The Esko Coaches Classic Girls Basketball Tournament had an impressive field of eight. Among the teams competing were Esko, Hermantown, Grand Rapids, Moose Lake-Willow River. In the championship game Grand Rapids had enough gas left in their tank to defeat the host Eskomos by a 55-47 score.
Katie McBride led the Thunderhawks with 11 points while Kelli Rengo and Ashley Langila finished with 12 points each to lead the Eskomos.
"It was a great tournament," said Esko coach Sue Northey. "I think we just ran out of fresh legs in the final."
'Rapids grabbed a 12-point halftime lead, but Esko fought back to cut the lead in the second half.
Also scoring for Esko were Sami Mattson with seven, Amber Ryan had six, Jade Baxley scored five, Roz Chromy finished with three and Amber Jubie added a pair of points.
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- Esko opened the tournament with a 75-25 win over Duluth Marshall in a game the Eskomos led 40-12 at the half. Langila led the Eskomos with 16 points, Kayla Jenkins scored 11, Ryan had 10, Tia Salo scored five, Amber Jubie had six, Ashley Ojala, Jenna Coughlin, Kaycee Knutson, Jamie Rust and Sami Mattson all finished with four points, Kelli Rengo recorded three points and Jade Baxley and Jessica Bergstedt both added a pair of points.
- In the opening round Moose Lake-Willow River fell 67-32 to Concordia Academy in a game the Rebels trailed by 37-13 at the half.
Kelsey Carlson led Concordia Academy in scoring with 17 points.
Scoring for ML-WR were Caitlyn Jusczak nine points, Hillary Peterson had seven points, Kathlyn Coil had five, Amanda Larson added three, Katie Youngberg, and Candy Stapen, Allie Adamczak and Natasha Draglewin each finished with a pair of points.
- In second round action the Eskomos mounted a comeback for the ages in their 57-53 over Concordia Academy. Esko trailed 28-11 at halftime.
"The girls showed a ton of heart in that second half," mentioned Northey. "Kelli Rengo kind of got us jump-started with seven points in a matter of a couple of minutes and then Sami (Mattson) just got into a zone."
Mattson's zone was incredible as she finished with 27 points, including five three-pointers.
Rengo contributed nine in the win, Ryan had seven, Baxley added four, Langila scored three, Jamie Rust had four, Chromy finished with two and Jess Bergstedt scored a point.
"One of the big keys was the defense of Amber (Ryan) and Jade (Baxley)," explained Northey. "They were big for us on the defensive side of the floor, giving us a chance to make up the distance in the second half."
- Moose Lake-Willow River downed Marshall 62-38 in the second round in a game that the Rebels led 26-20 at the break.
Jusczak finished with 19 points, it was 14 for Peterson, Adamczak and Stephan both had six, it was a nine-point night for Destany Nummela, Katie Youngberg scored three, Coil and Rachel Mach both finished with a pair of points, and Amanda Larson scored a point.
Allison Homstad led the Hilltoppers with 12 points.
Pine Journal sports reporter Kerry Rodd can be contacted at: kdrodd@aol.com .
