TRACY — The Minneota girls basketball team shifted all momentum in its favor after halftime in its matchup against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton on Tuesday. While the Vikings led by 8 at the break, they cruised late to a 60-41 win.

“One thing we need to work on is our chemistry,” Minneota head coach Alan Panka said. “During practice, we work hard until the last whistle. Building that chemistry will help us on and off the court. Ultimately, that’s what will help us grow.”  

The Vikings started scoring off fouls. Whether it was free throws or inbound passes after fouls on the floor, Sarah Gruenes capitalized with 8 points in five minutes and finished the game with 13.

As the Vikings worked more off turnovers and fouls, they ran up the score. Trailing 12-21, the Panthers scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 5 points.

As the Panthers scratched for more points, the Vikings’ defense shut them out while also finding its own rhythm. Jaylyn Coequyt took the reins of the offense after Gruenes’ early scoring burst to lead Minneota to a 32-24 halftime lead. Coequyt finished the night with 27 points on 13 of 26 shooting from the field and making her lone free-throw attempt.

“That first half, they played aggressive. Obviously, we need to work more on keeping possession of the ball and not falling for sloppy turnovers,” Panka said. “We played aggressively too. It’s the first game of the season as well, they have a surge of energy to play. But foul trouble and better handling is what needs to be worked on mostly.”

The Vikings floored it offensively with a 12-5 run to start the second half. The Panthers switched to a three-man press. Playing aggressively, they hoped to change the pace of the game. The Vikings chewed through their flaws and found easy points.  Smooth passes and quick moves helped the Vikings get around the press.   

“Once they ran that press, we try to get around it. Since it’s a three-person press, if we can get past halfcourt, they have to cut back,” Panka said. “We would draw a play to get two other players under the hoop. Throw a pass to the paint and get an easy basket. At one point I was saying ‘only layups,’ because we could get easy points out of that.”  

With most of the points coming from the paint, the Vikings shot few 3-pointers. They went 1 of 12 from beyond the arc while TMB went 5 of 14.

“If we can easily score from within the paint after breaking their press, there is no point in shooting a 3-pointer,” Panka said. “Just get below the hoop and go for an easy layup. I would much rather have us go for a couple of rebounds to get a good layup in, then test our luck with a 3-pointer.” 

Allison Edwards and Kyli Carter each grabbed four steals for TMB while Melaina Ankrum added another three. For Minneota, Kiersyn Hulzebos led the charge with five steals while Coequyt and Gruenes recorded four and three respectively. Minneota won the turnover battle 20-28.

 Minneota outrebounded TMB 39-33, including a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass. Coequyt led the Vikings with 10 rebounds for a double-double on the night, including five offensive and five defensive rebounds, while Libby Sussner and Eden Meagher each grabbed another six rebounds.

The Panthers’ long-range shooting cut the deficit to 13 points with just six minutes left. Minneota wouldn’t have that and shut down TMB’s operation. The Vikings scored 9 unanswered points to put the nail in the coffin. Elsie Knott would break the slump, scoring her first points off a free throw. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be enough, as the Vikings would run away with the victory. 

Carter would use her abilities in the paint to lead the team with 10 points and nine rebounds. Marin Knott was right behind her, scoring 9 points by knocking down three of her four 3-point attempts.

Katelyn Ruppert and Melaina Ankrum also grabbed eight and six rebounds respectively for TMB.

The Minneota Vikings (1-0), host Yellow Medicine East on Thursday, game time is set at 7:30. 

The TMB Panthers (1-1), will travel to play Lakeview. That game is also on Thursday, game time is set at 7:30.