By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth girls’ basketball team put together its second four-game winning streak of the season after posting a pair of victories since Friday.
Ellsworth nipped Minneota by five points in a Camden Conference clash played in Ellsworth Friday. The Panthers beat Southwest Star Concept by 12 points in Okabena Monday.
Ellsworth, 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the conference, hosts Lincoln HI Friday and plays in Cottonwood Tuesday.
Ellsworth 60, SSC 48
The Panthers extended their streak to four straight wins by besting the Quasars by 12 points in Okabena Monday.
Jenna Groen led the way by scoring 30 points and sophomores Laurel Drenth, Marla Groen, Brittney Kramer and Amy Timmer scored a combined 29 points for an EHS squad that led at every quarter break.
"I was very proud of the all-around play of the Panthers," said EHS coach Dean Schnaible. "It was a great team victory. Jenna Groen was very difficult to stop, and the sophomores scored from the inside and the perimeter."
Groen, who had five assists and three deflections in the game, scored 20 points in the first half to help the Panthers take 20-14 and 35-32 leads at the first two quarter breaks.
The Panthers led 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter, when Groen scored seven points to lead a 15-8 scoring cushion that gave EHS a 12-point win.
Box score
M.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, Jenniges 0 0 0-0 0, Drenth 3 0 0-0 6,, J.Leuthold 0 0 1-2 1, M.Groen 3 0 0-0 6, J.Groen 8 1 11-16 30, Kramer 3 0 0-0 6, Timmer 4 0 3-6 11.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 22 of 44 field goals (50 percent), 15 of 24 free throws (63 percent), 26 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
SSC: 17 of 35 field goals (49 percent), 14 of 21 free throws (67 percent), 24 rebounds, 13 turnovers.
Ellsworth 57,
Minneota 52
The Panthers turned in a complete performance while upending the Vikings by five points in Ellsworth Friday.
Ellsworth opened a five-point lead in the first quarter and never trailed in the game before winning by five points in the end.
"We’ve been playing really good basketball, and this was the best game we played all year," said Panther coach Schnaible.
"We took good care of the ball, and converted some pressure free throws down the stretch. It was a great team effort. All of the girls who played were on the same page."
Ellsworth led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter before sporting a 25-17 lead at the intermission. Minneota trimmed the difference to five points (36-31) in the third quarter, but the Vikings couldn’t catch an Ellsworth team that drained nine of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Jenna Groen scored 24 points and passed for three assists in the game for EHS. Drenth, who had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, blocked three shots and registered four deflections for the winners. Timmer added 10 points to the cause, while Missy Leuthold had three blocked shots, two steals and two assists.
Box score
M.Leuthold 2 0 0-0 4, Jenniges 0 0 2-2 2, Drenth 6 0 3-5 15, J.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, M.Groen 1 0 0-0 2, J.Groen 7 2 4-6 24, Kramer 0 0 0-0 0, Timmer 4 0 2-2 10.
Team statistics
Ellsworth: 22 of 49 field goals (45 percent), 11 of 15 free throws (73 percent), 25 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Minneota: 23 of 50 field goals (46 percent), five of 13 free throws (38 percent), 29 rebounds, 11 turnovers.