
ST. PAUL (KDLM) – The Laker girls basketball team finished their Cinderella season with a loss in the consolation championship game on Friday night at the Gangelhoff Center on the Concordia University campus. Detroit Lakes fell to the Austin Packers by a final score of 62-52.
The Lakers jumped out to an early lead 13-5 lead with 13:55 remaining in the first half. DL’s Jacee Hauser provided the scoring spark early as she made two three-pointers to begin the game. The Lakers also got some offense from Abby Larson, who made four of five free throws to start the game and connected twice from the field. The Packers took a timeout and adjusted to counter the Laker attack and tie the game at 14-14 with 10:18 left in the first half. The Packers’ Reana Smith came out strong offensively as she had 11 points in the first half. The first half ended with the Packers going on a 13-2 run to take the lead at the break 33-23.
Detroit Lakes fell behind even further with 8:20 left in the game. The Packers had their largest lead of the night, 47-30, thanks to a three-pointer by the Packers’ Emma Dudycha, who picked up her 1,000th point. Emma entered the game just 10 points shy of the career milestone. Her twin sister Hope Dudycha led the Packers in scoring as she finished the game with 17 points. Hope is the all-time leading scorer in Austin High School history.
Detroit Lakes cut into the deficit, and with less than two minutes to go in the game they were down 58-50. The Packers were able to shut the door on the Laker comeback as Hope Dudycha went 4-4 at the line down the stretch. The Austin Packers earned their first-ever consolation championship and moved their overall record to 26-6.
The Lakers finish their season with an overall record of 15-14. The Lakers return all but one player to their team next year, with Alex Bettcher graduating this year. Detroit Lakes will look to learn from this experience and make a return trip next season.
1st 2nd Final
Detroit Lakes 23 29 52
Austin 33 29 62
Player stats:
Detroit Lakes
Jacee Hauser 20 points
Abby Larson 17 points
Grace Gunderson 5 points
Elle Bettcher 4 points
Helena Daggett 4 points
Austin
Hope Dudycha 17 points
Reana Smith 13 points
Emma Dudycha 11 points
Ajem Agwa 7 points
Cassidy Shute 6 points
Kiru Othow 4 points

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