Cardinal girls' basketball: Second half surge leads Cards to big win

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It might have been a slow start for the Cardinal girls, who scored just 17 points in the first half against Brainerd, but it certainly didn’t finish that way.

After leading 17-10 at the half, Alexandria’s offense came to life, lighting up the scoreboard with 43 second-half points for a 60-48 win over the Warriors on the road Tuesday night, improving the Cardinals’ Central Lakes conference mark to 8-3.

“On a night where we struggled to put the ball in the hoop in the first half, the defense was flying and energized to keep things under control until we could get to the half and make the adjustments needed,” said head coach Wendy Kohler.

“We got so many solid performances from many people as our depth continues to improve.

“We stuck together strong mentally and really demonstrated excellent teamwork and Top 20 attitudes on a night where we could have demonstrated individual frustration in the first half.”

Amanda Christianson and Sarah Bruzek led the offense with 11 points apiece, while Amanda Gould contributed 10 in the win.

“Balance was the key as we had many Cards hit the scoring column,” said Kohler. “Our team defense allowed no Warrior to score more than six points on the night.

“Dani Strater hammered the boards, and Jess Syvrud and Amanda Christianson stepped up in the second half to spark a Cardinal run.

“Macy Hatlestad played a superb floor game on a night that Karly [Betterman] was hampered with foul trouble.”

The Cardinals will be at Sauk Rapids-Rice tonight, Friday, and will host St. Cloud Tech next Thursday.

ALEXANDRIA 60, BRAINERD 28

(unofficial statistics)

ALEXANDRIA 17 43 — 60

BRAINERD 10 18 —28

ALEXANDRIA – Emily Thul 6, Amanda Christianson 11, Danielle Strater 2, Sarah Bruzek 11, Karly Bettterman 2, Jessica Syvrud 6, Jaylen Olson-Rodel 2, Kalli Bowser 8, Amanda Gould 10, Cheyenne Hendrickson 2. Field goals 24-53, 3-pt 6-15, Free throws 6-16.

BRAINERD – Katelyn Johnson 3, Maria West 5, Abby Clanton 5, Amy Southard 6, Taylor Johnshoy 6, Mikinze Boeder 3. Field goals 8-48, 3-pt 3-19, Free throws 9-15.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, basketball