MELLETTE – Led by a 19-point performance from Sophia Troske and another 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from Ashley Haven, the Northwestern girls’ basketball team claimed a 48-12 Lake Region Conference victory over Aberdeen Christian Thursday night.
Christian suffered the loss in more ways than one, losing starting point guard Jolie Fogarty who went down with an injury early in the contest.
“We didn’t have our normal ball handling, but the others did a good job,” said Christian coach Andre Cobbs. “It’s just a tough opponent. We entered this game with three players out again, and losing another was tough.”
The host Wildcats limited the Knights to just two points in each of the first three quarters. Troske took care of business on both ends of the court for Northwestern, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range while also gathering up seven steals.
After Fogarty left the game, Christian’s Eri Cobbs took over at the point guard position and led the way offensively for the Knights, finishing with six points.
“Eri stepped up at point guard and made some good plays,” Coach Cobbs noted.
Defensively, the Knights relied on Ari Johnson’s presence in the paint. Cobbs pointed out that Johnson finished with a number of blocked shots.
“Not the score you want, but for the situation, the ones out there did a good job,” Cobbs said.
Christian (0-15) is slated to host Herreid-Selby Area at around 6:15 tonight at the ACS Gym, while Northwestern (10-3) is scheduled to visit Waubay-Summit Saturday in Waubay.
ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-15): Sophia Eichler 1 0-0 2, Eri Cobbs 2 2-4 6, Jacie Fogarty 1 0-0 2, Arianna Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 2-4 12.
NORTHWESTERN (10-3): Ashley Haven 5 0-2 10, Adriana Ratigan 4 1-2 9, Tara Blachford 3 0-2 6, Sophia Troske 7 0-0 19, Breelyn Satter 1 0-0 2, Lilly Haven 1 0-0 2. Totals 21-43 1-6 48.
Aberdeen Christian 2 4 6 12
Northwestern 20 34 48 48
3-point field goals – Troske 5. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 8; Northwestern 6. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 19 (Eichler 7); Northwestern 25 (Ratigan 5). Assists – Aberdeen Christian 0; Northwestern 10 (Blachford 4, Josie Darling 3). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 25; Northwestern 15. Blocks – Aberdeen Christian 4 (Johnson 3); Northwestern 2 (Haven 2). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 9 (Cobbs 3); Northwestern 18 (Troske 7).
