Lady Jays lose tight battle to Bethany, 63-58
Nov. 28—WORTHINGTON — It is the "little things" that continue to frustrate the Minnesota West Lady Jays' efforts to get their first victory of the 2021-22 women's basketball season.
West fell to 0-5 on Saturday in Worthington. Though the game was tight, the Jays weren't able to pull ahead of Bethany Lutheran JV and wound up on the losing end, 63-58.
"We missed eight free throws again. Gave up 17 offensive rebounds. It's the same thing we've talked about every game," said head coach Rosalie Hayenga-Hostikka. "Just little things. We're right there. But we've gotta get better at those small things."
Minnesota West trailed for most of the game on Saturday, and after every quarter stop. They pulled to a 56-56 tie with 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter after an Emily Breske steal of a Vikings pass near mid-court. Breske passed to teammate Jayden Zebe for a layup, and Zebe was fouled. She made the shot to draw her team into a tie. But the Lady Jays were unable to get the lead.
A Grace Gerken 3-point shot with 1:47 to go put the Vikings up 59-56 and the visitors stayed in front to the end.
Hunter Garcia led Minnesota West with 12 points, which included two 3-point conversions. But as a team, the Jays converted just five of 17 3-pointers while Bethany made 12 of 31.
Dannyn Peterson scored 10 points for West and Jadyn Lessman added eight. Worthington High School graduate Madisyn Huisman led West with eight rebounds, but Bethany out-rebounded the Jays 50-39 for the game.
Despite the loss, the Lady Jays did some good things, Hayenga-Hostikka said.
"I thought we did OK on the press. When you do some things well defensively, you give yourself a chance to win," she explained.
Both Minnesota West basketball teams are back in action Sunday (Nov. 28) on the Worthington campus. The women host Ellsworth Community College at 1 p.m. and the men play Ellsworth at 3 p.m.
Bethany Lutheran JV 21 37 46 63
Lady Jays 15 28 41 58
BETHANY LUTHERAN JV (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) — Perez Casas 1-0-0-3, Berreau 3-0-1-10, Gerken 2-1-1-9, /sikkink 0-3-1-7, Fernandez 2-0-4-10, Shanahan 1-0-0-3, Russell 3-0-3-12, Nelson 1-3-0-9. Totals 12-8-11-63.
LADY JAYS (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) — Lessman 1-2-1-8, Breske 1-1-0-5, Murray 1-2-1-8, Post 0-1-0-2, Huisman 1-0-2-4, Zebe 0-2-1-5, Garcia 2-3-0-12, Werdel 0-1-0-2, Weeldreyer 0-0-2-2, Peterson 0-1-8-10. Totals 5-14-15-58.
