East Ridge girls basketball: Raptors break losing streak with win over Hastings

The East Ridge girls basketball team gathered together in the middle of the “Raptors Perch” on Friday, Feb. 10 to celebrate excitedly after a victory over Suburban East Conference opponent Hastings.

The win broke the Raptors’ previous seven-game losing streak and placed the team at a current 3-11 standing in the conference and at 8-14 overall for the 2011-12 season.

Friday’s competition saw the Raptors and the Raiders equally matched, but the Raptors were ready to pull out a win.

Just over 11 minutes remained in the first half and East Ridge and Hastings (2-20; 0-14 SEC) were tied with a score of 10-10. Seconds later, Hastings managed to eek ahead of Raptors defense to give themselves a 12-10 lead, but the Raptors wouldn’t let the Raiders feel comfortable for too long. Thanks to a three-point shot netted in by Raptors sophomore forward Jamie Swanson, East Ridge once again took the lead with 9:22 left to go.

The Raptors and the Raiders took turns passing the ball back and forth, each team taking the lead only to be overcome minutes later. With 1:16 left to play in the half, East Ridge led 23-20, but they wouldn’t keep that lead for long. With just 48 seconds to go, Hastings tied the score after shooting in a three-point basket, and in the last eight seconds the Raiders pulled themselves just ahead of the Raptors to lead 25-23 at the half.

The Raiders opened scoring in the second half, but the Raptors refused to let their opponents get too far ahead of them. East Ridge pulled together and dug deep, finally tying the score with 13:13 on the clock after Raptors senior center Katie Hagberg shot in a basket. Junior guard Brianna Walker’s two successful free throw attempts brought the Raptors to the front once more, but a basket by Hastings just seconds later tied the score for the last time in the game. At 8:13, East Ridge started an assault on their opponents to turn the game around in their favor, netting seven points in 46 seconds thanks to plays made by Hagberg, Swanson and junior guard Courtney Keefe.

Hastings tried to catch up, and came close, but the Raptors were unwilling to hand the game over. The Raptors continued to rack up the points in the last minutes of the game, and when the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the competition, East Ridge stood with an 11 point lead, the final score 55-44.

In Friday night’s game, Swanson led the Raptors in scoring with 16 points netted total. She was followed by Hagberg, who made 11; senior Allie Berry and freshman Amanda Robinson, who each scored eight; Walker and junior Hannah Pignato, who each made five; and Keefe, who scored two.

The Raptors traveled to Forest Lake (11-11; 6-8 SEC) on Tuesday, after the Bulletin went to print. They then make their way to Mounds View on Friday, Feb. 17 to compete against the Mounds View Mustangs (16-5; 11-3 SEC).

Tags: east ridge, sports, basketball, raptors, prep, updates