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DLB rolls past Our Redeemer’s, 43-23

Photo submitted by Al Christianson. DLB senior Kyley Lauf gets to the rim and lays it in during the Lakers' 43-23 win over Our Redeemer's at home on Monday.

Kyley Lauf saw her chance and took it.

The senior for the Des Lacs-Burlington girls basketball team made a beeline for the ball while on defense during the first quarter of the Lakers’ home game against Our Redeemer’s on Monday. Lauf sniffed out the pass, stole the ball and sprinted down the sideline with a Knights player hot on her tail.

The 5-foot-9 forward went coast to coast for the layup despite being hacked, drawing both a whistle from the referees and a roar of applause from the home crowd. Lauf promptly knocked down the free throw to give her team a 10-0 lead with 3:27 left in the opening quarter.

The Lakers (13-2) never looked back from that fiery start and cruised to a 43-23 win over the Knights (8-7) in a game where the home team never trailed.

“We kind of got our groove back,” Lauf said. “The run really got us going, and we were able to just keep building on our lead.”

Down 14-6 entering the second quarter, Our Redeemer’s guard Tessa Olson desperately tried to get her team back in the mix. The senior added to her lone triple in the first quarter with a pair of mid-range jumpers, but the Lakers’ balanced attack was overpowering.

Seven different DLB players scored in what was a 16-point quarter for the Lakers. At halftime, DLB held a comfortable 30-13 lead.

“My girls just did a great job of playing with intensity and fire,” DLB head coach Tracy Bonn said. “Moving the ball tonight was also really great. Everyone was unselfish and cut well. It’s really hard to guard that.”

The Lakers kept the pressure on defensively in the third quarter thanks in part to Brooklyn Benno. The sophomore center patrolled the paint and sent back two shots in the process.

DLB stifled the Knights’ offense, allowing just four points to take a 37-17 edge into the final quarter.

“It always starts on the defensive end for us,” Bonn said. “It seems like whenever we play good defense the rest of the game comes easy for us. It’s a credit to our whole team for doing its job.”

But Our Redeemer’s kept fighting in the final frame. Olson tacked on another four points as the Knights broke even with DLB in the quarter, but the Lakers still secured the 43-23 victory.

Olson finished with a game-high 12 points in the loss, while freshman Emily Brugman and eighth-grader Elise Altringer each totaled four points.

Lauf led the charge for the Lakers with nine points, and sophomores Shelby Ruden and Benno each scored seven points.

Our Redeemer’s will get a chance to bounce back on Thursday when it hosts Lewis & Clark-Berthold at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Lakers will look to keep building on their momentum when they battle Bishop Ryan on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

“These are some of our favorite games because (Ryan and Our Redeemer’s) are, in a sense, our rivals,” Lauf said. “We know they’re some of the best teams in our district, and we know we can be one of the best too if we perform the way we are capable of performing.”

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.

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