Calls From Home: Hamling pulls out of offensive slump for NDSU

Feb. 3—Heaven Hamling (Grand Rapids) busted out of an offensive drought in fine fashion for North Dakota State women's basketball.

The senior had gone 3-for-25 from the field in the Bison's two previous games, but when NDSU returned to the state to face rival North Dakota in Grand Forks on Jan. 28, Hamling went off for 28 points, including four 3-pointers, equaling her second-best total of the season.

Hamling repeated the feat on Thursday night against South Dakota, scoring another 28 points in the Bison's 86-82 overtime win in Fargo. Hamling was 11-for-24 from the field and made four 3-pointers. She also pulled down eight rebounds and four steals to lead her team in both categories.

Hamling is averaging 16.4 points per game, leading NDSU in both scoring and assists (3.6) and is second on the team in rebounds (5.4 per game). NDSU is 14-7 overall, second in the Summit League, and has yet to lose a home game this year.

* Gianna Kneepkens (Duluth Marshall) keeps getting buckets for Utah. The sophomore has started every game for the No. 7-ranked Utes this season and recorded her first double-double on Jan. 22 when she was 8-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-5 from 3 to score 20 points and add 10 rebounds in a big 87-62 win over California in Berkeley.

Kneepkens is averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and leads the team in 3-point field-goal percentage at 45.5% with a team-best 45 makes on 99 attempts.

The Utes are 18-2 on the season going into a weekend trip to Oregon State (Friday) and Oregon (Saturday).

* Natalie Mikrot (Moose Lake/Willow River) equaled a career high at Minnesota Crookston with nine points in 12 minutes of an 84-69 home loss to Concordia-St. Paul on Jan. 14.

The freshman guard has played in 20 games, averaging 3.3 points mostly coming off the bench.

* Sam Pogatchnik (Proctor) scored 13 points for Bemidji State in back-to-back games on Jan. 27-28 vs. Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.

The sophomore guard is averaging 9.6 pounds and 6.4 rebounds this season and has started 18 consecutive games for the Beavers, whose win over Sioux Falls ended a four-game skid and was their first against the Cougars in 10 attempts all-time.

* Lexiss Trygg's scoring average has continued to grow over the month of January. The Bethany Lutheran sophomore forward by way of Virginia had 14 points and a season-high nine rebounds as the Vikings defeated Martin Luther on Jan. 28. That game was the first start of the year for Trygg, who is now averaging 9.1 points and 3.7 rebounds for BLC.

* Maddie Young (Cloquet) scored seven points and added four rebounds in 11 minutes as her St. Catherine squad wiped out Macalester 84-48 on Jan. 30. Young is averaging just under 10 minutes a game in her first season of college basketball, and has posted 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest.

John Sutherland (Grand Rapids) continues to be the leading scorer and rebounder for Bemidji State's men's basketball team.

The 2020 News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year has averaged 19.2 points and 9.1 boards this season for the Beavers, who are 13-7, and 8-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

He dropped 27 points and 10 boards at home vs. Minnesota State on Jan. 14 on 11-of-20 from the floor. His second-best game of the season came recently, on Jan. 27 vs. Southwest Minnesota State, in which he scored 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting.

* Xavier Patterson (Superior) made the most of his second start of the season on Jan. 21. The Bethany Lutheran junior guard racked up 27 points in a 110-105 double-overtime home win over Crown in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Jan. 21.

Patterson has scored in double figures in his last five games, raising his average to 11.8 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Bethany and Superior teammate Mason Ackley also made a major mark in the Crown marathon, scoring 24 points on 10-of-15 from the field and adding a season-high 13 rebounds.

The junior has started all 19 games for the 16-3 Vikings.

* Freshman Monte Mayberry (Northwestern) has scored in 11 of 15 games for NAIA Cardinal Stritch in Milwaukee. He scored six points in back-to-back games at Lakeland (Dec. 30) and Parkside (Jan. 16), recording four rebounds in the latter contest.

* Tre Holmes (Northwestern) has gotten some playing time opportunities for Iowa Lakes Community College in January, chief among them 14 points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of a Jan. 4 win at Ellsworth Community College.

* Will Van Scoy (Duluth East) has seen consistent reserve minutes for Wisconsin-River Falls this season. Most recently, he had six points and two assists for the Falcons over 16 minutes in a Feb. 1 home win over Wisconsin-Stout. Van Scoy, a freshman guard, is averaging 4.2 points over 19 games.

Joe Rudd (Duluth) swam a 2:10.95 to win the 200-meter individual medley and finish in first place in a dual meet vs. South Dakota in Vermillion on Jan. 20, then also won the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.93.

Rudd swam the following day in the 100-yard breast and got outtouched for the win by a Nebraska Omaha swimmer despite clocking a 57.97. The 100 yards is about 28 feet shorter than 100 meters.

Wisconsin graduate student Sam Coil (Moose Lake/Willow River) won the weight throw in a field of 16 at the Wisconsin Badgers Midwest Invite on Jan. 14 in Madison, setting a personal best of 21.98 meters (72-1.5).

Coil followed that up with a throw of 21.81 meters (71-6.75) in the Indiana University Relays on Jan. 27-28, finishing second in a field of 23 athletes.

* Journey Amundson (Northwestern) set collegiate personal bests for Macalester in both the 60-meter dash and the long jump at the St. Olaf Invitational on Jan. 28 in Northfield, Minnesota.

Amundson ran an 8.30 in the 60 in the preliminaries, then followed it up with an 8.32 in the final to finish fourth. Her long jump of 5.28 meters (17 feet, 4 inches) won the event in the field of 14 competitors.

Amundson had set a personal best in the triple jump a week before in the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic on the Scots' home track in St. Paul, finishing second with a leap of 11.63 meters (38-2).