Both Minnesota West basketball teams rallied for narrow victories Wednesday night at the Center for Health and Wellness.
The Lady Jays, ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division III, trailed by as many as 13 and were down seven with exactly one minute to go, but found a way to force overtime and ultimately pull out a 72-68 win over Anoka-Ramsey. In the men's game, the Bluejays — with assistant coach William Ames acting as head coach — went ahead by 14 in the first half, fell behind by 11 in the second half and then recovered to post a 63-57 triumph over the Golden Rams.
The Minnesota West women, now 14-7 overall and 7-0 in MCAC South play, struggled with both shooting and ballhandling in the first half, yet still trailed by just 30-24 at the break. The Lady Jays hung around thanks to a solid offensive night from Sadie Krahling, who had 22 points and made four-of-six 3-point shots. Rhea Tucker contributed 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, Maddie Kamm added 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Katrina Schutz had 10 points and nine boards.
The Bluejay men led 36-29 at halftime, but Anoka-Ramsey outscored their hosts 18-4 to begin the second half. Minnesota West, now 18-6 overall and 4-4 in the MCAC South, had 14 points from Zackery Rygg, 13 from Zach Hayenga, 11 from Deondre Wallace and 10 from Keion Irvin. Wallace and Irvin had seven rebounds each, and the Bluejay defense forced 31 Golden Ram turnovers.
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