Luverne gymnasts traveled to Marshall Thursday, Jan. 26, and beat the Tigers 127.575 to 120.700 in team competition.
The win puts Luverne at a record of 9-6 for the season and 5-1 in the conference.
In the all-around competition Luverne placed three gymnasts in the top four.
Sophomore Ella Reisdorfer placed second with a combined score of 34.375, and classmate Amira Cowell placed third with a 32.175.
Junior Sarah de Cesare placed fourth all-around with a 28.725 combined score.
 In the individual events results are as follows:
 
Uneven parallel bars:
8.825 – Ella Reisdorfer, first
8.275 – Amira Cowell, second
Other scores:
6.900 – Reagan Gangestad
6.800 – Addyson Mann
6.600 – Sarah de Cesare
 
Balance beam:
7.850 – Ella Reisdorfer, second
7.525 – Amira Cowell, third
7.450 – Reagan Gangestad, fourth
Other scores:
6.875 – Addyson Mann
6.700 – Sarah de Cesare
 
Floor:
8.900 – Ella Reisdorfer, second
8.050 – Addyson Mann, fourth
Other scores:
7.900 – Reagan Gangestad
7.750 – Amira Cowell
7.750 – Sarah de Cesare
 
Vault:
8.800 – Ella Reisdorfer, first
8.625 – Amira Cowell, second
8.550 – Hailey Como, third
8.500 – Kendra Thorson, fourth
Other scores:
7.675 - Sarah de Cesare
 
The Cardinals have three meets left before section competition. They were scheduled to travel to Fairmont Tuesday, Jan. 31, and they’ll host St. James Area Thursday, Feb. 2, and New Ulm Thursday, Feb. 7.
The 2023 Section 3A Tournament will be Saturday, Feb. 18, in Pipestone.

The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team played three conference games this past week, winning two and losing one. They also won one non-conference matchup.
The Patriots fell to the Dutchmen 67-49 in Edgerton Jan. 24, they beat MCC 59-47 at home Jan. 27, took down RCC 49-47 on the road Jan. 28, and beat Alcester-Hudson 74-33 Jan. 30.
The Patriots, now 8-11 for the season and 6-5 in Red Rock Conference play, were scheduled to travel to St. Mary Tuesday, Jan. 31, and they’ll host Southwest Christian Monday, Feb. 6.
 
Edgerton 67, H-BC 49
The H-BC girls’ basketball team fell to the Dutchmen 67-49 Tuesday, Jan. 24, on the road.
“Edgerton girls are a tough squad. They play great defense and crash boards like crazy,” said Patriots head coach Dylan Gehrke.
Defensively Edgerton grabbed 23 rebounds in the game and forced the Patriots to hurry their passes.
“We have to do a better job of valuing the basketball. What killed us in this game was the 16 first half turnovers. We had 20 total for the game,” Gehrke said.
“We also got into a little bit of foul trouble that didn't help. Both Olivia Deelstra and Lanae (Elbers) had three fouls in the first half.”
Edgerton built a good lead, closing the first half with a 26-15 lead.
“We cut it to four points in the second half after being down big in the first half, but then Edgerton hit a few shots from the perimeter that put the game away,” Gehrke said.
Eighth-grader Olivia Deelstra led the Patriots’ scoring with 16 points. She also grabbed four rebounds and four steals and finished with three fouls.
Junior Layla Deelstra added 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. 
Senior Lanae Elbers posted 10 points, seven big rebounds and one steal.
Other Patriot scorers were freshman Abbie Harris with six points, junior Brynn Rauk with four points and junior Larissa Steinhoff with one free throw.
 
H-BC 59, MCC 47
The Lady Pates basketball team hosted Murray County Central, beating the Rebels 59-47 Friday, Jan. 27.
“I thought our girls did a great job staying strong and handling a little adversity of being down at halftime,” Gehrke said.
 “We came out tough in the second half and finished the game off.”
Olivia Deelstra scored 24 of the Patriots’ 59 points. She also grabbed nine rebounds and six steals and posted two blocked shots and an assist.
Harris had eight points, six rebounds and one steal.
Freshman Claire Knobloch came off the bench to contribute seven points, one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot.
Elbers finished the night with six points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and five blocked shots.
Rauk added six points, seven rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot.
Three other Patriot players helped with scoring. 
Layla Deelstra had five points, Steinhoff had two, and Hadley Spath had one point.
“Our intensity on defense was a big contributor to why we came away with the W. I love to watch the girls fly around like they did,” Gehrke said. 
 
H-BC 49, RRC 47
H-BS girls’ basketball traveled to Red Rock Central and stole the game by two, 49-47, from the Falcons Saturday, Jan. 28.
“This was a pretty exciting game that came down to the wire,” Gehrke said.
H-BC started the first half building an 18-10 lead before RRC scored a couple of threes on a 16-6 run to end the half.
“I’m so proud of our girls’ fight and determination to win,” Gehrke said.
“We were down 40-29 in the second half with about 10 minutes left and ended up going on a 20-7 run to end the game.”
It came down to the final 6.3 seconds with the score tied 47-47, and a baseline out-of-bounds play under the Patriots’ basket. 
“We called timeout, and our coaching staff came up with a quick hitter lob to our post Lane Elbers,” Gehrke said. 
“The girls executed it to perfection. Layla Deelstra with her most important assist of the game, made a perfect lob pass to Elbers for a contested left-handed layup to put us up 49-47.”
RRC would inbound the ball but was not able to get a shot up as time ran out. 
Olivia Deelstra had a huge double-double for the Patriots with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocked shots.
Elbers posted 10 points, two coming from the game-winning layup, along with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
Layla Deelstra added four points, five assists including the game-winning pass to Elbers, and five steals.
Harris netted nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Rauk made five points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Steinhoff added two points of her own, two rebounds and three steals. 
“It was definitely a game I will not forget as a coach and the girls will not forget either,” Gehrke said.
“It’s always fun to come out on top of those kinds of games.”
 
H-BC 74, Alcester 33
H-BC hosted Alcester-Hudon beating them 74-33 Monday, Jan. 30
“In the first half we had troubles stopping Alcester- Hudson’s post, she had 21 in the first half and 33 total for the game,” Gehrke said.
“Our pressure in the second half helped us go on a run to pull away and win by double digits.”
Offensively the Patriots spread the ball around and many girls scoring in the game.
Rauk posted 22 big points for the Patriots.
Elbers added 19 points and Olivia Deelstram made 15.
Layla Deelstra netted 10 points for the night.
Harris and Bork added three points each and Wysong contributed 2 points.

The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team went 2-1 over the past week against two conference and one non-conference opponents.
The Patriots fell short against Westbrook Walnut Grove at home, losing 49-34 to the Chargers Jan. 26. 
H-BC defeated the Falcons in Lamberton Jan. 28, 53-43, and won against Alcester-Hudson 66-58 at home Jan. 30.
H-BC now stands at 6-8 overall with a 4-5 Red Rock Conference record. 
The Patriots were scheduled to host MCC Tuesday, Jan. 31, and Edgerton Friday, Feb. 3. They’ll travel to Luverne Tuesday, Feb. 7.
 
WWG 49, H-BC 34
The H-BC boys’ basketball team fell to the Westbrook Walnut Grove Chargers at home Thursday, Jan. 26, 49-34.
“We definitely played well enough defensively to win the game. WWG is a very good offensive team that we held to under 50 points,” head coach Kale Wiertzema said.
“They are also very disciplined defensively, making it difficult for us to score.”
Freshman Jamin Metzger led the Patriots with eight points, nine rebounds and one assist.
Senior Brock Harnack added five points, one rebound and two assists.
Junior Riley Tatge posted five points and two assists.
Senior Brayden Metzger netted four points, grabbed one rebound and blocked one shot.
Sophomores Beau Bakken and Cameron Allen contributed three points each. Allen also grabbed 10 rebounds and registered three steals and one assist. 
Bakken had seven rebounds and two steals.
Senior Josh Wiersma and freshmen EJ Wegener and Micah Bush added two points each in the game.
“I thought we got great looks on every possession but just need to get a little more confident and physical on the offensive end,” Wiertzema said.
 
H-BC 53, RRC 43
H-BC boys’ basketball team traveled to Lamberton Saturday, Jan. 28, and took down the Red Rock Central Falcons 53-43.
“This game was won by executing our game plan on the defensive end,” Wiertzema said.
“Our posts did a great job keeping their big guys off the block, and our guards did a nice job making their guards uncomfortable.”
The Patriots also did a nice job spreading the ball around and winning the game as a team.
“Our offense is doing a nice job working to get great shots; now we just need to convert,” Wiertzema said.
Jamin Metzger played a big role Saturday, netting 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking one shot and contributing two steals and three assists.
Bakken posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He also had two blocked shots and one steal.
Sophomore Sawyer Bosch produced nine points, three rebounds, one steal and one assist.
Harnack added seven points, two steals and two assists.
Brayden Metzger and Allen each contributed five points. 
Other Patriots who scored were Bush with three points and Tatge with two.
 
H-BC 66, Alcester 58
H-BC boys’ basketball team hosted Alcester-Hudson and prevailed 66-58. 
“We led the game the majority of the first half, taking a one-point lead into halftime,” Wiertzema said.
“Again, we had a great defensive effort except for one stretch in the second half where we allowed them to stretch their lead.”
The Patriots came out of half time with a 24-23 lead.
“We were down 12 points with four minutes left in the game and still down 10 with 1:45 remaining,” Wiertzema said.
 “After dialing up a little bit of pressure, our guys kept believing and were able to force overtime.”
H-BC and Alcester went into overtime tied at 58 points.
“In overtime, we were able to outscore Alcester-Hudson 8-0 in overtime,” Wiertzema said.
The Patriots finished the game on top, 66-58.
Jamin Metzger led the Patriots with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Metzger also had two blocked shots and three steals.
Bosch added 13 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Tatge registered 11 points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist.
Harnack netted 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and had one steal and one assist.
Bakken and Allen added seven points each.

The Luverne wrestling team traveled to Slayton Thursday, Jan. 26, to participate in a Quadrangular.
The Cardinals lost 33-24 to Fulda-MCC and 59-22 to Tracy-Milroy-Westbrook-Walnut Grove, but they finished the night with a 48-30 win over Springfield.
Luverne is now 6-10 for the season with four events left before section competition.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Luverne was scheduled to host a Quad with Beresford, Elk Point-Jefferson and Garretson.
The Cardinals will travel to Viborg Hurley Tuesday, Feb. 7, for a Triangular before hosting a Quad with Chester, Red Rock Central and Wabasso Thursday, Feb. 9. Luverne finishes the regular season schedule at Fulda-MCC for a Triangular Friday, Feb. 10.
 
Fulda MCC 33, LHS 24
In Thursday’s first dual of the quadrangular in Slayton, Luverne won six and lost six weight classes, and both teams forfeited two weight classes.
The breakdown is as follows:
 
106 – Kaston Clarke (F) over Brody Kopp (L) by fall.
113 – Bernie Rock (L) over Brayden Gilb (F) 10-6 dec.
120 – Teague Meyer (F) over Matthew Gangestad (L) 10-5 dec.
126 – Leif Ingebretsen (L) over Torrin Clarke (F) 5-0 dec.
132 – Denver Ash (F) over Hudson Hough (L) fall.
138 – forfeit.
145 – Quinten Lewis (F) over Cameron McCrary (L) fall.
152 – forfeit.
160 – DJ Rock (L) over Owen Olsem (F) fall.
170 – Luke Iverson (F) over Cash Bonnett (L) fall.
182 – Sam Rock (L) over Carson Klein 9-2 dec.
195 – Jacob Madison (L) over Weston Kruger (F) fall.
220 – Colby Kesteloot (F) over Kane Akkerman (L) fall.
285 – Masyn Akkerman (L) over Rylan Klein (F) 3-0 dec.
 
 
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-WWG 59, LHS 22
In the second dual Luverne won four weight classes, and lost six. The Cardinals forfeited four weight classes. The breakdown is as follows:
 
106 – Logan Peterson  (TMBWWG) over Brody Kopp (L) by fall.
113 – Bernie Rock (L) over Ty Yackley (TMBWWG) fall.
120 –Matthew Gangestad (L) over Troy Gillette (TMBWWG) fall.
126 – Devin Carter (TMBWWG) over Leif Ingebretsen (L) fall.
132 – David Schuh (TMBWWG) over Hudson Hough (L) fall.
138 – Damian Alatriste (TMBWWG) over Cameron McCrary (L) 22-6 TF.
145 – Alexander Schuh (TMBWWG) win by forfeit.
152 – Jacob Meyer (TMBWWG) win by forfeit.
160 – DJ Rock (L) over Ashton Squires (TMBWWG) fall.
170 – Sam Rock (L) over Gage Struchen (TMBWWG) 16-4 MD.
182 – Isaiah Woiske (TMBWWG) over Jacob Madison (L) fall.
195 – Bryce Edwards (TMBWWG) win by forfeit.
220 – Ethan Martinez (TMBWWG) 
win by forfeit.
285 – Nick Willhite (TMBWWG) over Masyn Akkerman (L) fall.
 
LHS 48, Springfield 30
In the final dual Luverne won eight matches, four by forfeit, and gave up six matches, two by forfeit.
Match breakdown is as follows:
 
106 – Nathan Groebner (S) win by forfeit.
113 – Bernie Rock (L) win by forfeit.
120 – Wyatt Schmidt (S) over Matthew Gangestad (L) fall.
126 – Leif Ingebretsen (L) win by forfeit.
132 – Uriel Hernandez (L) over Colin Hanson (S) fall.
138 – Hudson Hough (L) win by forfeit.
145 –Cameron McCrary (L) over Dominick Reints (S) fall.
152 – Paytin Johnson (S) win by forfeit.
160 – DJ Rock (L) over Ashtin Johnson (S) fall.
170 – Sam Rock (L) win by forfeit.
182 – Damian Honeman (S) over Cash Bonnett (L) fall.
195 – Sam Rummel (S) over Jacob Madison (L) 4-1 dec.
220 – Dominick Senst (S) over Kane Akkerman (L) 10-7 dec.
285 – Masyn Akkerman (L) win by forfeit.

The Luverne boys’ basketball team posted two big conference wins this past week with a 62-59 victory over Pipestone Jan. 24 and a 72-48 road win over Redwood Valley Jan. 27
The Cardinals are now 7-7 for the season and 5-3 in the conference.
LHS was scheduled to travel to Martin County West Tuesday, Jan. 31, and they’ll play conference games with Fairmont Thursday, Feb. 2, in Fairmont and St. James Friday, Feb. 3, at home.
 
LHS 62, Pipestone 59
The Luverne boys’ basketball team pulled out a three-point win over Pipestone Tuesday, Jan. 24, holding off an Arrows second-half drive for a 62-59 final score in Luverne.
“Pipestone is one of the best teams in our section, and hopefully this can show our kids that they have the ability to beat anyone in our section,” head coach John Sichmeller said.
In the first half Luverne started strong, controlling the tempo and Pipestone’s ability to score.
The Arrows picked up their game late in the half to pull within six points at the half, 29-23. 
In the second period Luverne held the lead to the end with Pipestone tying the game at one point late in the game.
“Gannon hit a lot of big shots for us,” Sichmeller said.
“He fought through an injury and did an excellent job rebounding and playing defense on one of their best players.”
Luverne took advantage of late game fouls against Pipestone to pull off a three-point win.
Senior Gannon Ahrendt led the Cardinals with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore Carter Sehr played a solid game, scoring 14 points and five assists.
Junior Gavin DeBeer pounded out 12 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore Landon Ahrendt came off the bench adding seven points, four rebounds and an assist.
Senior Riley Sneller posted four points, three rebounds, one assist and two steals.
Senior Marcus Feit did not score but helped out with three rebounds, four assists and three steals. 
 
LHS 72, Redwood 48
 The Luverne boys’ basketball team traveled to Redwood Valley Friday, Jan. 27, for some Cardinal-on-Cardinal action that ended with Luverne on top of the 72-48 final score.
“We had a really nice end to the first half,” Sichmeller said. “I was proud of how we built on that lead in the second half and we didn’t allow them back into the game.” 
Luverne led the score going into the half 39-27 and didn’t look back.
In the second half LHS kept up the pressure on both ends of the court and came away with a nice conference win.
“Gavin DeBeer worked really hard in the post and had an awesome game for us,” Sichmeller said.
DeBeer posted a double-double in the game, making 26 points and hauling in 12 rebounds.
“Gannon only had one basket in the second half, but it was good to see him get his teammates involved,” Sichmeller said.
He posted a double-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and one blocked shot.
Sehr added 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and three steals.
Feit produced nine points, one rebound, two assists and three steals.
Other Luverne players scoring in the game were Woodley with seven, Landon Ahrendt with six and Sneller with two points.
“It was nice to see some other guys chip in some points tonight, and it was a good overall team win,” Sichmeller said.

The Luverne boys’ hockey team took on three conference teams this past week, winning two and dropping one, putting LHS at 11-6-1 for the season and 7-3 in conference play.
The Cardinals pounded Worthington 11-2 at home Jan. 24 before losing a close 3-1 game to New Ulm Jan. 26 at home. Luverne won a close match with Windom 6-5 at home Jan. 28.
The Cardinals were scheduled to host Redwood Valley Tuesday, Jan. 31, before meeting Marshall at home on Thursday and traveling to Morris Benson Area Saturday.
 
LHS 11, Worthington 2
The Cardinal boys’ hockey team blasted the Worthington Trojans 11-2 Tuesday, Jan. 24, in the Blue Mound Ice Arena.
The contest may have been one-sided in scoring, but the play was physical and penalties were heavy for both teams.
Luverne incurred six infractions for 15 minutes with players in the box, and Worthington committed seven infractions for 14 minutes.
Besides all the hooking, slashing and roughing action, the Cardinals controlled the game.
Freshman Maddux Domagala scored the first LHS goal at 1:44 in the first period assisted by senior Brock Behrend and junior Owen Sudenga.
Junior Patrick Kroski then scored two goals in a row, the first at 2:53 assisted by senior Kaleb Hein and the second at 3:31 assisted by seniors Brady Bork and Ethan Langseth.
At 6:81 Elliot Domagala beat the Trojan goalie. He was assisted by junior Will Serie and Kroski.
Brady Bork finished out the first with a goal at 15:47 assisted by sophomore Alexander Schlosser.
The Cardinals led 5-0 after the first period.
In the second period the Trojans scored their first of two goals at 1:28, then posted their second goal at 12:24 in the second period. 
In between those goals, Sudenga scored at 4:46 assisted by sophomore Blaik Bork, and Behrend scored at 7:48 assisted by Sudenga and Blaik Bork.
At the end of the second period, Luverne kept the lead 7-2 and did not relinquish another goal to the Trojans.
In the third period the game belonged to Luverne once again, scoring four more goals.
Sophomore Levi Gonnerman scored at 5:25 assisted by Schlosser and junior Tucker Dammann.
Junior Spencer Kracht scored at 7:40 assisted by Hein.
Brady Bork got his second goal at 9:07 assisted by Kroski and Langseth, and Behrend got his second goal at 16:00 assisted by Sudenga.
LHS junior goalie Tyler Arends faced 11 shots on goal, stopping seven.
Luverne pelted the Trojans’ goalie 55 times and beat him on 11 shots.
 
New Ulm 3, LHS 1
Luverne boys’ hockey gave up a win to the New Ulm Eagles Thursday, Jan. 26, in Luverne.
In a tight matchup Luverne and New Ulm each scored once in the first period, and New Ulm scored two in the first three minutes of the second.
That is where the scoring dried up with neither team able to breach the net. 
The Cardinals hurt their chances of scoring when they incurred a penalty in the second period and two more late in the third period.
Luverne wasn’t able to mount any kind of late game push to overtake the New Ulm 3-1 lead.
Scoring the lone goal for Luverne was Sudenga in the first period at 1:44 assisted by Maddux Domagala and Langseth.
 
LHS 6, Windom 5
The Cardinal boys’ hockey team pulled out a big win over Windom Saturday, Jan. 28, in Luverne.
LHS got out to a quick lead, 4-0, in the first period with an unassisted goal at 2:44 by Brady Bork.
Kroski scored his lone goal at 12:53 assisted by Elliot Domagala.
Sudenga added two goals in the first period. His first at 13:33 was assisted by Blaik and Brady Bork. His second was at 16:47, assisted by Behrend and Langseth.
The second period was all Windom with three goals.
Luverne kept a 4-3 advantage after two periods.
In the third period Windom opened with an early goal to tie the game 4-4. Luverne answered with a goal at 6:46 by Elliot Domagala assisted by Kroski and Langseth.
The Eagles tied it again at 5-5 at 7:13 in the third. 
Luverne stiffened its defensive play, holding the Eagles in check.
At 11:20 in the third period Kroski was finally able to beat Windom’s goalie at 11:20 assisted by Brady and Blaik Bork for the Cardinals win.

The Luverne girls’ basketball team won two conference games and one non-conference, and they lost to South Dakota No. 2-ranked Vermillion by one point this past week.
LHS beat the Arrows 45-42 in Pipestone Jan. 24 and Redwood Valley 56-21 in Redwood Falls Jan. 27 before losing a 32-31 heartbreaker to Vermillion at Augustana University on Jan. 28.
On Monday, the Cardinals handily beat Mountain Lake 62-31 at home, putting their season record at 14-3.
The Cardinals are scheduled to host Fairmont Thursday, Feb. 2, and St. James Area Friday, Feb. 3.
 
LHS 45, Pipestone 42
Luverne girls’ basketball team handed the Arrows a 45-42 conference loss in Pipestone Tuesday, Jan. 24.
“It was reminiscent of an old school southwest conference battle between two evenly matched teams,” head coach TJ Newgard said. 
“Both teams played really good defense throughout the game and made the other team work for everything they got.”
And it did take teamwork to beat Pipestone by three points.
“I thought Christina Wagner was the difference maker with her ability to stretch the defense and knock down four threes,” Newgard said.
Senior Christina Wagner led the Cardinals in scoring with 14 points. She also contributed seven rebounds and three steals.
Her twin sister, senior Elizabeth Wagner added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Junior Kira John contributed eight points, 10 rebounds, one assist and three steals.
Other Cardinals helping the score were senior Averill Sehr with five points, senior Emma Beyer and junior Tori Serie both netted three points. Senior Jocelyn Hart added two points.
 
LHS 56, Redwood 21
The Cardinal girls traveled to Redwood Valley Friday, Jan. 27 to take down the Red Wood Cardinals 56-21 in a conference matchup.
“It's always tough to make that long trip and then play the first game of a double header,” Newgard said.
Luverne handled the task well by opening up a 28-6 halftime lead.
“A lot of girls were able to get some time and they all brought something positive to the table,” Newgard said.
Luverne had nine of 13 players score in the game, and the four who didn’t score contributed valuable rebounds and assists.
Elizabeth Wagner posted 21 total points, eight rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.
Christina Wagner added nine points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one blocked shot.
Junior Sarah Stegenga sank one three-pointer and two inside the paint for seven points.
Junior Kiesli Smith  came off the bench to add five points, three rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
Sehr and  Jayden Hart both added four points each.
Serie netted three points, Jocelyn Hart added two and Kira John one point. 
 
Vermillion 32, LHS 31
LHS girls’ basketball traveled to Augustana University to take on Vermillion Saturday, Jan. 28.
Luverne lost by one, 32-31, in a final minute push by the Tanagers.
“We knew we were in for a serious challenge playing the No. 2-ranked team in South Dakota. They came into the game undefeated for a reason,” Newgard said.
“They have a ton of height and a really phenomenal seventh-grade guard. It was a battle throughout.”
He said both teams had trouble mounting offensive runs. 
“I was really proud of our defensive effort outside of a couple key possessions where we lost shooters and they were able to make us pay,” Newgard said.  
The Cardinals were down six in the third quarter but were able to put together a 9-0 run in the fourth to take a three-point lead with two minutes left. 
Vermillion then hit back-to-back threes to take the lead for good.  
“This was a game that I think we could have and should have won, but they just made one more play than we did,” Newgard said.  
“We will try to learn from it and take those lessons with us as we near postseason play.”
Elizabeth Wagner played hard and posted a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also had one assist, three steals and one blocked shot.
Sehr posted seven points, four rebound, two assists and one steal.
Christina Wagner added five points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and four blocked shots.
John contributed four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Emma Beyer made three points, one rebound, two assists and one steal.
 
LHS 62, Mt. Lake 31
LHS girls’ basketball team hosted Mountain Lake Monday, Jan. 30, beating the Cubs 62-31.
“It was a very sluggish performance by us. We continued to struggle with offensive execution,” Newgard said.
“Our defense was superb, holding them to one two-point shot made.” 
The Cubs made one of 13 shots inside the paint and the Cardinals made 16 of 28 inside.
Luverne was able to spread the shots around, keeping Mountain Lake players on their heels.
Elizabeth Wagner posted 15 points, nine rebounds, one assist and three steals.
“Sarah got back to doing what she does best, that is knocking down perimeter shots for us,” Newgard said.
Stegenga made three 3-point shots and one inside for 11 points. She also had three rebounds.
“Kira was aggressive and played well,” Newgard said
John made nine points, grabbed five rebounds, had three assists and two steals.
“Averill (Sehr) played a really nice game for us on both ends of the floor,” Newgard said.
Sehr netted seven points and had four assists and five steals.
Other Cardinals scoring were Hansen and Serie with six points, Bloemendaal and Beyer with three, and Christina Wagner with two points.

The Luverne girls’ hockey team faced two conference opponents and one non-conference team this past week, winning two and giving up one.
The Cardinals beat Worthington handily 11-0 at home Jan. 24 before taking down the Tigers 4-2 in Marshall on Jan. 26.
The Cardinals then hosted a worthy foe on Jan. 28 when Breck beat the home team 3-0.
The Luverne girls are now 16-6 for the season and 11-0 in the conference.
The Cardinals will travel to Windom Thursday, Feb. 2, and to Waseca Saturday, Feb. 4, before wrapping up the regular season at home against Fairmont Tuesday, Feb. 7.
 
LHS 11, Worthington 0
The LHS girls’ hockey team blanked Worthington at home 11-0 on Tuesday, Jan. 24, when the Trojans were unable to keep up with the Cardinals’ experience and up-tempo game play.
“The girls had good energy and pep from the start,” said head coach Tony Sandbulte.
Sophomore Payton Behr was on fire, recording a hat trick in the first period when senior Kamryn Van Batavia also added two goals.
Behr scored her first at 0:37 in the game assisted by Kamryn Van Batavia and her seventh-grade sister, Ellie Van Batavia.
Behr scored again at 3:37 assisted by Kamryn Van Batavia.
Her third hat trick goal came at 9:16 assisted by Kamryn and Ellie once again.
Kamryn Van Batavia scored her first goal at 2:20 assisted by freshman Ella Apel and her second at 9:51 assisted by her younger sister Ellie.
The Cardinals ended the first period 5-0.
In the second period senior Mallory Nelson kept the drive alive, scoring at 6:24 assisted by eighth-graders Rylee Kurtz and Tenley Behr.
Kamryn Van Batavia scored her third goal at 8:43 assisted by eighth-grader Macie Edstrom and Ellie Van Batavia.
Minutes later Kamryn Van Batavia scored yet again at 9:14 assisted by sister Ellie.
Freshman Greta McClure finished the period scoring at 11:01 assisted by Tenley Behr and freshman Paula Martinez.
Luverne ended the second period ahead by nine.
The third period saw two more goals from Luverne, one at 4:01 by eighth-grader Izzy Steensma assisted by Kamryn Van Batavia and Kurtz and the other at 14:45 by Kamryn Van Batavia, her fifth in the game, assisted by Ellie and Kurtz.
Senior Mallory Von Tersch knocked away the seven shots on goal from Worthington to record her seventh shut-out.
The Cardinals registered 37 shots on goal in the game. 
Worthington’s senior goalie Lilyana Newman had a hard time contending with Luverne’s attraction to the Trojans’ goal, but she kept in the game, stopping 26 shots.
 
LHS 4, Marshall 2
The LHS girls’ hockey team prevailed over Marshall Thursday, Jan. 26, in Marshall, beating the Tigers 4-2.
Marshall started the first period scoring at 0:53, a quick score that lasted until 6:05 when Luverne’s Kamryn Van Batavia scored assisted by Mallory Nelson.
The Tigers finished the first period with one more goal to take the lead 2-1.
The second period lone goal was from Kamryn Van Batavia who scored on a power play at 15:13 assisted by Edstrom and Apel.
In the third period the Cardinals netted two more goals to lock the game win at 4-2.
Tenley Behr scored at 1:55 assisted by McClure, and Steensma and Edstrom beat the Marshall goalie at 14:44 assisted by the Van Batavia sisters.
Luverne took 38 shots on goal for the game compared to Marshall’s 23 attempts.
 
Breck 3, LHS 0
Luverne hosted the Breck Mustangs from Golden Valley Saturday, Jan. 28.
Breck made the long trip worthwhile, upending the Cardinals 3-0 with a late push in the third period.
In the first two periods Luverne and Breck went up and down the ice testing each other’s game play. 
Luverne took 26 shots at the Mustang goalie in the game to no avail. Breck shot 29 times, beating Mallory Von Tersch three times.
In the third period the Mustangs finally broke the ice, scoring at 8:54 on a power play.
Sensing that Luverne needed to made a move, the Cardinals pulled their goalie with about two minutes left in the game to gain an attacker.
The plan was working until Breck was able to push an opposite ice shot into Luverne’s empty net at 15:27.
Luverne put Von Tersch back in the net after going down 2-0 to finish the game.
Breck was able to score one more time with 29 seconds left in the game, making a heartbreaker shot that caught Luverne by surprise and cemented the Mustangs’ 3-0 win.