By Michael Rupp
On Tuesday, February 15, GTRA traveled to Marcus for round 2 of district play. The Knights beat South O’Brien in round one on Thursday the 10th to move on to round two against the Royals, who won the first round bye with the number one spot in the district.
The Royals came out running their powerful man to man defense, while the Knights ran a 2-3 zone. MMCRU got off to a 4-0 start, but couldn’t work the ball inside the paint to start off. With 4 minutes left in the first quarter GTRA called a timeout. From that point on, the Royals owned the court, going on a 18-3 run led by Senior Emily Dreckman, who hit back to back corner threes, along with Junior Kora Alesch and and Senior Ellie Hilbrands getting to the free throw line.
The Royals continued to get Ellie Hilbrands to the free throw line in the second, as well as getting Dreckman and Taylor Harpenau open looks from beyond the arc. At half the Royals held a huge 48-13 lead. The dominance continued in the second half as the Royals were able to hold GTRA to only 22 points on the night. The Royals put up an impressive 75 points, and will move on in tournament play.
MMCRU Stats:
Emily Dreckman, SR
PTS 24 FG 8/13 3PT 4/6 FT 4/7
Kora Alesch, JR
PTS 18 FG 3/4 FT 12/13 AST 7
Taylor Harpenau, SR
PTS 10 FG 4/5 3PT 2/2
Ellie Hilbrands, SR
PTS 10 FG 4/9 FT 2/5 RBD 6