Girls basketball roundup: BLHS Mustangs are too much for BOLD Warriors

Dec. 20—OLIVIA — The Kottke sisters helped Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart dominate the BOLD Warriors on Monday in a battle of top-10 teams in Class A.

Sisters Rachel and Kristi, both junior guards, combined for 31 points to help the Mustangs defeat BOLD, 59-39. BLHS is ranked No. 3 and BOLD is No. 6 by Minnesota Basketball News.

"This was our first true test. BOLD has dominated these matchups in the past," BLHS head coach Jesse Weick said. "For our girls to come out here with a 20-point victory on BOLD's home court, it puts us into a great spot early in the season. I'm proud of how hard these girls play each and every second."

BOLD head coach Brian Kingery added, "(BLHS) plays relentlessly. They're in your face all the time and they move the ball really well. They're very unselfish. We tried to do too much and the moment got a little too big for us, I thought. We gotta get better with that."

Kristi Kottke recorded 18 points, 15 from beyond the arc. Rachel Kottke had 13.

"(Kristi and Rachel) have put in more time, hours and days into this game than I have ever seen in my life. They live and breathe it and they've really been the focal point of the program," Weick said. "They are quiet in the classroom, quiet everywhere else. But their actions on the basketball court speak as loud as they possibly could."

BLHS started off the contest on a 7-0 run before utilizing its fast start to take a 29-20 into halftime.

Behind the Kottke sisters and freshman guard Lily Hubin, the Mustangs never trailed in the second half. Hubin notched a game-high 20 points in the contest to help BLHS remain undefeated.

BOLD's smallest deficit of the second half came early. The Warriors scored the first five points of the second half to cut BLHS's lead to four, but the Mustangs quickly found their footing to extend their halftime lead by 11 points and cement their win.

Junior post Kenzie Visser led the Warriors with 12 points. She also had 15 rebounds.

"We gotta find a way to get her more involved. She is a force against a team like (BLHS)," Kingery said of Visser, who is in her first season as a starting post player. "She never takes a play off and you gotta love it. I love coaching her. She's an awesome player. She's just starting to realize her potential and we need to get her more involved because she can be a huge impact player for us."

Rachel Kottke earned the Mustangs' team hard hat following the win.

"Rachel, this summer, really stepped into our leadership role here. Not just her athletic ability, which I think we all can see, but her vocal leadership has been the biggest thing right now," Weick said. "Whenever something goes wrong, she's always the first one to stop it. ... She's a leader, that I think in small town basketball, is the rarest breed you could ever have. We're just thankful to have her."

BOLD (5-1) plays host to Springfield at 8 p.m. Thursday at BOLD High School.

BLHS (6-0) 29 30 — 59

BOLD (5-1) 20 19 — 39

BLHS — Scoring: Rachel Kottke 13, Kristi Kottke 18, Lily Hubin 20, Jamie Novotny 2, Allison Millbrandt 6 ... 3-point shots: R. Kottke 1, K. Kottke 5 ... Rebound leader: n/a ... Assist leader: n/a ... Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

BOLD — Scoring: Kenzie Visser 12, Lainey Braulick 8, Layla Pfarr 6, Mari Ryberg 5, Anna Moorse 5, Rylee Boen 3 ... 3-point shots: Braulick 2, Boen 1, Pfarr 1 ... Rebound leader: Visser 15 ... Assist leader: Ryberg 3 ... Steal leader: Ryberg 5 ... Block leader: Ryberg 1, Visser 1

Pipestone got 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists from Arinn McGee in the Arrows' non-conference victory over host Dawson-Boyd.

Aubrea Kor added 14 points for Pipestone.

Hayley Anderson had eight points and Ayiana Hastad seven for the Blackjacks.

Dawson-Boyd is host to Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Dawson.

Pipestone (4-1) 36 21 — 57

Dawson-Boyd (1-4) 13 11 — 24

PIPESTONE — Scoring: Madelyn Wiese 2, Aubrea Kor 14, Kyla Hubbling 2, Jadyn Kor 8, Keera Pottratz 2, Mariah Moeller 2, Taryn Tuinustra 4, Arinn McGee 16, Emersyn Smidt 4, Samantha Spaethe 3 ... 3-point shots: A. Kor 1, J. Kor 1 ... Rebound leader: McGee 9 ... Assist leader: McGee 3 ... Steal leader: Hubbling 3, J. Kor 2 ... Block leader: Smidt 1

DAWSON-BOYD — Scoring: Ayiana Hastad 7, Hayley Anderson 8, Alyssa Swedzinski 1, Rachel Jorgens 2, Allison Estling 5 ... 3-point shots: Estling 1 ... Rebound leader: Hastad 5 ... Assist leader: n/a ... Steal leader: Chelsie Husby 5 ... Block leader: Husby 1, Anderson 1

Renville County West improved to 3-3 with a non-conference win over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in Renville.

The loss puts ACGC at 1-4.

The Jaguars travel to Ortonville for a Camden Conference game Tuesday. The Falcons host Yellow Medicine East for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday.