Eagles beat Jaguars, advance to district title

Clinging to a four-point lead with 1:03 left on the clock, the Mitchell Christian girls’ basketball team had to convert free throws.

The Eagles (14-6) did just that, knocking down six of their eight free-throw attempts to ice the game and beat Corsica/Stickney 58-53 in the District 10B semifinals at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

Becca Glanzer made four of the six Mitchell Christian converted free throws and finished the game with 16 points.

“Free throws obviously win games, so it was really important that all of us as a team can put them in, because you never know who they are going to foul,” MCS guard Glanzer said. “We have been working on free throws all week in practice and I think that paid off.”

The junior guard and her backcourt-mate Alexa Van Laecken celebrated their birthdays Thursday with a victory and a pair of double-digit scoring performances. Van Laecken finished with 14 points.

While Mitchell Christian was rejoicing by game’s end, there were several moments earlier in the game when the Eagles looked to be in trouble.

The first time was right after the halftime, when Corsica/Stickney went on an 8-0 run to cut Mitchell Christian’s 27-18 halftime lead to one point.

And again in the fourth quarter, when the Jaguars took a 39-38 lead after being down all game.

“The girls got a little bit tired and they went on a cold streak for a little bit,” MCS coach Jackie Van Laecken said. “We knew if we got down, we needed to keep it close and you have to complement Corsica/Stickney because they are a really good team.”

During the Corsica/Stickney (10-11) spurts, the Jaguars started to get the ball inside the paint to center Micayla Bamberg, who finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds.

Bamberg’s effectiveness down low opened things up for three-point threat Hope Menning, who drained two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter en route to scoring a game-high 22 points.

“We should have dominated inside, but we just weren’t looking at it in the first half,” Corsica/Stickney coach Lorisa Broughton said. “If we go inside first, then our outside game is better and we focused on that more and went there for a while, then faded off of it again.”

In the regular-season matchup, the Jaguars beat Mitchell Christian 62-28.

In that game freshman Emily Reynen scored six points, but Thursday the forward finished with 16 points, including six in the first quarter and six in the fourth quarter.

With the win, the Eagles advance to face Kimball/White Lake in the District 10B championship Saturday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. Game time is at 6:30 p.m.

“We have progressively been getting better as the season has going along,” Van Laecken said.

MITCHELL CHRISTIAN 58

CORSICA STICKNEY 53

MCS (14-6)

Alexa Van Laecken 5 3-5 14, Becca Glanzer 4 7-8 16, Khiree Held 2 0-0 4, Emily Reynen 7 2-2 16, Brittany Zoss 3 0-3 6, Abbie Reynen 1 0-1 2. Totals: 22 12-19 58.

CS (10-11)

Missy Johnson 4 0-2 8, Brianna Kuyper 3 0-0 7, Micayla Bamberg 5 2-2 12, Hope Menning 8 2-2 22, Jessica Hoogers 1 0-0 2, Cambria Groseth 0 0-0 0, Kayla Vander Hook 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 2-6 53.

MCS 19 27 38 58

CS 12 18 34 53

3-point goals: MCS 2 (Van Laecken, Glanzer), CS 5 (Menning 4, Kuyper). Rebounds: MCS 23 (Zoss 6, Reynen 6), CS 22 (Hoogers 9). Asssits: MCS 11 (Van Laecken 5), CS 12 (Johnson 5). Steals: MCS 7 (Van Laecken 5), CS 8 (Kuyper 2, Groseth 2, Hoogers 2). Turnovers: MCS 10, CS 13. Total fouls: MCS 13, CS 18 Technical fouls: none.

Tags: mitchell christian, sports, updates, basketball, corsica, stickney