CASS LAKE 鈥� Gabby Fineday was cooking on Friday night in Cass Lake.
Fineday looked completely at ease out on the court, scoring at will from all over the floor against Red Lake. By the time the final buzzer sounded, she compiled a breezy 47 points for the Cass Lake-Bena girls basketball team 鈥� the second most in program history 鈥� and CLB cruised to a 102-54 home win.
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鈥淚 come out naturally confident,鈥� the sophomore guard said. 鈥淚t's just really easy for me to do my thing.鈥�
As a freshman, Fineday played her role on a deep team that won the Section 8A championship and advanced to the state tournament. This year, she鈥檚 Cass Lake-Bena鈥檚 go-to scorer and the one the Panthers will have to ride back to that stage.
鈥淪he鈥檚 going to be really important,鈥� CLB head coach Martin Wind said. 鈥淪he works and works, and she pushes everyone to get better. She's probably our main leader on the team along with Alexiah LaRose. We didn't really look for her too much, but you don't have to run the offense through her for her to score points. She'll get the ball and get her open looks whenever she has a chance.鈥�
Fineday had 26 points in the first half and quickly added 12 in the first five minutes of the second frame. She left the game midway through the second half with 45 points, then Wind inserted her down the stretch, allowing her the opportunity to chase Amanda Gehrke鈥檚 single-game program record of 55.
鈥淚t doesn't happen very often,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淪o I told her to go back in and take a couple more good shots. If she would have made (her 3-pointers), I mean, we would have left her in and let her get another chance. But she missed them both, and so we pulled her. I didn't want her to get hurt.鈥�
Red Lake (0-3) remained attached with Cass Lake-Bena (3-1) early on, riding an early 3-pointer plus two free throws from Liliah Pemberton to stay within two points. But after the Warriors鈥� Hilary Jones sank two foul shots to make it 14-12, the Panthers scored 16 consecutive points and rocketed to a lopsided 30-12 lead.
Fineday contributed two 3-pointers, a layup and a free throw during that run, which essentially put the contest out of Red Lake鈥檚 reach.
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鈥淚 definitely knew (after) last year that I'm going to need to take on this big hole that we have to fill,鈥� Fineday said of losing leaders like Taryn Frazer and Amira LaDuke. 鈥淎nd I really worked on my one-on-one game and my facilitating game just to prepare for the season.鈥�
She鈥檚 CLB鈥檚 biggest piece now, and Wind knows she鈥檒l be crucial in the growth Cass Lake-Bena must exhibit to get back to a section-title level of performance.
鈥淲e have an eighth-grader starting,鈥� Wind said, 鈥�(three sophomores) and an 11th grader. And then my first (two) off the bench are a 10th grader and a seventh-grader. So we're super young, and (with) more and more games, we're going to get tougher and tougher.鈥�
Rayahna Staples-Fairbanks joined Fineday in double figures with 11 points for CLB, while Shaylei FallsDown and Tiana Wind each scored 10. Jones and Pemberton led the Warriors with 14 points each.
The Panthers resume competition against Mahnomen/Waubun at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, back in Cass Lake, while Red Lake next takes on Badger/Greenbush-Middle River at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 20, in Red Lake.
Cass Lake-Bena 102, Red Lake 54
RL 29 25 -- 54
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CLB 48 54 -- 102
RED LAKE 鈥� Jones 14, L. Pemberton 14, McClain 9, May 8, C. Pemberton 5, Neadeau 2, Stillday 2.
CASS LAKE-BENA -- Fineday 47, Staples-Fairbanks 11, Fallsdown 10, T. Wind 10, Goggleye 7, A. Wind 7, LaRose 6, Mitchell 2, Wright 2.
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