Streeter girls take over first place

Courtesy of "CatEye" television...

The Mainstreeters girls' basketball team took over first place with a 44-40 win over New London-Spicer Friday.

Jena Klaphake made three free throws down the stretch and also blocked Taylor Thundsted's tying three-point attempt with seconds remaining to seal the win.

The win gives Sauk a 6-2 conference mark and 16-3 record overall. New London-Spicer is also 6-2, but both their losses have come against the Mainstreeters.

That puts Sauk in the driver's seat for a conference title.

"Today was a good day," said head coach Scott Bergman following the game.

he was referring also to news that Kali Peschel was cleared by her doctor to resume play. She is expected to play her first game Feb. 14.

So to recap --- the Streeters took over first place and got their best player back all within a few hours of each other.

Yeah, you could say today was a good day.

Sauk Centre battles New London-Spicer to the wire in a tight contest after holding a 9-point halftime lead

At halftime at New London tonight, the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters led 28-19 in a key West Central North Conference girls' basketball game.

NL-S held a 40-36 lead with 2 minutes left in the ball game, but Macy Weller hit one of two free throws and then soon after hit a point-blank shot in the lane to make it a one-point game.

Then with 34.4 seconds on the clock, Jena Klaphake canned two free throws to pad a slim 41-40 lead.

Final score: Sauk Centre 44, NL-S 40.

The Mainstreeters pull into a tie for first place in the WCC-North with the big win while sweeping the season series from the Wildcats. Both are in different sub-sections in Section 6AA, so the win doesn't have quite the playoff implications that these games have in the past three years.

It's the sixth win in a row for Sauk Centre over the vaunted Wildcats dating back to the 2009-2010 season. NL-S last defeated Sauk Centre on Feb. 23, 2010 on their home court by a 45-41 score.

It's a battle royale tonight at New London-Spicer

Junior guard Liz Ellens guides the ball around the top of the key during the NL-S game on Jan. 6, when the Mainstreeters won 53-40 over the then-#9-ranked Wildcats.

The NL-S Wildcats girls' basketball team hosts Sauk Centre tonight in an epic conference and section match up with the Mainstreeters. Whoever wins may have the inside track on the number one playoff seed; much is left to be determined on that topic as the February schedule plays out.

Both teams are playing very well as of late, and tonight should be an incredible game from start to finish.

The Mainstreeters are 10-1 since a tight loss to Albany on Dec 22. Their only loss during that span came on Jan. 10 to Melrose by a 39-38 score.

New London-Spicer has one lone loss since Sauk Centre beat them on Jan. 6. Six days later, the Wildcats traveled to Howard Lake and were soundly beaten 74-56 to Central Minnesota Conference-favorite Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. HL-W-W is 15-4 after starting out the season 1-3. Interestingly, HL-W-W travels to Esko tonight to face the #4-ranked Eskomos, who are 16-1. That will say a lot as far as how good the Lakers are.

Updates from the game will be posted here later tonight.

Mainstreeter boys' basketball drops home contest to Crusaders

Final: St. Cloud Cathedral 78, Sauk Centre 61.

Tonight's home boys' basketball game and tomorrow's girls' game will be on DTV

Can't make it to the game? DTV20 will be there.

Read more at their website: http://www.dtv20.com

Mainstreeter basketball teams split vs. Melrose Area

In a home contest tonight, the Mainstreeter girls' basketball team won a West Central North Conference match up with Melrose Area 54-42. They've now won 10 of their last 11 games and take a 15-3 overall record to New London-Spicer this Friday night. The game is HUGE, as a win would lift them into a first-place tie in the WCCN with the Wildcats. A loss puts them two games back and dims their hopes for a three-peat as champions of the conference.

Senior Michael Knoblauch corrals a loose ball with pressure being applied by Scottie Stone during the Melrose game. PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING

At Melrose, the Mainstreeter boys' basketball team played a hard-fought game but lost 61-52 to the conference-leading Dutchmen. Now 9-7 overall (3-3 WCCN), they host St. Cloud Cathedral on Thursday night. The Crusaders are 12-3 overall (7-1 Granite Ridge Conference) and one of the favorites in Section 5AA.