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The Northland Lady Eagles hit the road to start their season on the hardwood against conference rival Deer River. Last year's opener saw the Lady Eagles on the losing side of a 50-38 battle. This year the girls fielded a much more experienced lineup and took down the Warriors on their home court 61-58.

Four-year starter Chloe Wolske led the charge with 25 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. Followed closely by Maddy Shepard with 23 points and four take-aways. Kristine Johnson added six points and nine boards and Keyana Gross put down five points and came down with an even dozen boards. Last years starter Kali Wake was out for the week and the girls had a short bench for various reasons.

"This was a nice first game and a big win against a conference opponent. Chloe showed great leadership and the whole team played scrappy defense, this promises to be a fun year," commented long time head coach Jenny Kovall.

The girls went 14 of 22 from the charity stripe and held solid control of the game, leading 30-26 at halftime.

The high would not last the week as the girls traveled to Littlefork-Big Falls (LFBF)on Thursday night. Cold shooting from the field would let the Vikings take a 14-34 lead at one point in the first half that the ladies could not overcome, despite a solid second half of play leading to a 69-53 LFBF victory.

"We had a short bench again tonight, we came out lethargic in the first half, found some fire in the second and got the score within eight at one point, we just couldn't completely close the gap. We show up for both halves - we'll be a very competitive team this year." Stated Coach Kovall.

Johnson led the team with 15 points, eight boards and eight steals, followed by Wolske and Shepard with 14 points each.

The girls return to the court with their home opener against Nashwauk-Keewatin on Thursday. Varsity tip-off is at 7:15 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]

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