West Central Area and Hancock were two of the best girls basketball programs in Section 6A a year ago.

The Owls beat the Knights twice during the regular season last winter before WCA won a 50-49 final in the section tournament. The first matchup between these two teams this season on Thursday went to overtime where Hancock (4-0) escaped with a 72-66 win. The Knights, now playing out of Section 3AA, fell to 2-2 with the loss.

Kaitlyn Hansen had 15 points to lead the Knights, while Mya Foslien (12), Lexi Bright (12) and Claire Stark (10) finished in double figures, as well.

HANCOCK 72, WCA 66 (F/OT)

WCA - Kaitlyn Hansen - 15 points, 2 deflections, 2 assists; Mya Foslien - 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist; Lexi Bright - 12 points, 4 steals, 5 deflections, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks; Claire Stark - 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks; Addison Staples - 9 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists, 3 blocks; Halle Foslien - 4 points, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist; Macy Grosz - 2 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound; Elizabeth Rustan - 2 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

Osakis stymies Upsala

Osakis (2-1) jumped all over Upsala (1-3) on Thursday, building a 32-13 lead by the break and cruising to a 55-37 win.

The Silverstreaks shot 42.6% (23-54), including 53.8% from two. Their defense also held Upsala to just 31% shooting (13-42).

“This was a good win for the girls,” Osakis head coach Pat Kalpin said. “Upsala is a scrappy team that works hard all over the court. Our defensive effort was outstanding. It's fun when you see things we've been working on in practice carry over to the game. We were able to force some turnovers in the first half, which helped get us going offensively.”

Osakis forced 27 Upsala turnovers and scored 21 points off of those takeaways.

Mara VanNyhuis had 16 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Alexis Johanson had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 6 deflections defensively. Tessa Stanek also added 7 points and 3 assists.

“We still need to work on our execution on the offensive end at times, but we are getting close,” Kalpin said. “We have shown great improvement from the beginning of the season. We will continue to work on the little things that will help us down the road. Everyone's effort was key to this win tonight. A great team win.”

Osakis jumps right back into action with a game at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa tonight, Friday, at 7:15.

OSAKIS 32 23 - 55

UPSALA 13 24 - 37

TOTALS - Osakis - 2-point FG - 21-39; 3-point FG - 2-15; FT - 7-11; Rebounds - 31; Assists - 13; Deflections - 22; Steals - 20; Blocks - 2; Turnovers - 18; Upsala - 2-point FG - 10-22; 3-point FG - 3-20; FT - 8-18; Rebounds - 32; Assists - 5; Steals - 9; Turnovers - 27

OSAKIS - Tessa Stanek - 7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Lexi Spychalla - 2 points, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Mara VanNyhuis - 16 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 deflection, 3 steals; Alexis Johanson - 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 deflections, 2 steals; Lexi Klimek - 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 deflections, 2 steals; Hayleigh Niehoff - 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 deflections, 4 steals, 1 block; Carlee Muenzhuber - 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 deflections, 2 steals; Madi Collins - 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Kiley Kranz - 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 deflections, 4 steals, 1 block

UPSALA SCORING - Dakota Soltis - 8; Madalin Koetter - 4; Kristine Biniek - 2; Hannah Luedtke - 5; Taylor Soltis - 5; Molly Leners - 2; Brenna Graves - 6; Kylie
Roerick - 1; Abby Klein - 4