STEPHEN-ARGYLE GIRLS BASKETBALL USES LATE RUN TO BEAT WARREN-A-O

The Stephen-Argyle Storm used a 12-0 run late in the game to come from behind to beat the Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Ponies in a Section 8A Girls Basketball quarterfinal tournament game played in Stephen. 

FIRST HALF – 
Stephen-Argyle had a good start and jumped out to a 7-3 lead with a three-pointer from Leah Johnson, and baskets from Riley Mooney and Grace Carlson.  WAO answered with a three-pointer from Elsie Oberg and a basket from Kylie Hanson for an 8-7 lead.  The Storm answered with another run, this time a 9-1 advantage behind seven points from Mooney and a basket from Carlson for a 16-9 lead with 10:11 left in the first half.  The Ponies chipped away at the deficit and tied the game at 19 with two minutes remaining and Stephen-Argyle took a 26-25 lead into halftime. “We weren’t getting our shots to fall.  We had good looks, they weren’t falling,” said Storm Coach Heidi Carlson. “We were allowing the Ponies to dictate play for most of the half.”

SECOND HALF – 
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo had a great start to the second half and built a six-point lead several times in the half with the last lead at 44-38 with 6:59 remaining in the game.  Stephen-Argyle picked up the defensive pressure and forced the Ponies into several turnovers over a four-minute span and went on a 12-0 run.  Four different Storm players scored in the run with Greta Weberg and Marey Kazmierczak scored four points apiece, Johnson added a three-pointer and Casey Osowski made a free throw for a 50-44 lead with three minutes left in the game.  “We definitely needed that,” said Storm Coach Carlson. “I had five juniors on the floor for a while and they all stepped up.  Mary had some big points for us and tonight she was on and did exactly what we needed her to do.” Warren-Alvarado-Oslo’s Lily Bayne made a three-pointer to stop the Storm run and cut the deficit to three points.  Nobody scored for over 90-seconds until Kazmierczak made a free throw for a 51-47 lead.  The Ponies’ Kylie Hanson scored in the paint to get within two points, but Stephen-Argyle’s Riley Mooney made three free throws in the final 13 seconds to give the Storm a 54-59 victory.  “We said if we want to play again we had to play better in the second half and we did,” said Coach Carlson. “Riley is a huge part of the program and she gets everybody involved and when she needs to step it up, she steps it up.  We are so excited and will be ready to play whoever on Tuesday.”

Stephen-Argyle improves to 16-3 on the year and will host Red Lake Falls in the Section 8A semi-finals on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in Stephen.  KROX Radio will have the game on the radio with the pre-game show at 6:20 p.m.
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo ends the season with a record of 10-9 and say goodbye to seniors Emily Pederson, Kylie Hanson, and Maddie Swanson.