Royals roll over Raptors in first hoops matchup

• Kroening matches up with ERHS

Woodbury senior forward Mary Kroening single-handedly scored as many points as East Ridge did in a 70-16 Royals win in the first-ever game between the two neighboring girls basketball teams on Tuesday night at WHS. Staff Photo by Tom Carothers.

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The first game of the new Woodbury-East Ridge girls basketball rivalry turned out to be no contest as the host Royals slammed the door shut on their neighbors in a 70-16 victory.

Woodbury outscored the Raptors by an equal 35-8 margin in each half in the romp, as forward Mary Kroening scored 14 of her game-high 16 points before halftime. WHS guard Michelle Young chipped in 15 points as 13 Royals players scored in all.

ERHS forward Katie Hagberg accounted for 11 of her team's 16 points, with freshman Brianna Walker (3 points) and Ellen Wiggins (2 points) registering the only other tallies for the visitors.

The loss is the worst in the six-game history of the East Ridge girls program, topping a 50-point setback at Fridley on Monday, Dec. 8.

For Woodbury, the victory was the squad's third in a row and pushed the Royals record to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Suburban East Conference play.

Both teams set out on the road on Friday, with WHS heading south for another intradistrict tilt at Park while ERHS heads to Mounds View for a league matchup.

Tags: sports, woodbury, east, ridge, girls, basketball