Both Basketball Teams Bounce Back After Tough Stretch

It has been a busy week for the Lake Region State College basketball teams.

The Royals just completed a four game, seven day stretch, with three of those games coming in Montana.

On the women's side of things:

Monday February 22nd at Miles Community College - Final Score was 77-53 in favor of the Pioneers. The Royals were led by Kayla Byrne with 18 points. She went 4-8 from deep.

Wednesday February 24th at Dawson Community College - Final Score was 75-59 in favor of the Buccanneers. Marta Lopez had 18 points followed by Maddy Leaf with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Kayla Byrne had 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Thursday February 25th at Dawson Community College - Final Score was 79-46 in favor of the Buccanneers. Kayla Byrne had 11 points.

Sunday February 28th vs. United Tribes Technical College - Final Score was 89-88 in favor of the Royals. Maddy Leaf exploded with 28 points 8 rebounds and 4 assists. She made eight three pointers! Marta Lopez locked in a double double with 17 points and 12 assists. She added 6 steals to go with it. Averi Ziegler was one rebound shy of completing the double double. She had 14 points to go along with her 9 rebounds. 

Head Coach Danny Mertens had this to say about the week, "It was a really tough stretch for us. We knew that going in. I thought we had our moments on our Montana trip. We just really struggled to score and that put a lot of pressure on our defense. We just go through these lulls throughout the game and thats when the game is won and lost for us. We need to stop letting that happen and fight for a full forty minutes. I though we did a better job of that against Tribes on Sunday. We finally got the lid off the hoop on Sunday and were able to make a few shots."

On the men's side of things:

Monday February 22nd at Miles Community College - Final Score 71-60 in favor of the Pioneers. Carson Henningsgard had 16 points. Beijan Newbern had 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Wednesday February 24th at Dawson Community College - Final Score 54-52 in favor of the Buccanneers. No Royals players cracked double digits in scoring. Brody Kriesel had 7 points to go with his 9 rebounds.

Thursday February 25th at Dawson Community College - Final Score 67-64 in favor of the Buccanneers. Beijan Newbern had 21 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Royals.

Sunday February 28th vs. United Tribes Technical College - Final Score 72-34 in favor of the Royals. All 11 Royals players scored. Trace Evans had 16 points and 8 Rebounds. Beau Feltman had 10 points.

Head Coach Jared Marshall had this to say about the week, "Boy, we were right there. I thought a play here or there was the difference between an 0-3 trip and a 3-0 trip in Montana. We had chances in every game we just didn't make the plays we needed. Right now we are guarding at a high level. This team is making a name for themselves on the defensive end. They take pride in getting stops and I love that about them. We just need to step up and score more consistently night in and night out to really be successful."

The women (4-11) and the men (8-7) will be back at home Wednesday night, March 3rd versus Bismarck State. Tip off with be 6:30pm & 8:30pm at the sportscenter. Both teams are fighting for seeding and a home playoff game in the Region Tournament, so come out and support your Royals basketball teams!

Go Royals!