Henning opens season with three wins in five games
Sports | Published on December 16, 2021 at 4:31pm EST | Author: Chad Koenen
0The Henning varsity girls basketball team is off to a 3-2 start this season.
Head coach Mike Hepola said there are a lot of new faces in the line-up and the team knew that there would be some growing pains at times. However, he said the girls are working hard each day just trying to get better.
Nov. 30 at Perham 70-35 loss
Henning’s first game of the season was against a very good Perham team. The Yellowjackets shot the ball well and made it tough on the Hornets.
Perham shot 45 percent from the field, including 41 percent from 3-point range by going 11-27 from behind the 3-point line. As hot as they were shooting, the Hornets really struggled shooting as they shot just 25 percent from the field. The Hornets got off to a nice start, but couldn’t keep up with Perham due to Henning’s cold shooting and trailed 34-17 at halftime. The second half was much of the same and Henning ultimately lost by the final score of 70-35.
Offensively the Hornets were led individually by junior Faith Fisher and sophomore Lyvia Misegades, who both finished the night with 10 points.
Ally Hart was the next leading scorer with 5 points, followed by Lily Fraki 4 points, Alivia Gunderson and Ella Missling both with 3 points each. Emma Severson led the team with 6 rebounds, followed by Fisher and Becca Frederick with 5 each. Frederick led the team with 3 assists and her and Fisher led the team with 2 steals each.
Individual stats
Faith Fisher 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Becca Frederick 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Lily Fraki 4 points, 2 rebounds
Ally Hart 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Emma Severson 6 rebounds, 1 steal
Natalie Eckhoff 1 rebound
Lyvia Misegades 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Alivia Gunderson 3 points, 1 assist
Ella Missling 3 points
Dec. 3 at Lake
Park-Audubon 57-45 win
Henning traveled to Lake Park-Audubon and came away with their first win of the season 56-45. Again it wasn’t pretty the entire time, but the girls stuck together and made enough plays to come out with the win. Henning led 28-20 at halftime and were able to maintain that lead the rest of the game.
The Hornets were led in scoring by Faith Fisher with 21 points and she was joined in double-figures by Lyvia Misegades again with 13 points. Ally Hart scored 8 points, Alivia Gunderson scored 7 points, including two big 3-pointers and Lily Fraki also scored 7 points to round out the scoring.
Misegades led the team with 8 rebounds followed by Hart with 6. Fisher had a team leading 5 assists and 3 steals.
Head coach Mike Hepola said the win was a nice one as Lake Park-Audubon is in Henning’s section and that will help when it comes time for seeding.
Individual stats
Faith Fisher 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Lily Fraki 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Ally Hart 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists. 1 steal
Emma Severson 4 rebounds
Natalie Eckhoff 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Lyvia Misegades 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Alivia Gunderson 7 points
Dec. 7 at Menahga 59-25 loss
Henning traveled to Menahga for their first Park Region Conference game of the season on Dec. 7. It was a very difficult game against a very good team. Unfortunately, the Hornets just didn’t show up in this one.
Henning struggled on both ends of the court and came away with plenty to learn from as they trailed by a score of 30-10 at halftime. They lost by a final score of 59-25.
One bright spot was Natalie Eckhoff coming off the bench and leading the Hornets in scoring with 8 points including two 3-pointers. Faith Fisher added 6 points, Lyvia Misegades scored 4 points, Alivia Gunderson 3 points, while Lily Fraki and Ally Hart both finished with 2 points. Misegades led the team with 5 rebounds.
The loss dropped Henning to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in the Park Region Conference.
Individual stats
Faith Fisher 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Lily Fraki 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Ella Missling 1 rebound
Ally Hart 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Emma Severson 1 rebound, 1 steal
Gretchen Eckhoff 2 rebounds
Natalie Eckhoff 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Lyvia Misegades 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Alivia Gunderson 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Dec. 9 vs. Pillager
54-50 win
The Hornets finally got a home game in their fourth game of the season and it was another PRC game against another team that is experienced and looking to challenge for the conference title.
It was a hard fought game like the team expected and after trailing by double-digits early on, the Hornets were able to take a 28-26 lead at halftime. The second half was also back and forth and Henning made enough free throws down the stretch to pull out the 54-50 victory.
Head coach Mike Hepola said one really nice development in this game was the fact they had four players finish in double-digits in scoring. The Hornets were led by Lyvia Misegades, who had her first career varsity double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The other double-digit scorers were Lily Fraki with 12 points, Ally Hart with 11 and Faith Fisher with 10. Natalie Eckhoff was the other one to score as she finished with 2 points.
Misegades led the team with 10 rebounds, Hart led the team with 5 assists, while Fisher led the team with 2 steals.
The victory put Henning’s conference record at 1-1 on the season. Hepola said it was a game where the girls gained a lot of experience in a tight game and it was nice to pull out the victory.
Individual stats
Faith Fisher 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Lily Fraki 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Ally Hart 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Emma Severson 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Natalie Eckhoff 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Lyvia Misegades 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist,
Alivia Gunderson 1 rebound
Dec. 11 at Staples-
Motley 64-57 win
The Hornets traveled to Staples-Motley for a double-header on Saturday and were able to come away with a nice 64-57 win. Another tight game as the Cardinals shot well from 3-point range everytime Henning started to pull away. However, the Hornets made enough plays down the stretch and again had four different players in double-digits along with a career high 7 points from Emma Severson to pull out the nice win.
Lyvia Misegades led the way with 21 points followed by Faith Fisher with 15, Ally Hart with 11 and Lily Fraki with 10. Severson chipped in 7 huge points in a crucial stretch to seal the victory.
Fraki had her first career double-double grabbing a team leading 10 rebounds to go with her 10 points. She also led the team with 3 assists and 3 steals as she had a great overall game. The victory brings Henning’s season record to 3-2. The Hornets have plenty of work to do so that they can continue to play well going forward.
This upcoming week the Hornets have three more games as they host Sebeka on Tuesday night, Rothsay on Thursday night and Battle Lake on Saturday.
All three games are important as Sebeka is a conference game and both Thursday and Saturday are games against section teams. The Hornets are missing a few girls injury and sickness wise and hope to get them back soon. Head coach Mike Hepola said the girls continue to work hard and learn as most of them haven’t had a chance to play much varsity basketball prior to this season. The team knows there will certainly be some ups and downs, but all they want is to continue to grind.
Individual stats
Faith Fisher 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Lily Fraki 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Ally Hart 11 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist
Emma Severson 7 points, 7 rebounds
Natalie Eckhoff 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Lyvia Misegades 21 points, 6 rebounds
Alivia Gunderson 3 rebounds