are currently 11-10 overall and 5-7 in the conference as they gear up for a match up against New York Mills on Tuesday on the road, before heading to one of the top Class AA teams in the state in Frazee on Thursday. On Friday Henning will hit the road once again for a game against the Verndale Pirates, which will be the fifth straight road game for the Hornets.

Henning will wrap up the regular season next week when they host Brandon-Evansville on Feb. 17 and Parkers Prairie on Feb. 19. 

Monday

The Henning Hornets made the trek to Laporte on Monday night to take on the Laporte Wildcats. The Hornets struggled a bit from the floor and shot just 28.4 percent from the field, but were able to overcome an early deficit by taking a 33-19 lead at halftime. The Hornets were outscored a bit in the second half by Laporte, but battled through and came away with a 57-48 win on the road. 

“It was a tough battle tonight. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, and Laporte seemed to be hitting everything on their home court,” said head coach Ryan Emter. “We had some illness going through the team, so we were fortunate to play well enough down the stretch to travel back home with the win.”

The big difference in the game came at the free throw line where Henning went 12-18 and Laporte shot just 3-10, while the Hornets also forced 22 Wildcat turnovers in the game.

Emter gave a lot of credit to Laporte as they had several girls who were able to block shots and force difficult shots near the basket for Henning. 

“It was a struggle at times tonight. Laporte has some strong shot blockers and we had a hard time finishing around the rim. When our outside shooting went cold, we were left scrambling to find consistent offensive production. Fortunately, Alivia Emter had a really nice night shooting the ball and gave us a spark offensively. Stella Iliff also put together a solid game and did some good things for us.”

Alivia Emter led the way offensively with a double-double by scoring 24 points and knocking down four 3-pointers to go along with 11 rebounds. 

Stella Iliff also reached double figures with 13 points of her own, while Addison Bode scored 13 points, Abbi Godding scored six points, Lily Grieger scored four points, Bella Olson scored two points and Callie Thompson rounded out the scoring with one point in the win.

Henning vs. Laporte

POINTS: Callie Thompson 1, Alivia Emter 24, Lily Grieger 4, Addison Bode 7, Bella Olson 2, Abbigale Godding 6, Stella Iliff 13

ASSISTS: Callie Thompson 2, Alivia Emter 1, Stella Iliff 3

REBOUNDS: Callie Thompson 5, Alivia Emter 11, Lily Grieger 2, Addison Bode 6, Bella Olson 3, Abbigale Godding 6, Stella Iliff 4

STEALS: Callie Thompson 4, Alivia Emter 5, Bella Olson 3, Isabelle Godding 1, Stella Iliff 3

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Thursday

Henning hit the road for the second time last week as they fell to one of the better Class AA schools in the area in Wadena-Deer Creek by a score of 66-40. The Hornets trailed 35-18 at halftime, but were able to match the Wolverines in the second half as they continue to improve on the court, despite having just one healthy senior on their team.

“The big thing I wanted to see was the girls come out and be competitive, and I thought they did just that. Wadena has a lot of experienced talent, and I thought we did a nice job battling through our mismatches,” said head coach Ryan Emter. “We shot the ball a bit better and simply did the best we could against a very tough match up. The girls played well together throughout the game.”  

The Hornets were led offensively by Alivia Emter who went 4-6 from behind the 3-point line to finish with 13 points, while Stella Iliff also reached double figures with 10 points and a team high nine rebounds. 

Abbi Godding chipped in with a pair of 3-pointers to finish with eight points, Lily Grieger scored four points, Addison Bode scored three points and Callie Thompson rounded out the scoring with two points.

Henning vs. Wadena-Deer Creek

POINTS: Callie Thompson 2, Alivia Emter 13, Lily Grieger 4, Addison Bode 3, Abbigale Godding 8, Stella Iliff 10

ASSISTS: Lily Grieger 1, Addison Bode 1, Bella Olson 1, Stella Iliff 3

REBOUNDS: Callie Thompson 5, Alivia Emter 2, Brooklynn Geyer 1, Lily Grieger 4, Addison Bode 2, Abbigale Godding 1, Stella Iliff 9

STEALS: Alivia Emter 1, Addison Bode 2, Stella Iliff 2

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