SLEEPY EYE — During the 2022-23 season, the Sleepy Eye girls basketball team won three straight in the Section 2A playoffs and finished the regular season with eight straight wins.
The Indians picked up where they left off a year ago and improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference with a 73-52 win over Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Monday at St. Mary’s High School. and improved his grades. Tomahawk Conference matchup.
St. Mary’s was the last regular season opponent to beat Sleepy Eye, winning 54-51 in a close back-and-forth game on January 26th. But in this game, Sleepy Eye controlled the score throughout the game, only once trailing by one point early in the first half.
Sleepy Eye head coach Sarah Hesse said the team’s biggest improvement from preseason was the team’s continuity and consistent defense.
“We all played together last year.” she said. “So, that helps a lot. They have chemistry and they know what the other player is going to do. They’re just picking off each other, so even if one shot doesn’t go well. , the other one is starting to shoot better and that helps the offense. Then I think they’re getting a little bit better defensively. They’re figuring it out even more. We’re shutting down stronger opponents. We’ve been focusing on defense to get us where we need to be so we can do that.”
The defensive improvement was very noticeable in this game, troubling the Knights’ offense with deflections and turnovers, creating transition opportunities for the Indians.
“We talked a lot and worked a lot.” Blair Mertz of Sleepy Eye said: “We just kept talking. We had to have faith that the other guy was there and the other guy was going to cover us.”
Sarah Hesse added that the team had a strong game plan heading into the match.
“Our game plan was to slow down their top guards.” she said. “To relax [Morgan] With Mathiowetz down, it’s a little harder to get to the hoop and he can put pressure on players who don’t want to have the ball. We did it well and it worked. Very happy with the result. ”
Cadence Hesse and Mertz each scored 23 points for the Indians, with Cadence Hesse contributing 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and Mertz contributing 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Cadence Okerman also had 10 points, four rebounds and four steals for Sleepy Eye.
Mertz said her and her team’s offensive output was helped by staying consistent and working together.
“Everyone was confident.” Mertz said. “I just took advantage of that and the people around me and worked with what I had.”
Despite his emphasis on defense, Mathiowetz continued his impressive freshman season with 31 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals for the Knights, averaging 29.3 points per game through seven games. Amelia Schwartz had 13 points, 11 rebounds and two steals for St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s head coach Bruce Wojtas has been very supportive of Mathiowetz’s past season.
“Morgan, like all the players, spends a lot of time playing basketball.” He said. “They’re putting in a lot of extra time working on their games and skills. She has great floor awareness and is able to get everyone else involved and still score points. She’s only a freshman, but we expect that every time she steps on the floor. She’s doing a great job and has the overall aspect of having a good basketball IQ. I am.”
Sleepy Eye started the game with a 7-2 lead, but St. Mary’s went on a 6-0 run, starting with scores from Brock and Mathiowetz, to take an 8-7 lead. But that was the only lead the Knights held in the game, as a cut in by Sam Price gave the Indians a 9-8 lead back.
Sleepy Eye steadily increased its lead throughout the first half, using its length and defensive movement to create transition opportunities. St. Mary’s offense struggled to get the ball into passing lanes as the Indians led 35-21 at the half.
“I think we needed to utilize the middle more.” Wojtas said. “Just to get it open. We didn’t do a very good job of that in the first half. And when we did, we just kicked it out right away instead of looking at what else was out there. We made that adjustment in the second half, looked better, and had a little bit more flow on offense. However. [Sleepy Eye] We have a very good team this year, a very experienced team, and in some ways we are playing against a very young team. I’m happy with how we played in the second half.”
It was true that St. Mary’s’ offense slowed down in the second half, scoring 11 more points than in the first half, but Sleepy Eye also showed its true potential offensively, scoring 22 points in the second half. St. Mary’s cut the lead to 65-50 on two bonus free throws by Mathiowetz, but the team brought on subs in the final minutes and Okerman’s three ended the Knights’ hopes of a comeback.
St. Mary’s has gotten off to a rocky start this season, currently dropping to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
When asked what made the difference between a team winning and losing, Wojtas said it was mainly the quality of the opponents.
“I think it’s about the caliber of the team you’re playing.” He said. “If you’re playing against an experienced team, we lost.” [Waterville-Elysian-Morristown] We have a lot of kids back from a year ago, but we lost to a very good Mayer Lutheran team last week, and now… [Sleepy Eye] — We’re 4-3 this year, so I think we’re probably where we need to be, but we need to be better. If we are better, we can beat better teams. ”
St. Mary’s will get its next opportunity to improve on Thursday when it hosts Wabasso. Sleepy Eye will look to remain undefeated Friday at Wabasso.