By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A matchup of two of the top girls basketball teams in Class 3A went the way of host Silver Lake Tuesday. The top-ranked Eagles knocked off fourth-ranked Rossville 65-52 in the final game before the holiday break.
Senior MaKenzie McDanield (10) scored a game-high 20 points as top-ranked Silver Lake stayed unbeaten with a 65-52 win over Rossville on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
A sluggish second quarter put the Bulldawgs behind by 11 and they were unable to make up the deficit.
“Rossville’s a great (challenge) for us for a number of reasons,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “First off, they are a super athletic team. They play incredibly hard, and they play in a way that is unique in terms of who we have faced so far. They are an up-tempo team. They do a great job of pressing using their length to disrupt you. You have to play with poise and not get caught up in the up-and-down game that they want to play.
“In the first quarter we fed into that a little bit, but we did a really good job, especially in the second quarter, of settling down and taking the shots we wanted to take in the half court. In the second and third quarter, you saw the lead extend because of that.”
Sophomore Kailyn Hanni drives to the basket in Tuesday's 65-52 Silver Lake win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Kaylee Deiter scored 13 points as Silver Lake improved to 5-0 with a 65-52 win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Twenty points from senior MaKenzie McDaniel – 13 of which came in the first half – led the Eagles, who also got 16 points from Kailyn Hanni and 13 from Kaylee Deiter.
“This was a game we’ve been anticipating for forever,” McDaniel said. “It’s always a high-energy, big game. We make a bucket list at the beginning of the season, and beating Rossville is always very important to us.
“It’s nice to go into break with this big win.”
Rylee Dick (12) scored 19 points for Rossville in Tuesday's 65-52 loss to Silver Lake. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Bulldawgs brought a 5-0 record to Silver Lake, but they dropped their first meeting with a Mid-East League opponent. Rossville was led in scoring by Rylee Dick with 19 and Nora Burdiek with 16.
Having finished in the top four in 3A the past two seasons, the Eagles have high aspirations to go with their No. 1 ranking.
Silver Lake improved to 5-0 with Tuesday’s victory, with three of those wins coming in the league. The Eagles had yet to really be challenged, so the win against a ranked opponent gives Porter something to gauge his team.
“I think we’re right where we need to be,” Porter said. “Every team is different. Every team is unique. Even though we bring back four or five quality players from last year’s team, it’s still a different collection of pieces that you have to put together. So we’re still feeling each other out and learning to play together.
“But right now, at this point in the season, we’re happy with where we’re at. We’re not satisfied. We’re a long way from where we want to be. But going into Christmas break, we feel pretty good about our basketball team.”
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 65, ROSSVILLE 52
Rossville 13 7 17 15 -- 52
Silver Lake 14 17 21 13 -- 65
Rossville (5-1, 0-1) – Perine 1-5 0-0 2, Mitchell 3-15 2-2 9, Porter 1-1 0-0 2, Dick 5-10 5-7 19, Spielman 0-3 0-0 0, Burdiek 6-16 3-8 16, Haehn 2-4 0-2 4, Horgan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-54 10-19 52.
Silver Lake (5-0, 3-0) – Hanni 6-10 4-6 16, Deiter 5-9 0-0 13, McDaniel 9-17 2-8 20, K. Kruger 2-4 0-0 5, M. Kruger 2-11 3-4 8, Bolan 0-4 0-0 0, Wehrli 1-4 0-0 3. Totals: 25-56 9-18 65.
3-point goals – Rossville 6 (Dick 4, Mitchell 1, Burdiek 1), Silver Lake 6 (Deiter 3, K. Kruger 1, M. Kruger 1, Wehrli 1). Total fouls – Rossville 13, Silver Lake 16. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
