DL-B Lakers edge out HWC in debut, 36-35

The Harvey-Wells County Hornets girls basketball team opened up the 2022-23 season with three solid quarters of play, but it was the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers that scored the last eight points of the game and walked away with a 36-35 win over HWC on Tuesday, November 30 in Des Lacs.

The Hornets and Lakers played an extremely close game from the start. The Lakers used two three-pointers from Logen Ystaas and one from Kaylee Werner, and the Hornets got five points from Emma Dockter and four more from Rachel Neumiller as the game was tied at nine after eight minutes. Paige Berard knocked down DL-B's fourth three of the game to start the second, but Larissa Arnold matched that for HWC with a three of her own. Dockter went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the quarter, as HWC took a 20-19 lead into halftime.

DL-B quietly built a three-point lead in the third as Ystaas knocked down her third trey of the night for a Laker 26-23 lead. The Hornets only managed a free throw in the first five-plus minutes of the quarter, but ended with a flurry with Dockter making two more free throws and adding her second three of the game and Neumiller adding a transition bucket to give the Hornets a 30-27 lead after three.

The Hornets appeared to be pulling away in the fourth, as a basket from Ella Monge and a three from Neumiller opened the HWC lead to 35-28 with 3:20 to play. The Lakers, who only managed a free-throw to that point, left their scoring for the end of the quarter. Berard and Amsden hit field goals and Werner made four straight free-throws, with the final two giving DL-B the lead at 36-35. The Hornets had their chances late as a lane violation on and turnover gave HWC the ball back but no scoring resulted as the Lakers held on for the one-point victory.

DL-B was led in scoring by Ystaas with 13 and Werner with 10, while HWC got a game-high scoring effort from Dockter with 16, with Neumiller chipping in with 10 more.