Prep report: Northwestern's fast start overwhelms St. Croix Falls

Northwestern boys basketball did all the damage it needed to before the break, turning a 53-17 half into a ninth consecutive Heart O’North Conference win, 80-44 over St. Croix Falls on Thursday, Jan. 26 in Maple.

Cole Lahti had 20 points in the scorebook at the halfway point and finished with 22.

Much of the rest of the scoring came by committee, with Bryce Oswskey scoring 11, Gavin Williams and Grady Gustafson 10. Jace Nelson had six points, seven assists and eight rebounds.

The Tigers are now 12-1 overall and 9-0 in league play going into a Saturday game at Hayward.

The Thunderhawks (2-11) ended a four-game losing streak behind 18 points from Joe Sutherland, while Morgan MacLeod-Carlson scored 13.

Five Hawks scored in double figures led by Blake Schmitz’s 24 points as Hermantown lit up the scoreboard on the road on Thursday night.

Karly Holm gave a dominant performance for the Agates, and her 46 points are believed to have equaled a school single-game record.

Two Harbors (7-9) led 40-26 at the half.

For Greenway (4-11), Klara Finke had a team-best 10 points.

Sierra Fuller and Ashlynne Guenther scored 13 points apiece as the Greyhounds held off the Lumberjacks for their 10th win in 11 games.

Sydney Zwak added a dozen for East (11-7).

Beth Bolte scored 17 points to lead Bemidji.

Braya LaPlant took the lead offensively as the Thunderhawks dispatched the Rails in Proctor, scoring 22 points.

Jessika Lofstrom added 18 points for Rapids (16-2), which has now gone two months since its last loss, on Nov. 26.

The Eagles came up a little short on the road in Indianhead Conference play on Thursday night in Port Wing despite a game-high 21 points from the Eagles’ Kyra Latvala.

Claire Holmstrom chipped in 16, but the Cardinals had a 32-24 lead at the half and stayed in front with help from 19 points by Lilly Truchon.

Tieryn Plasch led the Tigers with 21 points as they took down the Oredockers, while Gabby Risley added 15 and Abby Johnson 10.

The Wolverines pulled away with 39 points in the second half for a road victory in Iron on Thursday night.

Maija Lamppa finished with 17 points and Emma Lamppa 14 for the Wolverines (12-7).

Faith Zganjar led Cherry with 16 points.

Ben Phillips led the Bluejackets to victory in the pool, earning a win or part of one in all four events he swam.

His individual victories came in the 50-yard freestyle (22.76 seconds) and the 100 butterfly soon after (56.38). He also participated in Hibbing’s winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

For Superior, Paolo Pagnucci was a double winner, in the 200 individual medley (2:16.66) and the 100 breaststroke (1:07.10).

Dylan Hedley had a goal and three assists to lead the Wolverines, ranked ninth in Class A, to the win at Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia.

Ryan Manninen had a goal and an assist as six players scored for Rock Ridge. Isaac Flatley had three assists and Kasey Lamppa had two assists for the Wolverines.

Andy Larson scored No. 17 Duluth Denfeld’s lone goal unassisted on the power play, making it 3-1 at 12:34 in the second period, but that is as close as the Hunters would come as Ryan Rothfork had 28 saves for Rock Ridge (12-5-1).

Connor Doyle had 40 saves for Duluth Denfeld (10-9-1).

Samuel Swenson had two goals and an assist and Garron Opsahl needed only to make 10 saves to earn the shutout as the Hawks, ranked second in Minnesota Class A, won the Lake Superior Conference game at St. Luke’s Events Center in Proctor.

River Freeman, Joshua Kauppinen, Aaron Evjen, George Peterson and William Esterbrooks added goals for Hermantown (14-2-1).

A.J. Reyelts had 44 saves to lead the Rails (7-9).

Carson Gotelaere’s goal at 16:46 in the second period stood as the game winner as the Spartans knocked off the Bluejackets in Lake Superior Conference action at Wessman Arena.

All the game’s goals were scored in the second period.

Lucas Williams opened the scoring for Superior on the power play to start the second, on assists from Gotelaere and Caden Lia, before Hibbing/Chisholm’s Beau Fridge scored the equalizer short handed at 8:47 in the second on an assist from Tristen Babich.

That’s how it would stay before Gotelaere put the Spartans back on top just before the second intermission on assists from Lia and Lucas Williams.

Trent Peterson had 14 saves for Superior (9-8) and Brayden Boyer had 40 saves for the Bluejackets (12-6-1), ranked eighth in Minnesota Class A.

Gracyn Schipper and Lydia Saxin scored goals in the third period as the Northern Stars rallied from a 3-2 deficit early in the third to win the nonconference game at Polar Ice Arena in St. Paul.

Autumn Turpen and Jenna Horvat each had a goal and an assist and Ella Brisbois had 22 saves for Duluth (11-7-3), which had five players score.

Nicole James had 21 saves for North St. Paul/Tartan (9-11).

The Mirage (15-5-2) blanked the Eagles and needed only eight saves from goaltender Neelah McLeod to do the job at Hermantown Arena.

Reese Heitzman opened the scoring, and both Alyssa Yokom and Katie Sandelin scored even-strength goals in the second period.