Senior Addi Schneider scored 30 points in a losing effort as the Chaska girls basketball team fell to Waconia 75-64 on Friday night, dropping the Hawks to 4-15 on the season.
Basketball is a sport of momentum, both in games, and the season as a whole.
Last year, the Hawks’ girls team rode an incredible wave of momentum during a post-season for the ages, resulting in a Class 4A Consolation Championship.
That same momentum has been hard to come by this year, with only a handful of weeks to go to find a similar spark to reverse what has been a challenging season.
Despite a stellar 30-point performance from senior captain Addi Schneider, the Hawks fell to the Waconia Wildcats 75-64 at Waconia High School. Chaska, who plays one of the most difficult schedules in the entire state, fell to 4-15 on the season with the loss.
Schneider, who has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Hawks for two seasons, led the way early with nine points in the opening minutes to keep Chaska competitive. Both teams played excellent defense in a tightly contested first half, with the Hawks trailing just 30-27 at the break.
Schneider had 14 points at halftime, while sophomore Natalie Heyer added six on a pair of three-pointers.
The Wildcats, an impressive blend of experienced seniors and precocious underclassmen, pulled away in the second half. Senior Addison Bryfczynski led Waconia with 18 points, while senior Audrey Brown added 16 and freshman Ireland Stier contributed 13. The Wildcats’ balanced attack proved too much for the Hawks to overcome.
Waconia stretched their lead to as many as 13 points in the second half and maintained an 8-to-11-point advantage for most of the frame. The Hawks battled throughout but couldn’t find the runs needed to close the gap.
For Chaska, Heyer finished with 14 points and fellow sophomore Jenna Nelson added nine, while Schneider did everything she could to will her team to victory with her 30-point effort.
Waconia (15-5), led by seniors Emma Hanson, Bryfczynski and Brown, along with a trio of promising freshmen (Hailey Eggers, Claire Fredrickson, and Stier) continues to play well as they build momentum heading into the postseason.
Chaska continues to navigate a difficult season with their senior-laden squad that includes two talented sophomores in Heyer and Nelson and a freshman starter, Brooke Bachmann, who represent the program’s future.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Hawks, as they return home to host a top-ten-caliber team in their biggest rival, the Chanhassen Storm, on Monday, Feb. 2.
