The Dragons hosted Crosby-Ironton on Tuesday night.
Pine City couldn't have opened up the season with a tougher matchup. But it is a good test for this team with some inexperience.
The game got off to a slow start for the Dragons, and the Rangers pulled away early. This was a much different team than the Dragons have had in some time. They have only three returning players with varsity experience, the rest have little to none. So for Pine City it was more about gaining confidence and team flow.
Mallory Clepper was able to get the Dragons on the board first, which seemed to give the team some more confidence. One of the player who was gaining momentum was Piper Mettling, who was playing in her first game since injuring her knee. She was able to drain three shot from beyond the arc, leading the team in scoring at half with 10. But even with some of those bright spots, the offense turned the ball over too many times and the defense was struggling to match the speed of the Rangers. Crosby continued their dominance and lead at halftime 67-16.
With the game lopsided, Pine City was looking to execute their plays and learn more about their team in the 2nd half. Their defense stepped up and showed no fear guarding one of the top players in the state. The offense made better decisions passing the ball, and found more open shot opportunities.
The game came to an end and the Rangers came out on top 95-32.
Pine City shouldn't be discouraged, they are a younger team and will definitely improve throughout the season. They can only get better from here, and will certainly surprise some teams this year.
Stats
Pine City:
Piper Mettling 13 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals
Mallory Clepper 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Brooke Bolland 5 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal
Paige Gray, Rhetta Ganote, Reyah Johnson 2
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