The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots girls’ basketball team expected to have a special season in 2021 with a strong core of players returning. Those expectations are being met early, as the Patriot girls have opened the season with a perfect 3-0 start.
H-BC 78, Edgerton 47
The Patriots opened the season on Tuesday, Jan. 19, with a convincing 78-47 victory at home against Edgerton.
Junior guard Kenadie Fick scored 14 of the first 16 points for the Patriots. Fick scored 12 straight points for the Patriots to help them build a 16-8 lead.
At the half the Patriots led Edgerton 39-18. Fick finished the first half with 14 points and five steals. Taryn Rauk scored 11 points.
The Patriots outscored Edgerton 29-18 in the second half en route to a 78-47 victory to open the season.
Rauk finished the game with 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
Fick finished with 20 points, six steals, and five assists.
Layla Deelstra scored 11 points and recorded four steals.
H-BC 71, WWG 38
The Patriots picked up their second win of the season on Thursday, Jan. 21, with a 71-38 road victory over Westbrook-Walnut Grove.
The Patriots took a 33-21 lead into the locker room. In the second half the Patriots outscored the Chargers 38-17 to pick up the 71-38 victory.
Rauk finished the game with a team-leading 29 points and five steals.
Abby Knobloch scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and blocked three shots.
Deelstra scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded three steals.
H-BC 57, SWC 53
It was a battle of Red Rock Conference powerhouses in Hills on Monday, Jan. 25, when the Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles squared off against Hills-Beaver Creek.
The Eagles ended H-BC’s season the last four years in the section tournament. On Monday the Patriots exacted a little revenge with a tightly contested 57-53 victory.
The Eagles opened the scoring by knocking down a three-pointer to take a 3-0 lead. Rauk got the Patriots on the board with a layup to make it a 3-2 game.
SWC knocked down another three-pointer to open up a 6-2 lead.
With the Patriots trailing 8-4, Deelstra knocked down a three-pointer to make it an 8-7 game.
An Allie LaRock bucket at the 11:54 mark put the Patriots up for the first time at 9-8.
With the Patriots leading 20-19, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take a 25-21 lead.
The Eagles took a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
Rauk opened the scoring in the second half to make it a 29-27 ballgame.
Following Rauk’s basket, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take the largest lead of the game at 35-27.
With the Patriots trailing 35-29 H-BC senior Annie Bos helped turn the tide.
Bos recorded a steal and took it coast-to-coast to make it a 35-29 lead.
On the next possession, Bos recorded another steal and took it full court again to trim the lead to 35-33.
A Rauk three-point play trimmed the Eagles’ lead to 37-36.
A pair of Knobloch free throws gave H-BC their first lead in the second half at 41-40 with 6:19 left in the game.
A Rauk layup gave the Patriots a 45-44 lead with 4:50 left in the game. The Eagles quickly answered back to take a 46-45 lead.
With the Patriots trailing 48-47, Deelstra knocked down a corner three-pointer out of a timeout to put H-BC up 50-48 with 1:50 left in the game.
The Deelstra three-pointer proved to be the dagger, as the Patriots held on to win 57-53 to improve to 3-0.
Rauk finished the game with 16 points. Deelstra scored 10 points.
Knobloch finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Patriots will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 4, when they host Mountain Lake Area.