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Bender, Titans
team up to
power Blue team to victory
By Nathan Mueller/Telegram
Correspondent
COLUMBUS - Somebody had
to fill the void.
With four Twin River players in
the starting lineup on Friday, the Blue
team needed someone
to fill in and mesh well with the other Titans.
Unfortunately for the Red team, that someone was Class D-1
All-State
captain Kendra Bender.
The Humphrey St. Francis graduate's speed helped the Blues
jump
out to a 10-0 first quarter lead en route to a 72-56
win at the 25th
annual Columbus Telegram/Central Community
College Girls
All-Star Basketball Game.
Bender, a Telegram Super Senior, scored seven of her
game-high
14 points in the first quarter. Playing with four
Twin River teammates
at once was no problem, according to
teammate Rebecca Peterson.
“She can do everything,” Peterson said. “
She always hustles, and
she's a good team player, too. It
was fun playing with her.”
Bender pushed the ball up the court and played with complete
disregard for her body as she flung herself in the lane to
draw contact
on drives. In the second half, Bender drew a
charge from Howells'
Jenny Svoboda, the four-time state shot
put champion.
Bender's athleticism even had the opposition in awe.
“She's just so quick,” Red coach Scott Polacek
of Howells said. “I've
seen my fair share of her
throughout the regular season, but it's amazing
what she
can do even at this next level.”
Steph Gade of Osceola also thrived playing with the Twin
River
players. She scored six points in the first quarter
and finished with
12 points.
After the slow start, the Red team climbed back within two,
10-8, in
large part because of the post play of Columbus
High's Jodie Boss,
who scored seven points in the opening
period.
“We thought she had a huge height advantage,”
Polacek said. “We
wanted to exploit that.”
The Blues, however, went on an 8-0 run of their own to
finish with
a 26-16 lead after the first quarter.
Late, as they stared at a nine-point deficit heading into
the final period,
the Reds weren't done yet.
After a layup and three-pointer by Janelle Kosch of Humphrey
St.
Francis, Svoboda hit a pair of free throws to bring the
Reds to
within 61-54 with 3:06 remaining.
Free throws from Bender, Leigh's Alisha Brabec and Twin
River's
Kara Gehring helped put the game away for the Blues.
“I have to give the girls credit,” Polacek said.
“They just gave
fantastic effort.”
Gade hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half for the
Blues, and
teammate Jessi Mazour of Boone Central had 10.
River's Brittany
Reeg and Alisha Brabec of Leigh added nine
apiece.
Kosch led the Reds with 11 points, all coming in the second
half.
Svoboda and Boss each had nine, while Lakeview's Karlynn Kapels
finished with seven points.
In addition to coming out with a win, Blues coach Brandon
Detlefsen
enjoyed the time spent with his team.
“The girls were fun to work with,” Detlefsen said.
“They were all
excited and energetic. It was a blast.”
With four Twin River players on the Blues, it was an
opportunity for
Peterson, Reeg, Kara Gehring and Whitney
Cave to play together,
even after the regular season, which
saw the Titans reach the state
semifinals in Class C-1.
“It was fun playing with my teammates one last time,”
Peterson said.
“It helped having the four of us on the team,
but everyone else played
well, too. Everyone kind of
connected together.”
Despite the loss, Polacek was impressed with his team's
ability to form
relationships and play as a team.
“They worked well as a team, which was impressive for girls
who just
met four days ago.”
Reds (1-1) 16 12 13 15 - 56
Blue (1-1) 26 11 13 22 - 72
€ Red-Jordan Loschen, Columbus High, 1 0-0 2 3; April
Dolezal, Schuyler, 0 0-0 1 0;
Stephanie Lindhorst, Lindsay
Holy Family 2 0-0 1 4; Danielle Gronenthal, Lindsay
Holy
Family, 2 0-0 1 5; Jodie Boss, Columbus High, 3 2-2 0 9;
Lisa Oberhauser,
Lindsay Holy Family, 0 2-4 2 2; Karlynn
Kapels, Lakeview, 3 1-2 1 7; Michele Wieser,
Humphrey St.
Francis 2 0-0 1 4; Janelle Kosch, Humphrey St. Francis, 5
0-0 2 11;
Amie Schlautman, Howells, 1 0-0 2 2; Jenny
Svoboda, Howells, 3 3-4 3 9.
Totals 22 9-13 15 56.
€ Blue-Kendra Bender, Humphrey St. Francis, 5 4-6 1 14;
Jenna Schmidt, Shelby,
1 0-0 1 2; Leah Travnicek, Columbus
High, 1 0-0 1 2; Justine McMullin, Leigh,
0 0-0 0 0; Steph
Gade, Osceola, 5 0-0 1 12; Kara Gehring, Twin River 2 3-6 2
7;
Brittany Reeg, Twin River, 4 1-2 2 9; Lynsey Kreikemeier,
David City Aquinas,
1 0-0 0 2; Rebecca Peterson, Twin River
2 1-2 1 5; Jessi Mazour, Boone Central,
4 2-2 2 10; Whitney
Cave, Twin River, 0 0-0 1 0; Alisha Brabec, Leigh, 3 3-4 2
9.
Totals: 28 14-22 14 72.
€ 3-point goals-Reds 3 (Loschen, Gronenthal, Kosch),
Blues 2 (Gade 2). |
