I’VE GOT IT AND YOU CAN’T HAVE IT — The Bluejays’ Kloe Wadd (54) hangs onto a rebound despite the efforts of Tri-City United’s Grace Hennen during Waseca’s 49-25 victory Monday, Jan. 9 in Waseca. Pioneer photo by Michael Roy
Defense does it for Lady Jays
Fri, 01/20/2023 - 10:37pm
They say defense travels. Waseca’s girls’ basketball team has lived by those words since late December.
After a 3-0 start, which included scoring about 62 points a game, the offensive production has not been there as much for the Lady Jays. But a 39-17 win against Blooming Prairie Jan. 5 proved that when the shots aren’t there, the defense becomes the most important part of the game. Although they fell short in a 48-38 battle at New Ulm, the Jays managed to get back into the win column right away against Tri-City United.
Waseca 39, Blossoms 17
This was the lowest-scoring matchup Waseca was a part of this season..
The Awesome Blossoms don’t amaze that much in offensive production, scoring only 41 points a game. But they rely on defense to keep games close, allowing only one of the five teams they faced to score more than 50 points.
New Ulm 48, Waseca 38
Waseca had its first Big South Conference matchup against New Ulm Friday, Jan. 6. The Eagles were in second place heading into the match, and the game proved the Bluejays still had some work to do.
Waseca was again held to under 40 points for the third consecutive time. The Eagles kept the tempo slow throughout the game.
Waseca 49, TCU 25
The Bluejays were still feeling the sting from the loss against New Ulm when hosting Tri-City United the following Monday. The Titans caught the girls flat-footed and scored five points within the first minute of the game.
Senior Avery Madsen gave Waseca some life with a three-pointer, with fellow senior Kloe Wadd tying it up with an easy layup shot.
It was mostly Waseca from there. After a 7-7 tie, they went on a five-point run to make the lead 12-7. Slowly but surely, with Wadd going on an eight-point run, the lead was lengthened to 22-12 by halftime.
Madsen opened the half for the Bluejays, who seemed difficult to stop. She collected an additional five points, with Azure supplying six throughout the half and Wadd contributing seven to make it 47-25. Addison Wieseler’s two-point contribution was the cherry on top.
The Bluejays have a 5-3 record (0-1 in-conference). They host Blue Earth on Friday, Jan. 13 and travel to Medford the following day.