CASS LAKE 鈥� The Cass Lake-Bena girls basketball team came ready to score on Friday night.
Facing Red Lake in another renewal of the two teams鈥� regional rivalry, the Panthers poured in 67 points during a dominant first half. Only a running clock kept them from exceeding 100, and CLB polished off a 98-26 win after a shortened second half.
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Five different Cass Lake-Bena players scored in double figures, paced by Tylicia Graves-Desjarlait with 17. On a night of such prolific offensive output, there wasn鈥檛 a whole lot for head coach Martin Wind to complain about.
鈥淚'm comfortable playing with nine girls that we have, 10 girls at times,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淭hey're starting to figure it out with moving the ball and sharing the ball and finding the open spots. It's really nice to see that they're starting to play really good team ball already so early in the season. So that's what I really liked.鈥�
With so many options to go to, a number of Panthers posted standout performances. Included in that group was senior Kiara Goggleye, who scored 15 points, then raced to participate in the junior varsity game after another CLB player hurt her nose.
鈥淜iara, she's just a workhorse, man,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淪he hustles, she does it all. She (dives) on the floor. I mean, she doesn't care about scoring. She just wants to win. That's a really good player to have.鈥�
It was a relatively quiet night for Panthers star guard Gabby Fineday, who posted nine points. But with a full menu of other contributors ready to go, Cass Lake-Bena showcased the strength in its numbers.
鈥淥ur other girls, I tell them all the time 鈥� a lot of teams are just going to focus on Gabby,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淪o you guys need to step up and shoot when you're open. That's what they did tonight. Shoot when you're open, they make it, now Gabby's going to get more shots. And then Gabby鈥檚 so good at setting other people up too; she鈥檚 setting screens for people. So she's not selfish either.鈥�
CeAngela Pemberton led Red Lake with 13 points. It was an uphill battle for the Warriors all night long, and the Panthers鈥� scoring depth was too much to match.
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Anika Wind added 12 points for CLB, while Rayahna Staples-Fairbanks and Alexiah LaRose chipped in 10 apiece.
鈥淭hey've been passing up good shots to get better shots, and that's really good to see,鈥� Wind said of his squad.
After bowing out in the Section 8A quarterfinals last season, Cass Lake-Bena is hungry for a return trip to the state tournament. The Panthers made it to Minneapolis just two seasons ago, and while there are many steps to go along their journey this year, Wind is pleased with how CLB has progressed so far.
鈥淚t's (a matter) of figuring out the roles,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淓ach one of our players needs to figure out their role on the team, and I think they're starting to get that. We put a new offense in, and it gives them more freedom. They're adapting to it really well. That's a big key. They're starting to know each other and starting to mix people up more. They're really flowing. They're starting to flow.鈥�
Cass Lake-Bena 98, Red Lake 26
RL 17 9 鈥� 26
CLB 67 31 鈥� 98
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RED LAKE 鈥� C. Pemberton 13, Lussier 8, Stillday 5.
CASS LAKE-BENA 鈥� Graves-Desjarlait 17, Goggleye 15, A. Wind 12, Staples-Fairbanks 10, LaRose 10, Fineday 9, Wright 9, Moore 5, Ti. Wind 5, Te. Wind 4, Giffen 2.
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