Chanhassen’s girls’ basketball team ended a 10-year losing streak to their rival Chaska Hawks with a 68-62 victory on Jan. 10.
Chaska made sure there would not be a losing streak of their own.
Junior Addi Schneider led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points, as the Hawks bounced back from their previous loss to the Storm, prevailing with a 58-49 victory on Feb. 4.
Chaska, playing shorthanded without starters Ella Keenan and Addison Perkins, saw five players score more than 8 points. Complementing Schneider’s output were senior Alexis Schaefer with 11, senior Macy Anderson and freshman Jenna Nelson with 9 apiece, and senior Hanah Thul added 8.
While their offense was balanced and efficient, Coach Sam Canter credited the team’s defense as the key to victory.
“I thought we executed as a team on defense,” Canter said. “Chan is a good team and they play hard. We expected and anticipated them to go on runs, so my challenge to the team was how we handled that.”
The Hawks jumped out to an early lead with a couple of runs of their own in the first half. Anderson hit two big three-point shots near the end of the frame to put the Hawks up 34-21 at halftime.
In the second half, the Hawks maintained a consistent double-digit lead, though the Storm fought back to as close as a 4-point deficit at one point.
Chanhassen was led once again by their impressive youngsters, with sophomores Kate Arnold and Lyla Hentges scoring 18 and 1,0 respectively. Freshman Reese Keating and eighth-grader Lucy Hilgert each added 8.
Though Chan fought hard, Chaska played tough defense and buried some key shots down the stretch. Schaefer made a big three-pointer, Thul delivered a couple of physical layups, and Nelson scored on a beautiful move to the hoop, to help the Hawks pull away for the win.
Canter praised her team’s late-game play.
“I thought we did a good job of getting stops, not bailing them out with fouls, and getting rebounds down the stretch,” said the Chaska coach. “We had composure throughout the game. Offensively we were able to execute our plays and capitalize on attacking or different mismatches.”
Chanhassen and Chaska are now both tied for third in the Metro West conference, with matching 6-3 records, trailing Orono (8-1) and Benilde-St. Margaret’s (7-2).
