Photo courtesy of Eric Viccaro/The Pipestone County Star: Marshall’s Reese Drake attempts a layup through contact during a prep girls basketball game against the Pipestone Arrows on Friday night in Pipestone. Drake scored a game-high 20 points with seven assists as the Tigers pulled away late for a 76-50 win.

No. 2 Marshall 76, Pipestone Area 50

PIPESTONE — After a back-and-forth first half, the No. 2 Marshall girls basketball team pulled away late in its game against Pipestone Area on Friday. The Tigers led by 4 points at halftime but more than doubled the Arrows’ second-half points for a 76-50 win.

Marshall remains undefeated through its first nine games. The Tigers have scored more than 70 points in seven of the nine games and have only allowed 60 or more points twice.

Friday’s scoring effort was well-balanced with five players reaching double figures for the Tigers. Reese Drake led the team with 20 points, including 8 of 13 shooting from the free-throw line, while Taleigha Bigler added another 19 points on 7 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from long range.

Also finishing in double figures, Avery Fahl knocked down five of her nine attempts for 14 points while Paige Gillingham and Avery Schneekloth added 10 points each, Schneekloth shooting 4 of 5 from the field and Gillingham going 4 of 9. 

Drake and Bigler were both effective distributors on the night, Drake dishing out seven assists with two turnovers and Bigler logging six assists with three turnovers. Drake also came away with six steals and seven rebounds on the night, both team-highs.

Gillingham grabbed six rebounds for Marshall while Bigler added another five.

Marshall (9-0) will have some time off for the holidays before resuming play at Southwest Minnesota State University next week. The Tigers will take on Jackson County Central (3-5) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Tea Area (S.D.) on Saturday at 7 p.m. as part of the SMSU Holiday Classic.

RCW 55, TMB 48

TRACY — Although out-scoring the Jaguars in the second half, the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton girls basketball team fell to Renville County West 55-48 Friday night, marking its sixth straight loss since its season-opening win over Wabasso. 

Both Melaina Ankrum and Katelyn Ruppert scored 10 points to lead the Panthers, and Marin Knott tallied a team-high six rebounds and four assists with 7 points. 

TMB struggled from the 3-point line, going 7 for 29. It shot 31% from the field.  

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (1-6) will have nearly two weeks off before heading to Madison to take on Lac qui Parle Valley (2-4) for its next game on Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Montevideo 61, YME 39 

MONTEVIDEO — The Yellow Medicine East girls basketball team suffered a 61-39 loss to Montevideo Friday evening. 

Shooting across the board was a struggle for the Sting. Bailey Mortenson led the team with 11 points, while Klaira Shackelford and Alana Almich followed with 9. 

Yellow Medicine East (4-3) will head to Cottonwood for the Lakeview Holiday Tournament after the holiday break. The Sting will take on Cedar Mountain (6-2) on Friday at 10:45 a.m. before facing off against Adrian-Ellsworth (5-2) on Saturday at the same time.

Edgerton 56, RRC 21 

LAMBERTON — Another double-double from Tia Donkersloot wasn’t enough to get the Red Rock Central girls basketball team its first win of the season on Friday night as the Falcons fell 56-21 at home against Edgerton.

Donkersloot was the Falcons’ leading scorer and rebounder in the loss, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds on the night. 

Red Rock Central (0-11) will head to Fulda for its next game against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda (3-6) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

MCC 48, HLOF 42

SLAYTON — Despite a series of close calls, the Murray County Central girls basketball team held off a series off surges from Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Friday night to claim a 48-42 win.

Thea Schneider, Kate Blankenship and Kat Miller led a balanced MCC attack with 13, 12 and 11 points respectively. Miller spaced the floor for the Rebels, shooting 3 of 6 from beyond the arc while the rest of the team shot 2 of 14. Blankenship shot 3 of 8 from the field with a 3-pointer while Schneider shot 5 of 18 from the field.

Turnovers were big part of the Rebels’ victory. MCC built an 18-26 advantage in the turnover behind its 15 steals. Ava Deacon led the way with five steals, in addition to scoring 8 points in the game, while Blankenship added another three. Schneider, Kelli Miller and Suttyn Schryvers each came away with a pair of steals.

MCC lost the rebounding battle 43-39 despite some valiant efforts on the glass. Blankenship grabbed nine rebounds to finish just one shy of a double-double while Schryvers grabbed another eight. Schryvers’ four offensive rebounds were second only to Schneider’s five. Schneider finished with seven total rebounds.

Murray County Central (4-5) will take off nearly two weeks before it next competes, going on the road to face off against Hills-Beaver Creek (5-2) with the opportunity to improve to .500 on Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

NUC 52, Wabasso 37

NEW ULM — The Wabasso girls basketball couldn’t find the win column on Friday night, losing 52-37 to New Ulm Cathedral in the Greyhounds’ first win of the season.

Wabasso (0-9) will host Class AA opponent Windom (6-1) for its next game on Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m.