Girls basketball: Lakeville teams make it a tough week for Irish

• Tough week

The Irish girls basketball team lost to Lakeville North and Lakeville South.

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When the Rosemount girls basketball team started its conference schedule 8-1, no one could have foreseen the Lake conference playing out quite the way it has.

The Lake Conference is considered by many the toughest conference in the state. With several close losses going the other way during a tough schedule, the Irish are just trying to stay positive at this point.

“We’ve lost some tight ones and sometimes that can snowball,” Rosemount coach Sam McDonald said. “You hope it doesn’t, but we’ve lost some tight ones and you obviously are playing some just fantastic basketball teams. It’s been a combination of losing the close ones and playing a really, really tough Lake Conference schedule. It doesn’t leave much room for error.

“The girls have been great. They’re staying coachable and keeping the effort up. We just keep plugging forward. You just stay positive.”

The past week played out much the same way the season has unfolded. Rosemount lost 75-57 at Lakeville South and then took a 70-39 loss on Tuesday at home against undefeated and No. 1-ranked Lakeville North.

Playing against the top-ranked Panthers provided a stiff challenge for the undersized Irish (10-11, 1-10 Lake).

The Lakeville North frontcourt features a few players over six feet tall. Elaine Warner, Rosemount’s top post threat is 5-foot-11. When the Panthers started hitting shots from the outside, McDonald knew the Irish were in for a tough night.

“They’re No. 1 in the state for a reason,” McDonald said. “I don’t know what else to say. Their front line is fabulous. Then, on top of that, they absolutely lit it up from outside. That’s a deadly combination in the sport of basketball.

“Disappointing? Yes, score-wise. Overall, we didn’t do too bad, but with a team that shoots like that and combines with that size, it’s going to be a long night.”

Making matters more difficult, Warner was lost in the first half to an injury.

Rachel Hoeppner scored 12 points to lead the Irish. Jennifer Fleming added eight points off the bench.

A healthy Warner led the Irish against Lakeville South. She finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, three assists and one block.

Hoeppner scored 15 points. Micaella Petrich had 11 assists to go with five points.

“We really struggled with their size in that game,” McDonald said. “And combine that with us not shooting the ball very well, that’s pretty much all she wrote. We battled back, but in the end their size really got us.

“We need to shoot well. We don’t have to shoot lights out, but we need to shoot well to win.”

Tags: girls basketball, sports, prep, rosemount, irish, minnesota