Lady Jays win in Saturday hoops; Bluejays edged by two

The Minnesota West Lady Jays basketball team won their Saturday game in the Minnesota West Classic while the men's team was narrowly defeated.

In the women's game, the Lady Jays led by 10 points at the half and then scored the first 11 points of the third quarter on their way to a 71-61 win over Ridgewater.

Minnesota West shot just 37% from the floor and turned the ball over 32 times, but still was able to get the victory — though the Warriors would get within five of the lead in the fourth quarter.

Rhea Tucker had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Jays, who improved to 3-0 on the young season. Sadie Krahling contributed 12 points and a team-high three steals. Katrina Schutz added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Ava Parrish had 10 points as well.

In the men's matchup, the Bluejays led by as many as 10 in the first half over the Northwestern College JV before settling for a two-point edge at the break. The Raiders then got up by as many as 11, but Minnesota West roared back before ultimately falling 79-77.

Zackery Rygg and Dylan Marshall each had 19 points for the Bluejays. Rigg nailed a deep 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left to make it 79-77, but even though Northwestern missed two subsequent free throws, a loose ball on the second miss wound up leaving just .1 seconds on the clock. 

Zach Hayenga added 11 points for Minnesota West, which lost for the first team this season and is now 4-1. On Friday night, Hayenga's 27 points helped the Bluejays explode for a 121-67 triumph over the Dordt JV. Rygg had 22 points in that game while Deondre Wallace added 13 points, Henry Counsel 12, Jiegkoy Wiel 11 and Calvin Flood 10.