Photo by Caleb Brinton Sleepy Eye’s Taylor Berkner drives past Martin County West’s Addy Wohlhuter during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover girls basketball game in Trimont Thursday night.

By Caleb Brinton

cbrinton@fairmontsentinel.com

TRIMONT — A hard-nosed game in the paint and a late push by the Sleepy Eye Indians secured them a victory over the Martin County West Mavericks on Thursday night.

The Indians ended up winning 53-47 in the Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover girls basketball game.

“They outplayed us tonight,” said Mavericks head coach Cliff Anderson. “They forced us into too many turnovers in the half-court game. They were a good team. They have really good transition and good shooters, but we didn’t handle their press again. We have to do better against a half-court press. It’s as simple as that.”

Leading the Mavericks was Emily Anderson with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Courtney Anderson had 9 points and five assists. Emily Schettler had 10 points and six rebounds.

Stat leaders for Sleepy Eye were Paige Haala with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Cadence Okerman had 16 points and eight rebounds. Kayla Hecht had 5 points, while Taylor Berkner had 4 points and four rebounds.

The first half was a battle in the paint, with the first two baskets coming from Schettler. However, there were only 2 points allowed within the opening three minutes. Sleepy Eye responded with 4 points of their own off the hand of Cadence Okerman, but the Mavericks jumped out to an 8-4 lead after Schettler and Courtney Anderson both found their way through the lane.

The game remained tight, with the teams consistently exchanging baskets. It was a mid-range shot from Paige Haala that tied things up. The Mavericks quickly regained a 19-16 lead courtesy of a 3-pointer from Emily Anderson. Moments later, Kayla Hecht drained a bucket from beyond the arc, tying things again at 21-21. The Indians gained momentum, and jumped out to a 4-point lead of 25-21.

It was short-lived, however, as a 3-pointer from Emily Anderson put the Mavericks back within one, and conventional 3-point play by Courtney Anderson regained the Mavericks’ lead. Taylor Berkner hit two out of three free throws to tie things up 27-27, but Bailey Larson was able to hit a shot in the closing seconds to secure a 29-27 lead heading into the half.

Immediately after opening the second half, Sleepy Eye tied the game back up 29-29. Much like the first half, the physical battle below the basket continued. A 3-pointer from Emily Anderson put the Mavericks back up 36-33.

With a little under 11 minutes on the clock, Haala sank a bucket and hit a free throw to retake the lead from MCW, going up 38-36. Nine minutes were remaining in the game when Sleepy Eye was able to pull away from the Mavericks, going up 43-38. The Mavericks continued to battle, but Sleepy Eye continued to add to the lead and went up 51-44. Emily Anderson added another 3 with 8.6 seconds on the clock, but Sleepy Eye ran out the clock securing the 53-47 victory.

The Mavericks are now 17-4 overall and 13-1 in section play and host Madelia at 7 p.m. on Monday. The Indians are now 13-7 and travel to take on Cedar Mountain on Friday.