By John RittenhouseThe Adrian girls began defending their 2002-03 Red Rock Conference basketball championship by playing a league game to open the season in Slayton Tuesday.The Dragons took on Murray County Central to kick off the campaign, and the opener proved to be positive as AHS recorded a 49-36 victory."It was a win," said Dragon coach Randy Strand, who witnessed his team outscore the Rebels in every quarter of the contest."We’ve got a lot of things to work on, but I’ll take 27 more just like this one. We played all right for being the first time out."The Dragons sported a 12-11 edge after eight minutes of play before opening a 24-16 halftime advantage by outscoring MCC 12-5 in the second quarter.Adrian senior center Maria Gengler, who scored 21 points and collected six rebounds in the game, took control of the contest in the second half.Gengler scored eight of her team’s 12 points in a third quarter that ended with the Dragons sporting a nine-point lead (36-27).Gengler netted six points in the fourth quarter to help the Dragons outscore the Rebels 13-9 and win the game by 13 points.Kylie Heronimus led the Dragons with eight assists in the game. Andrea Lonneman collected eight rebounds, while Sarah Kruger charted six assists.The 1-0 Dragons host Hills-Beaver Creek Friday.Box scoreHenning 2 0 0-0 4, Heronimus 4 0 0-1 8, Kruger 1 0 3-4 5, Cox 2 0 0-0 4, Lonneman 3 0 1-2 7, Gengler 9 0 3-3 21.Team statisticsAdrian: 21 of 48 field goals (44 percent), seven of 10 free throws (70 percent), 23 rebounds, 19 turnovers.MCC: 14 of 57 field goals (25 percent), eight of 14 free throws (57 percent), 20 rebounds, 19 turnovers.
