Photo by Samantha Davis: Dawson-Boyd’s Claire Stratmoen goes up for a layup in the first half against GHECTML at the Holiday Classic tournament in Marshall at Southwest Minnesota State University Friday afternoon. Stratmoen finished with a team-high 18 points in the Blackjacks’ 56-48 win. 

MARSHALL — In a matchup that never saw more than an 8-point difference, the Dawson-Boyd girls basketball team closed out 2024 with a 56-48 victory over Grenada-Huntley-East Chain-Truman-Martin Luther at the Holiday Classic Tournament at Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday. 

“I figured watching the film ahead of time that it should be a good matchup,” Dawson-Boyd head coach Rachel Hakanson said. “It was a fun game … I told the girls that every possession matters.” 

Freshman Claire Stratmoen led Dawson-Boyd with 18 points and nine rebounds on the day, and went 3 for 5 at the 3-point line. Alyssa Swedzinkski and Alivia Estling followed with 9 points each. 

Keira Benck and Londyn Bowers led GHEC-T-ML with 15 points apiece. 

The Blackjacks overall shot 32% from the field, while the Jaguars shot 31% from the field. Both teams had a 28% 3-point shooting mark. 

After fighting through a slow start, both teams started to heat up off one another toward the end of the first half. Although the Blackjacks and Jaguars struggled with turnovers, Dawson-Boyd pulled away in the final minutes behind effective perimeter shooting. 

“[We had to] try and just stay focused, and keep open the whole game,” Stratmoen said. “Don’t focus on the score, you don’t want that to affect your game.” 

A pressing difference between the two teams heading into Friday was roster experience. The Blackjacks hold its lone senior in Lindsey Lund and three juniors, supported with a large group of sophomores and freshmen. 

The Jaguars on the other hand, have an older roster made entirely of juniors and seniors. 

“They are a little bit older, more experienced, and with a little bit of height,” Hakanson said. “I really encouraged the girls that we got to box out and crash the boards. Rebounds really matter.” 

Stratmoen was an offensive spark throughout the game, and kept the Blackjacks within reach when the Jaguars would go on small runs. 

“It’s a lot of my teammates,” Stratmoen said regarding her offensive consistency. “They help me find my ways open, and I just find the gaps to shooting the ball or driving.” 

In the game’s final minutes, Dawson-Boyd broke away with a 51-46 lead with just over two minutes to go. 

“I told the girls we just got to be solid with our footing,” Hakanson said. “Be aggressive, and just making sure that we’re ripping the ball when they play up tight, dribble around them.” 

Lund hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to create more of a cushion, as the Blackjack bench erupted with excitement in the final minute. 

Stratmoen grabbed one more steal on the day on a long pass attempt, which helped to seal the victory as the Blackjacks kept the ball as shot clock ran down. 

In the first half, Stratmoen got the action started with a fast break layup off a steal for the day’s first points, but Harley Geistfeld for GHEC-T-ML immediately hit a 3-pointer off the right wing in response. 

Estling drew the and-1 on an offensive putback for the Blackjacks and made the free throw. But again, Bowers for the Jaguars followed up with another 3 for the early 7-5 lead. 

Both teams struggled with a handful of traveling calls in the half, but neither was able to grab more than a 6-point lead. 

“I told the girls that every possession matters, and that you got to go to your passes,” Hakanson said. “We’re going to have to be aggressive, and we have to get the defense moving. So, get a couple reversals on offense, get the defense shifting, and then attack and shoot at that point.” 

After a few minutes of a scoring drought, Bowers got a steal and went up for the open layup for GHEC-T-ML.

Estling responded with a jump shot in the middle of the lane to bring the score back within one possession at 9-7. 

The Blackjacks began to find some momentum with a 3-pointer from Lund, and back-to-back shots from Swedzinski to take the 15-12 lead after the Jaguars went on a short run. 

A 3-pointer from the Jaguars’ Josie Moeller tied the game up at 15, continuing to showcase a competitive back-and-forth matchup. 

Stratmoen hit a 3-pointer to give Dawson-Boyd a 5-point edge, yet Benck hit back-to-back 3’s for GHEC-T-ML to take back a 25-22 advantage. 

As the clock was running down to close out the half, Swedzinski got involved on the 3-point action with a make of her own and the Blackjacks went into the locker room with a 30-28 lead. 

The second half also remained within reach, with both teams unable to break away. 

Stratmoen visited the charity stripe twice for the Blackjack’s first two possessions after being fouled on a shot attempt and went 3 for 4. 

Stratmoen continued to make crucial shots and show her range, from the perimeter or on layups.  

“She’s [Stratmoen] a good spark for us. She consistently plays well, and she’s aggressive not only on offense, but also on defense,” Hakanson said. “Definitely a big role for our team.” 

A 3-pointer from GHEC-T-ML’s Moeller tied the game up at 39, halting a short Dawson-Boyd run before the Blackjacks surged back ahead for the win.

Dawson-Boyd (3-5) will return to the court in the new year when it takes on Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (1-6) on Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. 

“[We’ll] give the girls a little bit of time off, have a couple fun practices, but also get back to some of the fundamentals,” Hakanson said. “Just make it fun. I was once told that the season is long, but you can’t make it feel long.”