CANBY - Riding a huge 39-point, 16-rebound double-double from Riley Nordgaard Monday night, the Canby Lancers earned a 62-42 victory over the Wabasso Rabbits in a key non-conference high school girls' basketball game.
Nordgaard, who also collected eight steals and dished out five assists, shot 13-for-25 from the field and was 9-for-10 at the free-throw line to help the Lancers win for the 12th time in their last 13 games and improve to 18-5 overall.
"We are playing pretty well right now and gave a good defensive effort tonight," Canby head coach Kevin Hansen said after the game. "We knew that Wabasso is a very good team coming in, and I thought we identified their shooters well and contested their shots for the most part. This was a good win for us."
Article Photos
Photo by Lucas Knutson
Wabasso’s Kimberly Frank (15) drives the lane as Canby’s Casie Baer closes in on defense during Monday’s non-conference game at Canby High School. The Lancers responded after a slow start to defeat the Rabbits 62-42.
The Rabbits, who are now 19-4 overall after back-to-back losses, did jump out to a quick 11-3 lead behind some hot perimeter shooting from both Kimberly Frank (14 points, seven steals) and Ellen Franta (10 points, five assists).
Wabasso, though, went scoreless for nearly five straight minutes after that strong start and saw Canby build a trio of 12-point leads late in the first half. The Lancers had a 32-22 halftime advantage and stayed in control throughout the second half to post a convincing 20-point win.
"We didn't play well and give Canby a lot of credit because they did play well," Wabasso head coach Neil Dolan said. "We got off to a nice start, but that was about it. We didn't shoot well or play much defense overall, plus we turned the ball over far too many times to give ourselves a chance to climb out of the hole."
Fact Box
Wabasso (42)
Larissa Rohlik 2 0-0 5, Desi Kramer 1 1-2 3, Karlee Eichten 1 0-0 2, Kimberly Frank 6 0-0 14, Ellen Franta 4 0-0 10, Taylor Doubler 1 2-4 4, Chelsey Guetter 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 5-10 42. Three-Pointers 5 (Frank 2, Franta 2) Rebounds 25 (Guetter 10) Assists 12 (Franta 5) Steals 15 (Frank 7) Blocks 1 (Franta 1) Turnovers 21 Total Fouls 11.
Canby (62)
Brittany Merritt 1 0-0 3, Riley Nordgaard 13 9-10 39, Ricki Kallhoff 3 1-3 7, Kelsey Goplen 1 0-0 2, Megan Regnier 1 0-0 2, Casie Baer 3 0-0 7, Taylor Gorder 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 10-13 62. Three-Pointers 6 (Nordgaard 4) Rebounds 35 (Nordgaard 16, Gorder 6) Assists 13 (Nordgaard 5) Steals 12 (Nordgaard 8) Blocks 3 (Kallhoff 3) Turnovers 20 Total Fouls 9.
Halftime Score: Canby 32, Wabasso 22.
Frank nailed a pair of three-pointers from the left side, took a steal in for a layup and also passed to Franta for a three-pointer in the left corner, staking Wabasso to early leads of 3-0, 5-0, 8-3 and 11-3 within the game's initial four minutes.
But Canby responded with a 15-0 burst to take an 18-11 lead by the 9 minute, 23 second mark. Nordgaard scored 11 of her 24 first-half points in that span, and also passed to Ricki Kallhoff (seven points) for a basket in the lane, as the Lancers started to take control.
Franta hit another three-pointer to get Wabasso back on the board with 9:06 remaining, but Canby went up 26-14 behind an athletic three-point play off an offensive rebound by Nordgaard, a three-pointer from Brittany Merritt and a coast-to-coast layup off a steal by Nordgaard.
"Riley had a very good all-around game," Hansen said. "She scored in a variety of ways and used her athletic ability in the open court to make plays. She knows how to play the game and has been doing what she did tonight throughout her entire career."
Canby maintained its 10-point halftime lead (32-22) to start the second half, as Nordgaard passed to Kallhoff and Taylor Gorder (six rebounds) for baskets to help make it 38-28 at the 14:51 mark.
Nordgaard later passed to Casie Baer (seven points) for a 17-footer along the left baseline before she buried back-to-back shots from behind the arc, helping the Lancers extend the gap to 52-34 with 8:12 on the clock.
The spread didn't change much the rest of the way, as Baer scored on a drive in the lane and connected on a long-distance shot from the top of the key for Canby. The Lancers' largest lead was 60-39 after Nordgaard grabbed a defensive rebound and went rim-to-rim for a hoop with 3:18 remaining.
Chelsey Guetter (10 rebounds), Larissa Rohlik, Desi Kramer and Taylor Doubler all scored late in the game for Wabasso, while Karlee Eichten had scored earlier in the first half for the Rabbits.
Canby's Megan Regnier scored the game's last bucket with four seconds remaining, providing the final margin. Kelsey Goplen was the other player to score for the Lancers, hitting a right elbow shot in the first half.
Canby is off until Saturday when it hosts Hancock in the regular-season finale. Wabasso is back on the road tonight, playing at Sleepy Eye.