The Garretson Lady Dragon Basketball team got off to a strong start this season, bringing home the win on its first three games before falling to Hamlin in the Entringer Classic this past weekend.
"We went to Chester and jumped on them right away and led 23-1 after the first quarter," said Head Coach Matt Schrank. The game on Dec 11 was the second of the season, and the Lady Dragons already had one win under their belt.
Coach Schrank continued, "We decided to get out of our full court press and work on our half-court defense. The game remained pretty one-sided until the Chester girls got hot from the outside in the 4th quarter and the game went from a 27-point lead to a 10-point lead. We battled through their run and came out on top 67-54."
Senior players Jaelyn Benson led with 21 points and Lily Ranschau had 16. Mya Long and Jordyn Williams chipped in with 8 apiece. Anna Jones had 11 rebounds and Ranschau also had 5 steals.
The athletes had a few days of rest and practice before they took on the Canton C-Hawks in the Dragon's Lair. While the Dragons came out on top, it was a tough game in the first two quarters.
"The game went back and forth with both teams making quite a few mistakes early on and it was close at halftime," said Coach Schrank. "Once the 3rd quarter started, we took off. We outscored Canton 19-6 in the 3rd quarter. Another game where we had a pretty sizable lead, and they started to come back a bit."
Sophomore Jordyn Williams led in scoring with 15 points. Logan Bly, Jaelyn Benson, and Sydney Olson chipped in with 9. Lily Ranschau had 7 and Mya Long and Anna Jones each had 5. Bly also had 9 rebounds and Jones had 4 steals.
On Saturday, Dec 18, the Lady Dragons faced off with Hamlin at Colman-Egan High School in the Entringer Classic. The Chargers picked up the ball early and left the Dragons playing catch-up. Despite not allowing the gap to grow too large, Garretson was unable to get the lead on their opponents, and the Chargers came out on top 32-48.
The Lady Dragons' next match-up was with Dell Rapids on Tuesday (results not available at press time), and they will get a break before facing off with Dell Rapids St. Mary's on Tuesday, Jan 4.
