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Sartell girls basketball earns key conference win over ROCORI

brian mozey, st. cloud times
·5 min read

COLD SPRING — The conference rivalry continued Tuesday night as ROCORI hosted Sartell in girls basketball.

The two teams faced off earlier in the season with the Sabres earning the win. Once again, Sartell prevailed in an 83-48 win over the Spartans.

Here's a few takeaways from Tuesday night's game between the two local teams.

Hot start to the season

Sartell came into Tuesday's game with an 11-2 record and improved that by one after the win. The Sabres have started this season on a hot streak and it's due to many aspects of its game.

Sartell's Avery Templin said this team is physical and always fights for another point, rebound or anything else on that court.

The Sabres have a balance between multiple players that can shoot from the 3-point line and other players that use size and strength to take over the paint. The defense is also strong as players help each other to make everyone is guarded at all times.

Sartell's Avery Templin cuts and drives towards the basket as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Sartell's Avery Templin cuts and drives towards the basket as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

"I think it's exciting [to start 12-2] because in the past we haven't done this well ever," Templin said. "We've all played together for so long now that we can read each other's minds. We know what they're going to do and their tendencies... so we can score easier."

This early success in the season has also happened due to the leadership from this team. Templin and Megan Driste have taken this team and displayed their leadership skills on and off the court.

Not only do these two score consistent points, but they show grit and hustle and those characteristics are starting to rub off on some of the Sartell players.

Sartell's Megan Driste take a shot from the 3-point lead as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Sartell's Megan Driste take a shot from the 3-point lead as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

Driste led the Sabres with 29 points after starting the game with five 3-pointers. She was followed up by Templin and Ella Gainsforth with 12 points each, while Chloe Turner and Rylie DeMaine each scored eight points.

"Well last night I didn't score any points, so I kind of wanted to come back and have a better game," Driste said with a laugh. "I'm just happy we could share across the board and I think everyone played a good team game tonight."

Templin and Driste agreed that they love to see the ball being passed to everyone on the court because they know that anyone is capable of scoring the ball.

ROCORI's Ashley Libbesmeier cuts to the basket as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
ROCORI's Ashley Libbesmeier cuts to the basket as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

A trio performance for ROCORI

The Spartans may have lost on Tuesday night, but ROCORI had a few players that stepped up and scored some points.

Ashley Libbesmeier led the team with 14 points, while Jada Bierschbach and Madison Terres each scored eight points.

ROCORI started off the season with six wins in the first eight games and the Spartans were sitting on top of the conference and section standings. Once the winter break hit, the season turned 180 degrees.

ROCORI's Jada Bierschbach floats a shot for a basket as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
ROCORI's Jada Bierschbach floats a shot for a basket as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

The Spartans are currently on a seven-game losing streak starting on Dec. 21 and the team is looking to end that sooner than later.

ROCORI (6-9) will travel to Aitkin at 7:15 p.m. Thursday for a non-conference game against a team with a similar record, 6-10. After that game, the Spartans will head home and host St. Cloud at 7:15 p.m. Monday.

ROCORI's Madison Terres goes up for a jump shot, while Sartell's Chloe Turner tries to block it as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
ROCORI's Madison Terres goes up for a jump shot, while Sartell's Chloe Turner tries to block it as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

The Crush are 8-8 this season, but these two teams haven't played yet so it'll be a first for the two teams on Monday.

The Spartans will look to end the losing streak with either or both of those games before heading to Fergus Falls, one of the top teams in the conference, on Thursday, Feb. 3.

Sartell's Ella Gainsforth takes a jump shot in the paint as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Sartell's Ella Gainsforth takes a jump shot in the paint as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

A tough stretch for Sartell

The Sabres may be 12-2 right now, but these next couple weeks will test how that record will look for both overall and conference.

Sartell has back-to-back-to-back tough games and all three of them are conference games. The team is nearly halfway through it's four-game road trip with wins against St. Francis and ROCORI.

Next, the Sabres travel to Fergus Falls (11-4) at 7:15 p.m. Friday for a rematch from an earlier game in the season. The Otters are one of two teams to give Sartell a loss with a 71-48 loss in the third game of the season.

Sartell's Chloe Turner floats a shot over the ROCORI defender's head as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Sartell's Chloe Turner floats a shot over the ROCORI defender's head as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

"We made a lot of silly mistakes, but not a lot of shots were falling for us," Driste said about the earlier Fergus Falls game. "I think we went in overthinking a lot about it because we knew they had two really good players. We have to come in focused, but play our game."

After that game, Sartell will hit the road to play at Brainerd (11-3) at 7:15 p.m. Monday. The Sabres haven't played Brainerd this season, so it'll be a new team for the players and an opportunity to earn a win against one of the top teams in the conference.

Then, the Sabres close out the road trip at Willmar (11-7) at 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4. The Cardinals are another team near the top of the conference standings, but Sartell earned a 49-47 win at Sartell in the middle of December.

Sartell has learned from the last matchups against these teams and the Sabres are hoping to use it to its advantage for the next couple of weeks.

Sartell's Brenna McClure goes up for a contested lay up as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Sartell's Brenna McClure goes up for a contested lay up as ROCORI battles Sartell at ROCORI High School on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

Brian Mozey is the high school sports reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8772 or bmozey@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianMozey.

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Sartell girls basketball earns key conference win over ROCORI