A high-pressure system invaded Brainerd Tuesday.
Only this pressure didn't create a storm. It inhibited one.
The Brainerd Warriors intensified their defensive pressure around the perimeter preventing the Sauk Rapids Storm from attacking the paint where they had a noticeable size advantage leading to a 56-42 Central Lakes Conference victory at Brainerd High School.
Brainerd forced Sauk Rapids into eight second-half turnovers and just 24 percent shooting. That helped Brainerd outscore the Storm 31-14 in the second half after trailing by three at halftime.
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Warriors 56, Sauk Rapids 42
- Key: Brainerd held Storm to 14 second-half points
- Conf: Brd 6-2, SR 3-4
- Overall: Brd 10-5, SR 6-7
- Next: Brainerd at Fergus Falls 7:30 p.m. Friday
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"We were really outnumbered in size down low," said Warriors guard Hannah Degen. "We had to get ball pressure because we were fronting their post players. If we didn't get that pressure it would have been an easy pass into them. In the locker room, we really talked about picking it up on defense."
Even with the defensive focus near the middle of the court, Brainerd still outrebounded the Storm 22-7 in the second half and 37-29 for the game. Kylee Heurung led the Warriors with 14 rebounds to go with a game-high 19 points.
Degen drained three 3-pointers, including her last that handed Brainerd a 40-36 lead midway through the second half. The Warriors never trailed again.
"I was feeling confident and obviously if you hit that first shot that's when you feel good about it," Degen said.
"I think it goes back to our defense," she added. "Coach (Troy Nelson) said that was our best defensive half of the year. When our defense is going good, that's when our offense clicks. We were moving the ball around and getting more assists."
After shooting a miserable 32 percent from the field in the opening frame, Brainerd nailed 13-of-25 shots to finish the game shooting 43 percent. Cara Helgeson scored six and Lexi Roby five all in the second half. Lillie Hardee came off the bench to score six.
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"That second half was our best defensive half of the year," Nelson repeated. "We held them to 14 points. We did a good job ball-pressuring. Their post players are better than their guards and we knew without ball pressure we were going to have trouble inside and the girls did a great job with that."
Sauk Rapids stormed out of the halftime break to build a 31-25 edge. But Brainerd's defense was simmering. Heurung drained a basket to ignite an 8-0 Warrior run and give Brainerd its first lead with 11:35 remaining in the game. Courtney Russell and Roby hit back-to-back baskets and then Degen drained her 3 for a 40-36 advantage.
Regan McElfresh came off the bench to collect three steals. Hardee, Heurung and Helgeson all finished with three assists as Brainerd improved to 6-2 in the conference.
"We've been harping on it and the kids have been working hard in practice and today they were looking for the open person," said Nelson. "We talked about looking for mismatches and they did a good job of that in the second half. Kylee, for much of the second half, had a smaller girl on her so we got her the ball down low at times. The girls really executed that tonight."
Degen scored 11 of her 14 points in the opening half and Heurung had eight. The Storm were led by Bailey Becker, who scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the first half. Brooke Torvik scored nine of her 12 in the opening half.
Sauk Rapids shot 48 percent and collected seven second-chance points to build a 29-25 halftime lead.
"We knew Sauk Rapids was going to come and fight," Nelson said. "We knew they had been getting better and that we would be in for a dog fight. The girls came out and fought from the start. Offensively, we didn't get many shots to fall in the first half, but we didn't hang our heads and kept playing defense. Then in the second half our ball movement opened up some shots for us, which is great."
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Sauk Rapids 28 14-42
Brainerd 25 31-56
SAUK RAPIDS
Staci Meyer 1, Bailey Roscoe 2, Brooke Torvik 12, Bailey Becker 15, Ella Douvier 2, Angela Konz 8, Brooklyn Harron 2. FG 18-48 (38 percent), FT 4-14 (29 percent). 3-point 2-6 (33 percent).
BRAINERD
Hanna Degen 14, Kylee Heurung 19, Ashley Huber 2, Lexi Roby 5, Cara Helgeson 6, Lillee Hardee 6, Courtney Russell 4. FG 21-49 (42.9 percent), FT 7-11 (63.6 percent). 3-point 7-16 (43.8 percent).
