Prep Girls Basketball: Wadena-Deer Creek upends third-ranked Sebeka 62-49 (UPDATED)

Sebeka, Minn.—Jessica Lillquist had a game-high 17 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Class A, third-ranked Sebeka Lady Trojans in Thursday’s 62-49 loss to Wadena-Deer Creek.

It was the second consecutive year that the ranked Lady Trojans were upended by the Class 2A Lady Wolverines. Last season, Sebeka was beaten by WDC during its season opener, 74-64.

“The Wadena-Deer Creek game was a good test for us this early season,” said Sebeka head coach Mike Heino. “They are a good team. We definitely learned some things about ourselves and what we need to work on.”

Sebeka got off to a quick start on back-to-back jumpers from Katianne Brockpahler before the Lady Wolverines got on the board on a putback from Melissa Moenkedick and a three-pointer from Hope Theisen for the 5-4 lead. Wadena-Deer Creek would not trail again the rest of the night.

Moenkedick and Theisen ended up combining for 21 points in the first half as the Lady Wolverines led 27-19 at the break.

Alicia Boe ignited Sebeka at the start of the second half with a three-pointer and the Lady Trojans went on a 11-8 run to pull within three, 33-30, with 13:08 remaining. Lillquist, who was held to just five points in the first half, had six points during the span, but it’ll be the closest that Sebeka would get.

Caitlin Volkmann was unstoppable for Wadena-Deer Creek during the second half, as the junior ended up scoring all of her 15 points during the frame. Volkmann would hit a jumper that gave the Lady Wolverines their largest lead of the night (59-38) with 4:18 left to play.

“This was a big win for us.” Wadena-Deer Creek head coach Keith Ferris said. “We knew what we had to do to beat them and we accomplished that goal.”

For the game, the Lady Wolverines shot 43 percent (24-for-56) and registered four players in double figures. Theisen finished with a team-high 16 points, with Moenkedick adding 15 points. Emily Miron, who had a relatively quiet night scoring, still managed to post a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 17 rebounds.

Sebeka on the other hand, shot just 31 percent (20-for-64) overall. Brockpahler was the only other Lady Trojan to crack into double figures with 13 points. The junior was all over the court, registering eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals—all team highs.

"Wadena-Deer Creek is long and quick," said Heino. "We definitely found that we have to work on our short jumpers and post moves. Our defense was good at times, but our rebounding fell short in limiting them to just one shot."

Wadena-Deer Creek (2-0) travels to New York Mills at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Sebeka (1-1) travels to take on Park Region Conference foe Bertha-Hewitt at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Wadena-Deer Creek at Sebeka on December 1
Lady Wolverines 62, Lady Trojans 49
WDC 27 35—62
Sebeka 19 30—49
Wadena-Deer Creek
Sydney Schissel 2, Hope Theisen 16, Caitlin Volkmann 15, Paige Hartman 1, Emily Miron 10, Avery Jackson 3, Melissa Moenkedick 15
Sebeka
Jasmine Titcomb 2, Heidi Olson 4, Katianne Brockpahler 13, Logan Redetzke 3, Alicia Boe 5, Brett Brockpahler 4, Jessica Lillquist 17