The Lady Dragons played one of their final two home games on Monday night against Cloquet.
Pine City looked to build off their success of Friday and it looked good early on. Both teams flew out the gate and knocked down shots early and often. The Dragons pulled out to an early lead in the first half and never looked back. Though the Lumberjacks kept it close, Pine City maintained their lead. The Dragons defense was a big factor in helping them build a double digit lead before half. Creating turnovers and cutting off lanes to the basket. Their lead at half 45-33.
Their offense may not have been as potent in the 2nd half scoring wise, but it didn't need to be. Again the defense provided pressure on Cloquet with everything they did. Soon the Dragons found themselves with a 21 point lead about halfway through the 2nd half. This is when things began to shift. The Lumberjacks had found a way to extinguish the red hot Dragon offense and slice through their defensive efforts. Cloquet had gone on a 13-0 run and knocked their deficit to only 8 points. The way it was going it seemed we were in for another run from Cloquet. But Pine City made their adjustments and quickly ended their scoring drought and pushed the lead back over 10. That would pretty much write an end to the game. As time wore on the Dragons drained the clock and held onto the lead and walked away with the victory 77-63.
The win gives the Dragons a 19-6 record on the year. They will hope to finish up the season on Thursday at home against Milaca. If not Pine City is almost locked into the #4 seed for the playoffs next week and would possibly host Rush City in the first round.
Scoring
Pine City
Karly Jusczak 25
Kloey Lind 24
Sophie Lahti 21
Summer Thieman 5
Vivian Lahti 2
Photo Credit: Four Seasons Photography