The Wahpeton girls basketball team continued its revenge tour Monday by avenging a previous loss to Northern Cass, outlasting the Jaguars 64-59 inside the Dawg Den at Wahpeton High School.
It was the second straight victory over a team that previously bested Wahpeton, as the Lady Huskies earned a season split via road win at Central Cass last week.
The victory was extra sweet on Senior Night, as the program celebrated a tight-knit group of veteran players — Halle Miller, Scout Woods, Galyha Lopez-Lee, Lataya Lunneborg and Olivia Hansen.
Woods posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Claire Woods added 13 points, Miller scored 10 and Piper Nelson added seven.
Nelson, a seventh grade guard, made four consecutive free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Claire Woods also shined during crunch time, scoring six of her 13 points in the fourth quarter to earn Essentia Health Player of the Game.
Miller was monumental in the game’s waning moments when tasked with guarding Miss Basketball favorite Haidyn Crockett. Miller blanketed the superstar and jumped the passing lane to deny Crockett the ball on a pair of steals down the stretch.
Crockett, who entered the contest averaging 31 points per game, was held to 23 points — a handful of those coming on the offensive glass. The senior completed the double-double with 10 boards and cut Wahpeton’s lead to 62-59 by draining an NBA-range three with 6.4 seconds remaining.
Wahpeton (7-10, 4-6 Region 1) travels to Oak Grove (9-10, 5-6 Region 1) on Thursday with a chance to overtake the Grovers for the No. 4 seed in the region. Northern Cass (7-13, 3-7 Region 1) hosts Valley City (16-2, 9-1 Region 1) on Thursday.
