Red Oak rallies to defeat St. Albert
RED OAK — The Tigers are riding a three-game winning streak, but it was the second of those three that may be among the more memorable moments of the season.
A Grace Blomstedt mid-range bucket as time expired gave the Red Oak girls basketball team a 57-55 victory over St. Albert Friday night at Red Oak High School.
“It was a nail-biter all the way,” Red Oak girls’ basketball coach Dan Martinez said.
Red Oak had the ball with six seconds left with the game tied 55-55.
The Tigers focused on inbounding the ball to their two scoring threats, Blomstedt and Kate Walker.
“We knew we had six seconds. The only thing we didn’t want was a turnover right away or an offensive foul. But we were going to get it into Kate right away and she was going to drive,” Martinez said. “Whoever got it was supposed to drive.”
Walker took the inbounds pass, but the St. Albert defense, who had focused primarily on her for the entire game up to that point, collapsed on the senior guard.
Walker got the ball back to Blomstedt, who was open from 15-feet.
“She wasn’t going to shoot and I knew I was going to pop out,” Blomstedt said.
Up to that point, Blomstedt was the leading scorer, entering the final play with 25 points.
“She was obviously hot, so I just saw her and gave her the ball and she got the shot off just in time,” Walker said.
Blomstedt’s shot went through the hoop just as the clock was about to wind down.
“I didn’t draw it up where Grace would take a 15-footer,” Martinez said.
The Tigers entered the fourth quarter trailing 50-46. Both teams struggled to score in the final period, but it was Blomstedt who had the first points with 6:10 left on a putback.
St. Albert scored again less than 30 seconds later to get the lead back to 52-48.
The Tigers faced a potential problem though when Walker picked up her fourth foul of the game, forcing her to sit for a minute.
The Saintes emphasized much of their defense on collapsing on Walker whenever she had the ball, double and sometimes triple teaming when the opportunity popped up. With Walker out of the game temporarily, St. Albert lost its primary defensive target.
Red Oak continued to chip away at the lead when Dana Marsden was fouled with 4:44. Marsden made both free throws and the St. Albert lead was 52-50.
“I just like the way the team reacted when [Walker] went out,” Martinez said. “They picked up and played together and didn’t panic. We were able to pull it out of the fire.” The Tigers continued to fight for the lead as Walker was brought back in. Red Oak took its first lead since the second quarter with 2:53 to go when forward Angela Mahoney was fouled on a lay-up and converted the free throw for a three-point play.
St. Albert tied the game 53-53 with 1:22 to go on free throws by Jacey Martin. Red Oak took back the lead 55-53 with 41.8 seconds to go on a Blomstedt lay-up dished by Walker. Blomstedt finished with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting with 14 rebounds for the double-double.
“They don’t have anyone really tall, so that worked to our advantage,” Blomstedt said.
Red Oak relied on scoring from both Blomstedt and Walker in the first half. The Tigers trailed 18-13 after one quarter.
Red Oak went on a run, chipping away at the lead and getting to the free throw line. The Tigers went on a 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the second quarter, taking a 23-18 lead.
The run began with free throws by Walker with 7:11 to go in the second.
Blomstedt banked in the next shot with 6:16 left and followed up less than 30 seconds later with a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a 19-18 lead.
St. Albert scored and closed the gap late to tie the game 31-31 at halftime. Red Oak struggled in the third quarter as the Saintes tried to pull away. Red Oak closed the gap through Walker and Blomstedt.
Walker had 18 points in the game and was an assist shy of a double-double.
Micayla Taylor had five points. Angela Mahoney had three points and 10 rebounds.
Dana Marsden and Madison Gilbert each finished with two points.
After the game, Red Oak honored Walker with a game ball for scoring 1,000 points in her career. She reached the milestone during the Atlantic game Tuesday night.
Red Oak 49, Atlantic 44
Red Oak held off a late rally by Atlantic to get the win last Tuesday in Atlantic.
The Tigers led 40-27 after three quarters.
Atlantic closed the gap, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers held on to get the win.
Walker had a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She also had five assists with two steals.
Blomstedt had eight points with four blocks.
Mahoney and Athen each scored six points, while Vial finished with five.
Red Oak 59, Clarinda Academy 4
The easiest of the three wins for the Tigers came Saturday afternoon in Clarinda Academy with their win.
Red Oak utilized other players to step in and get varsity time against an overmatched Clarinda Academy team.
Mahoney had 16 points with five rebounds and five assists off the bench to lead the way. Taylor had 12 points and four steals, while Marsden had 10 points with five assists and four steals.
Megan Sands scored nine points, while Gilbert scored six. Emma Ross had four points, while Sarah Behrens had five rebounds.
Red Oak plays two more times before the break.
They will be on the road Tuesday night to face Denison-Schleswig. The JV/varsity doubleheader starts at 6 p.m.
Friday night is their last game before winter break as they host the Clarinda Cardinals.
It’s a varsity doubleheader, as the girls play first at 6 p.m.