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Faulkton gets defensive to turn back Christian girls

Faulkton’s Presleigh Martinmaas, left, tries to move the ball up the floor as Aberdeen Christian’s Chloe Holt, right, gets back on defense during Tuesday night’s game at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 1/16/2024

Aberdeen Christian got off to the start it wanted, before Faulkton got going they way it had planned Tuesday night at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

The Trojans overcame a sluggish start with a huge second quarter to fuel a 58-43 Lake Region Conference girls’ basketball victory over the Knights.

“Defensive intensity was kind of our message before the game,” said Faulkton coach Chase Casper, “and that just wasn’t there to start with.”

That all changed in a big way in the second quarter when Faulkton erased a 12-7 deficit with a 24-5 surge to grab a double digit lead it never lost.

“Our second quarter was a lot different,” Casper said. “I thought our defensive intensity and us getting in the passing lanes, having active hands and then using our defense to turn into offense and actually capitalizing on some of our looks, we did a lot better job on.”

Presleigh Martinmaas, who scored eight points in the second-quarter surge, talked about the difference between the first two quarters.

“I feel like we really picked our defense up and our offense started to flow,” Martinmaas said. “I feel like we started to play as a team more.”

Martinmaas, who finished with five steals on the night, said footwork plays a major role on defense.

“Watch their eyes and make sure you move your feet,” Martinmaas said, “use your feet more than your hands.”

While Faulkton played with a double-digit lead the entire second half, the Knights never folded. When it appeared there might be a running clock, Christian kept slicing into the margin and kept battling.

“We ran the plays a lot better than most games,” said Christian freshman Jolie Fogarty. “We were just coming together today really well.”

Aberdeen Christian’s Jolie Fogarty, right, tries to drive to the basket as Faulkton’s Carley Cotton, center, closes in on defense and the Trojans’ Jaymi Senn, far left, looks on during Tuesday night’s game at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 1/16/2024

The effort the players put forth pleased Knights coach Cristian Martinez, who knows that his group will always compete to the end.

“We’ve had some ups and downs, but this is the process we’ve got right now,” Martinez said. “We have a smaller roster and we’re tired, but those kids over there are fighters. That why I love this team. I’m so proud of them.”

Carley Cotton led the Trojans with 20 points and seven steals, Martinmaas finished with 11 points, and Jaymi Senn worked inside for nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds.

“A nice balanced attack. That was really encouraging for us as a coaching staff to see, to have different girls step up in different areas, at different times as well,” Casper said. “I thought Carley was kind of our steady force and Presleigh had a really good first half with her defense leading to some offense and transition. And then Jaymi in the second half got some offensive rebounds and some looks inside. So it was from different areas at different times which was great to see.”

Faulkton’s Jaymi Senn, right, goes after a loose ball with Aberdeen Christian’s Chloe Bosma, center, as official Kris Frericks, left, looks on during Tuesday night’s game at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 1/16/2024

Martinmaas, who added seven rebouunds to the Faulkton total, said the players feed off each other.

“If we all work as a team and if one person is having a good night, I feel like then everybody else will start having a good night, too,” Martinmaas said.

The Trojans, 8-2 on the season, host Ipswich on Friday.

Christian also had a balanced attack as Chloe Bosma and Jolie Fogarty each scored 11 points, and Sophia Fogarty and Chloe Holt each had nine.

The Knights nailed five three-pointers in the contest, led by Jolie Fogarty, who made a pair of treys on the way to finishing with a career-high total in points.

“I’ve been missing them the past few games,” Fogarty said, “but I just kept shooting and they went in this game.”

Christian also had a season-high eight blocked shots, led by Holt with four.

“Chloe Holt had a lot of blocks,” Martinez said. “That’s the advantage of having a good tall guard.”

Christian, 0-8 on the year, plays host to Waubay-Summit at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at the Civic Arena.

FAULKTON (8-2): Kelli Stoecker 3 0-2 6, Jaymi Senn 33-4 9, Olivia Hadrick 0 1-2 1, Carley Cotton 8 3-4 20, Presleigh Martinmaas 4 3-4 11, Ashlyn Sorensen 0 0-2 0, Anika Mueller 3 0-1 6, Anna Aesoph 1 0-0 2, Savanna Hayes 0 2-2 2. Totals 22-67 12-21 58.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-8): Sophia Fogarty 4 1-2 9, Chloe Bosma 4 2-2 11, Jolie Fogarty 4 1-4 11, Bailey Hunstad 1 0-0 2, Chloe Holt 1 6-6 9. Totals 14-45 10-14 43.

Faulkton 7 31 49 58

Aberdeen Christian 12 17 39 43

3-point field goals – Cotton, Aesoph; Bosma, J. Fogarty (2), Hunstad, Holt. Total fouls – Faulkton 9; Aberdeen Christian 17. Rebounds – Faulkton 34 (Senn 9, Martinmaas 7); Aberdeen Christian 26 (Bosma 8, Holt 6). Turnovers – Faulkton 20; Aberdeen Christian 33. Assists – Faulkton 8 (Cotton 3); Aberdeen Christian 7 (Bosma 3). Blocked Shots – Faulkton 2; Aberdeen Christian 8 (Holt 4, Bosma 3). Steals – Faulkton 20 (Cotton 7, Senn 5, Martinmaas 5); Aberdeen Christian 13 (J. Fogarty 4, Bosma 3, Hunstad 3).

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