by Jake Schroer
Crow River News Sports
The Knights fought for two more victories to bring a 12-game winning streak into the section playoffs.
Tuesday saw STMA defeat St. Francis 61-38 behind a balanced effort on offense. Scoring proved difficult in the first half, as the Knights mustered just 28 points. However, the team led by 11 points at halftime.
Jadyn Hanson led the Knights with 12 points. She was one of four players in double figures; Rae Johnson had 11, Makenzie Kramer also had 11 and Vanessa Alexander had 10 and nine rebounds, falling just shy of a double-double. Riley Carlson was next in line with six rebounds.
ROGERS
The Knights beat the Rogers Royals to reach 12 straight wins thanks to a monster game behind the arc from freshman Makenzie Kramer.
Kramer and the Knights responded in a big way as they had to play without Rae Johnson, who suffered an injury in an earlier practice. Kramer made six three point baskets and finished with 22 points.
STMA’s other big outlet on offense was senior Addie Johnson, the only one of STMA’s three senior leaders to play. Johnson finished with 13 points. Kendal Cox and Riley Carlson contributed on defense with a combined 13 rebounds.
Head coach Kent Hamre said that the team needed to adapt after losing Rae Johnson in practice.
“I’m so proud of these kids (for) the way they stepped up,” Hamre said.
Cox felt the same way.
“It was devastating in practice, but I think it was good for us to learn to work without her. It was a good win for us, but we’re hoping to get her back soon,” Cox said.
STMA has now won 54 consecutive conference games, having not lost within the Mississippi 8 since February of 2013.
The Lady Knights hosted Brainerd as the #2 seed in Section 8AAAA Tuesday night. A win would have them playing Saturday against the winner of Moorhead and Rogers.