Luverne junior post Danielle Loosbrock (45) forces Lennox guard Katie Letsche to pass the ball during Thursday’s girls’ basketball game in Luverne. Lennox handed the Cardinals their third straight setback.
By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ basketball team went 1-2 while playing three games in a six-day span.
The Cardinals lost home games to South Dakota opponents Lennox and Madison by 15 points Thursday and Tuesday respectively. LHS posted their third win of the year by four points in St. James Saturday.
Luverne, 3-9 overall, plays in Marshall Friday before hosting Edgerton Monday.
Madison 52,
Luverne 37
The Cardinals were unable to win back-to-back games when they entertained Madison Tuesday.
Luverne played hard the entire game, but poor shooting from the field (22 percent) proved to be too much for the hosts to overcome.
"As far as working and doing the right things, it was a pretty good ballgame for us," said Cardinal coach Jason Phelps. "The kids worked like they were crazy. They were very intense. We just had a couple of bad quarters, and we were not able to overcome them."
Madison doubled Luverne’s scoring output (10-5) in the first quarter before the Cards trimmed the difference to one point (19-18) by halftime with a 13-9 scoring advantage in the second period. Madison went on a 15-4 scoring run in the third quarter to open a 34-22 lead that swelled to 15 points at game’s end.
Maggie Kuhlman scored 13 points, produced three steals and passed for two assists for the Cards. Rachel Tofteland netted 10 points for LHS. Serena Franken collected five rebounds.
Box score
Williams 0 1 0-0 3, Kuhlman 0 4 1-2 13, Boomgaarden 1 0 0-4 2, Tofteland 2 0 6-7 10, Klosterbuer 1 0 0-0 2, Franken 2 0 0-0 4, Loosbrock 1 0 1-4 3, Stewart 0 0 0-0 0, Wynia 0 0 0-0 0.
Team statistics
Luverne: 12 of 54 field goals (22 percent), eight of 17 free throws (47 percent), 22 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
Luverne 47, SJ 43
The Cardinals snapped a three-game losing skid when they upended the Saints by four points in St. James Saturday.
LHS guard Kuhlman was able to shoot some holes in the Saints’ zone defense by canning five three-point shots during a 21-point performance. Luverne also protected the ball well as it turned the sphere over a season-low 11 times.
"They played a zone the entire game, and Maggie shot well by making five of 10 three-point shots," said Cardinal coach Phelps. "We also did a nice job of playing smart basketball, especially in the fourth quarter. We didn’t turn the ball over in the fourth quarter."
The Cards didn’t enjoy a great start to the game as SJ led 11-3 in the first quarter before Kuhlman drained a three near period’s end to make it 11-6.
Another three by Kuhlman late in the second quarter allowed LHS to climb to within three points (26-23) of the Saints at the intermission, and she made two more threes when Luverne gained a 35-32 lead in the third period. The difference was padded by one point when the fourth quarter was complete.
Kuhlman had six assists and five steals in the game. Franken charted five steals and five rebounds.
Box score
Williams 1 0 3-3 5, Kuhlman 2 5 2-4 21, Boomgaarden 2 0 2-4 6, Tofteland 1 0 4-9 6, Klosterbuer 0 0 0-0 0, Franken 1 0 0-2 2, Stewart 0 0 0-0 0, Wynia 1 0 2-5 4, Loosbrock 1 0 1-2 3.
Team statistics
Luverne: 14 of 41 field goals (34 percent), 14 of 28 free throws (50 percent), 21 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Lennox 54, Luverne 39
The Cardinals dropped their third straight contest when they entertained Lennox, S.D., Thursday in Luverne.
Luverne played well enough to sport a one-point lead after eight minutes of play, but the Ladybirds outscored the Cards 43-27 in the final three periods to prevail by 15.
Lennox used a 5-0 run in the first quarter to take a 7-2 lead early before LHS countered with a 10-7 surge capped by a field goal from Franken with 1:05 remaining to take what would be the team’s biggest lead in the game at 12-9.
Lennox scored the final two points of the first quarter to make it a 12-11 difference heading into the second quarter.
After the teams exchanged baskets early in the second quarter, the Ladybirds put together a 12-0 run to open a 25-14 lead.
Luverne played its way into the game by mounting a 6-2 surge capped by Danielle Loosbrock’s free throw with 31 seconds remaining in the first half to make it a 27-20 game at the intermission.
Lennox expanded its lead to 13 points (33-20) by scoring the first six points of the third quarter. Luverne trimmed the difference to nine (37-28) when Rachel Tofteland scored off an offensive rebound at the 3:59 mark of the stanza, but the Ladybirds outscored the Cards 4-1 to end the quarter and take a 41-29 advantage into the fourth period.
Luverne pulled to within 10 points (43-33) with a field goal by Loosbrock with 4:39 left to play. That proved to be as close as the Cards would come to catching the Ladybirds, who outscored the hosts 13-10 in the fourth quarter to win by 15.
Franken recorded a double-double for the Cards by scoring 12 points and nabbing 10 rebounds. Tofteland led LHS with four steals, and Kuhlman charted a team-high four assists.
Box score
Williams 1 0 0-0 2, Kuhlman 1 1 1-4 6, Boomgaarden 1 0 0-1 2, Tofteland 3 1 0-0 9, Klosterbuer 0 0 0-0 0, Franken 5 0 2-5 12, Stewart 1 0 1-3 3, Wynia 1 0 0-0 2, Loosbrock 1 0 1-2 3.
Team statistics
Luverne: 13 of 53 field goals (25 percent), five of 18 free throws (28 percent), 21 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
Lennox: 23 of 52 field goals (44 percent), five of 12 free throws (42 percent), 33 rebounds, 17 turnovers.