Huskies Beat Ely for Third Place in Hibbing Holiday Tournament

The Huskies got back on the win track today by beating the Ely Timberwolves to take third place in the tournament. The score at the halfway mark was 44-16 and the final score was 69-35. Shelby made up in the shooting department from the game against Cambridge by scoring 28 points with 6 three's in the first half and ended up with 34 points and 8 three's. One point short of her career high and a new record for her in most three's in a game. I think the most three's she has had in a game is five. She had pulled her hamstring in the last seconds of the Cambridge game so we didn't know if she was even going to play!

We found out that Cambridge-Isanti was ahead by 17 with two minutes to go in the Championship game against Hibbing so many of us feel and felt yesterday, that the game between Bigfork and Cambridge should have been the Championship game. (The final score was 59-41 Cambridge)

I do have a few complaints about the tournament and wish they would give some type of awards to the top three teams and Consolation Champion and have an All Tournament team like most tournaments. It also seems Hibbing is in the weaker bracket and sails through to the Championship game every year. But oh well....it's their tournament I guess.

Congratulations to the Lady Huskies on a great job! You gals should be very proud of your performance in the tournament!

The girls will now play at Cook on Monday, January 5th.

Undefeated No More But Oh What a Game!

The Lady Huskies suffered their first loss of the 2008-2009 season to none other than Cambridge-Isanti and again in the Hibbing Holiday tournament. I was hoping they could pull it off this year and they came SO close, but it was a very exciting game with the lead going back and forth the whole game and numerous ties. The score was 57-55 with 15.5 seconds left. Bigfork did have their chances but turned the ball over a couple of times in a row bringing the ball down and missed free throws that would have won the game or tied the game. It was a much needed challenge for the Lady Huskies and they can now get to work on a few things that might have won the game for them. Also, Adrianna fouled out and Megan and Theresa both had 4 fouls and Shelby ended up with 4 at the very end of the game. Cambridge was 5-6 deep off the bench and we are maybe 2 right now so they were able to stay fresh. STILL a great job by the Lady Huskies and Cambridge almost got beat by a little single A school!

Nothing to be upset about though as Cambridge is a AAAA school and they were very good. I would rather them lose to a AAAA school and only by four points than have seen them play in another game that was a blowout! They gave the fans a good game too!

The girls play Ely today at 2:00 for third place. Good Luck girls and CONGRATULATIONS to the boys as they play in the CHAMPIONSHIP game against MIB in the Cook Holiday Tournament! Wish our games weren't always at the same time so we could support each other! Good luck today boys!!!! We are very proud of you all!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holiday Tourney Win #1 Against Rival Nashwauk

What was pegged to be a close game between two undefeated rivals turned out to be another lopsided affair in Bigfork's favor. The Lady Huskies used stifling defense to keep the Spartans from scoring with the halftime score being 31-14.

Adrianna and Megan both ended up with four fouls each so they took turns coming in and out of the game. Nashwauk's Kingsbury was also in foul trouble from the beginning and that kept her out most of the game and she did eventually foul out. I believe she ended up with 5 points and Sletten with 8. No Spartan ended up with double digits.

Bigfork stepped up their defense even more in the second half and held the Spartans from scoring any points until 8:34 on the clock! The final score was 60-25.

The Hibbing Daily Tribune has a nice article about the game.

The Huskies are set to play Cambridge-Isanti (AAAA) tomorrow at 5:30pm. We have lost to Cambridge two years in a row in the first game of the tournament...hopefully the third time will be the charm!

Good luck against Cambridge tomorrow! Go Lady Huskies!

The Night Before Tourneys

'Twas the night before tourneys, and all through Bigfork land,
Not a Huskie was stirring, not even the band.
The jerseys were hung and laundered with care,
In hopes that tomorrow would soon be here.
The Lady Huskies were resting and snug in their beds,
While visions of VICTORY danced in their heads!
And Siri in her warmups and Rob in his cap,
They had just sat down for a long bus ride and chat.
When out on the court there arose such a chatter,
We sprang from the bleachers to see what was the matter.
Out came the Spartans as they ran around the gym,
We looked at the roster and saw there were ten.
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But confidant Lady Huskies with a loud roaring cheer!
With a fearless Coach Powell ready and raring to go,
We knew in an instant Andi would be toe to toe.
With her teammates surrounding her and waiting for the tip,
The ref tossed the ball and to Bigfork's #3 it went.
Greg whistled and shouted and called them by name;
"Now, Shelby! Now, Megan! Now, Lisee and Andi;
On Theresa, on Carolyn, on Robin and Britney!
From one end of the court and back the other way,
PLAY DEFENSE, PLAY DEFENSE and BLOW THEM AWAY!
Kruger, Anderson and Bevaqua will run, run, run,
but they won't get past Huskie's that run and gun.
Kingsbury and Sletten are tough to defend,
But the Lady Huskies are strong and will fight till the end.
They talked in the huddle and came out with a plan,
That totally demolished Clusiau's little basketball clan.
This game was a big one, and that they all knew,
But they all came together and fought their way through!
And then, in a twinkling, they saw their Coach smile,
He was beaming and oh so proud of all of his gals.
They battled with the Spartans and came out on top,
Everyone knew the Huskies couldn't be stopped!
They WILL BE Section Champions once and for all,
and will claim their VICTORY with that dimpled leather ball!

Lady Huskies Ready to Spar with the Spartans

The Lady Huskies are ready and raring to go against rival Nashwauk-Keewatin in the opening game of the Hibbing Holiday Tournament. They play at 2:00 pm at the Hibbing High School. This is a much anticipated game from both teams and coaches and fans alike...

Bigfork has been ranked in the Minnesota AP polls Top Ten in Class A since the beginning of the season, moving up from #7 to #5 and Nashwauk-Keewatin just broke the barrier last week and came in at #10.

Both teams are undefeated with Nashwauk's record being 7-0 and Bigfork's 5-0. Bigfork had their game against Orr cancelled on 12/15 because of inclement weather. Nashwauk does not have their win against Northland Remer (12/23) posted yet which pushed them to 7-0 but it seems they only beat Remer by a couple of points.

Minnesota Scores has the class leaders posted and here is how Bigfork and Nashwauk fare: (without Nashwauk's game against Remer included in the formula)

These class rankings change after every game has been posted...sometimes the games are not posted right away....BUT here is where they stand right now.

Points Differential

1. Bigfork (55.2)
8. Nashwauk (28.8)

Points Allowed

1. Bigfork (26.2)
3. Nashwauk (29.6)

Points Scored

1. Bigfork (81.4)
Nashwauk not in Top Twenty

LET'S GO HUSKIES!!! SHOW NO MERCY AND PLAY YOUR HEARTS OUT!!!

Bigfork/Mesabi Range Scrimmage

The Lady Norse of Mesabi Range College trekked to Bigfork this morning to scrimmage the Lady Huskies in preparation of the upcoming Hibbing Holiday tournament. It was really good for the girls to play against a college level team as they were very fast, played good defense and had some good shooters...a great rebounder and shooter in #23 to defend also. It was a nice challenge for the girls and helped get them in game mode for Monday's game against Nashwauk.

One key starter was missing and #6 off the bench also, but the girls kept right with Mesabi and did not back off at all....good work girls and a BIG thank you to Coach Z for bringing his team to Bigfork under bad road conditions!

Also a BIG thank you to Andi's mom for feeding the teams and coaches afterwards!

Here are a few pictures from this morning.

Minnesota AP Girls Basketball Polls - 12/25/08

CLASS 1A

1. Barnum
2. New Life Academy
3. Ada-Borup
4. Cedar Mnt-Comfrey
5. Bigfork
6. Brandon-Evansville
7. Maranatha
8. Parkers Prairie
9. New Ulm Cathedral
10. Nashwauk-Keewatin

Bigfork moved up one notch to #5 and Nashwauk-Keewatin has been added as#10....This poll was posted on The Breakdown website.

This is the AP poll from Keloland.com (Sioux Falls, SD)...posted on Kevin J. Anderson's basketball recruit website. Don't know why they are different...I think I like the other one better because they ranked Bigfork #5!!! These are actually very different as some teams are on one and not the other...hmmm.

Class 1A
1. Barnum (6-0)
2. Ada-Borup (7-1)
3. New Life Academy (4-2)
4. Adrian (5-0)
5. New Ulm Cathedral (5-0)
6. Bigfork (5-0)
7. Brandon-Evansville (6-0)
8. Red Lake County Central (7-0)
9. Parkers Prairie (6-0)
10. Mountain Iron-Buhl (5-0)

Pictures of Boys' game against Blackduck are Up

The pictures from the Bigfork boys' vs. the Blackduck Drakes game from 12/23 are up available for viewing and purchase on jgoblephotography.photostockplus.com

Click on the Boys Basketball folder and then the subfolder for the Blackduck game.

Heartfelt Thoughts & Prayers to our Little Lise and Her Family

Our thoughts and prayers go out to teammate Lise and her family in the sudden loss of an immediate family member. We are all thinking of her and the family and the difficult time they are going through this holiday season.

WE LOVE YOU.....

Lady Huskies Take Down The Cherry Tigers

The Lady Huskies defeated the Cherry Tigers last night by a whopping 64 points. The score at the half was 55-11 and the girls only allowed them 6 points in the second half so the final score was 85-19. Four of the starters reached double figures for the first time this year.

Jesse Powell was in the house and it was like old times as he did his famous job of announcing the teams. He's been sorely missed! He's home from college for the holidays as were lots of other familiar faces that used to roam the halls and run up and down the basketball court....

I got alot of good action shots last night because I was at floor level....it sure makes a difference! I also have a new favorite action shot of Shelby.....I'm sure you can tell which one it is....some cute ones of the girls on the bench, a cool one of Robin going after a loose ball, Megan playing defense with a little smirk of a smile and Lise definately being fouled....here are a few, the rest you will have to look up on jgoblephotography.photostockplus.com

Orr Game Rescheduled for January

The game that was cancelled Monday night, 12/15/08, because of inclement weather, has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 24th at Bigfork. I'm not sure of the time but I'm sure it will be posted on the MSHSL website at a later date.....so only one game this week and that is against the Cherry Tigers tomorrow night at Bigfork. I have to say that I'm pretty excited that one of last year's seniors will be home from college and will hopefully announce the girls at the beginning of the game. Jesse Powell is the brother to junior Megan Powell and he is THE BEST at announcing the girls and getting the crowd going before the game....he has been sorely missed this year! We are really excited to have him back for the holidays! I hope he will get to be around for more than one game....

Minnesota AP Polls - Girls Basketball 12/15/08

This is the Minnesota AP Girls Basketball Polls for 12/15/08 according to The Breakdown website.

CLASS 1A
1. New Life Academy
2. Barnum
3. Ada-Borup
4. Cedar Mnt-Comfrey
5. Adrian
6. Bigfork
7. Brandon-Evansville
8. Sebeka
9. Hanock
10. Parkers Prairie

Bigfork/Orr 12/15/08 Game Cancelled

The game between Bigfork and the visiting Orr Braves has been cancelled due to the weather. It looks like it may be rescheduled for next Monday, December 22nd....will post information once it has been confirmed!

School Cancelled for Monday 12/15/08

School has been cancelled because of a huge winter storm that is producing ALOT of snow, very high wind gusts with wind chills 20-30 degrees below zero. It is supposed to snow until noon Monday so I am going to assume that the game against Orr will also be cancelled. I don't believe they can have a game when school has been cancelled anyway. Once the game has been rescheduled I will post the information!

Shelby and I are planning on baking some Christmas cookies and goodies tomorrow since we will be snowed in...that is probably the ONLY way I can keep her home! She loves to go, go, go!

We finally got the Christmas tree up this afternoon and of course our traditional cowboy hat as our tree topper. Our tree is decorated with a "western" theme every year and my closest friends always seem to find some pretty unusual western ornaments that I add to my tree every year. Interestingly enough, Shelby was born in Buffalo, Wyoming, so she was born a "westerner". Is that the right word? I was born and raised in South Texas, her dad and brother in Minnesota, her sister in Kentucky and she was born in Wyoming...quite a diversity it seems! I'm still the only "true" western gal as I was born AND raised in Texas! I've never figured out why I don't have the southern accent though! My high school mascot was the Longhorn and our colors were burnt orange and white, just like the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas, so I'm a little partial to the University of Texas....watched the Lady Longhorns beat Tennessee this afternoon too....hmmm, I think I'm a little homesick!

Huskies Stop the Streaks for W#4

The Lady Huskies pulled off a nice win last Thursday against Iron Range rival the Chisholm Bluestreaks by a score of 65-47. The score at the half mark was 30-15 and the Huskies were up by 25 at one point in the second half. There was a nice crowd in attendance on a very cold December night. Adrianna and Megan both hit double digits with 24 and 16, respectively. A very good defensive effort by all of the Lady Huskies! You can see by the pictures how close they play defense and how they never stop hustling! They are so much fun to watch!

They play the Orr Braves Monday night at Bigfork. Orr is a young but very improved team so it should be a nice game. I will try and post photos by the next day! Game photos of the 8th grade game, JV game and Varsity game have been posted on jgoblephotography.photostockplus.com.

I will try and keep each game up for as long as I can but will have to start taking off the older games to make room for newer ones as the season progresses. If you want to order from the older games, make sure you do so before they are taken off!