The Worthington Trojans girls hockey team -- which went winless during the 2023-24 season -- got their first victory of this year Friday night as they earned a 6-1 triumph over Prairie Centre.
The Trojans took a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. Peyton Nickel had a pair of goals and an assist for WHS, while Breeta Johnson also scored twice. Sydnie Van Briesen and Leah Nelson added one goal each and Madelyn Cummings contributed two assists for the Trojans, who outshot Prairie Center 44-20 and got 19 saves in net from Macie Mahlberg.
On Saturday, Worthington was defeated at Detroit Lakes 5-0. Mahlberg had 24 saves for the Trojans, who are now 1-5.
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In boys hockey Saturday, it was Austin over visiting WHS, 7-0. The Trojans are 1-3.
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The Minnesota West men's basketball team netted a pair of road wins over the weekend, topping Minnesota North College-Hibbing 79-68 on Friday night and then edging Rainy River 58-55 on Saturday afternoon.
Against Hibbing, the Bluejays dominated the first half and led 49-25 at intermission. Karasharo Ojullo led the way offensively in the game with 18 points and also added seven rebounds. Jiegkoy Wiel had 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds, and Keion Irvin had 14 points and six rebounds. Deondre Wallace chipped in 13 points, and Zachery Rigg had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
In the Rainy River game, Rigg scored 16 points and 14 rebounds — Minnesota West won the battle of the boards 45-26. Zach Hayenga contributed 13 points and Wallace 10 as the Bluejays won after building a 42-27 halftime advantage.
The Minnesota West men now have a record of 10-2 on the season.
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The Worthington Trojans boys basketball team trailed by 14 at halftime Saturday at Southwest Minnesota Christian but stormed back in the final moments, and Jacari Swinea hit a contested jumper at the buzzer to give WHS a 71-69 win.
Down 66-60, Caleb Meyer hit a pair of free throws for the Trojans with 2:11 to go to make it a four-point game. Swinea then stole the basketball and converted a layup for a 66-64 score with 1:58 left, and Permeye Okony's steal and dunk with 1:35 to go knotted the score.
Swinea made the second of two free throws for a one-point WHS edge with 1:06 remaining, but a Ryan Pap field goal put the Eagles back in front with 54.2 seconds left. Swinea then drove for a layup for a 69-68 edge with 36 seconds to go, and Pap would next tie it with one free throw with 24.1 ticks on the clock. Welbaka Morke then missed a shot for the Trojans, who got to inbound the ball with 3.7 seconds remaining -- leading to Swinea's winning hoop.
Swinea finished the game with 31 points for Worthington, now 1-1 on the year, while Morke chipped in with 15 points and Meyer had 10. Trevor Prins had 18 points to lead Southwest Minnesota Christian, which is also 1-1.
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In the girls game, Southwest Minnesota Christian rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit and emerged with a 77-73 triumph over Worthington.
Grace Barber, who had 24 points to lead WHS, hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put the Trojans up 41-33 at the break. Worthington later led 60-41 with about 11-and-a-half minutes remaining, but the Eagles rallied behind a barrage of 3-pointers along with some points in the paint.
Madison Fey had 28 points to lead Southwest Minnesota Christian, now 2-1. Victoria Prins contributed 17 and Hannah Carstensen 16, including two game-clinching free throws with 2.6 seconds left.
The Trojans, now 1-4, had 12 points each from Grace Bates, Alaina Feit and Jayden Spartz.
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The WHS wrestling team took part Saturday in the Dick Maher Invite in Blue Earth.
Sam Dagel took first place at 107 pounds for the Trojans, win his championship match by fall in 1:54. Chase Byrne was also first for WHS, winning his championship match by technical fall. Other placers for the Trojans were: Dalton Larson, who earned third at 152 by winning the third-place match by an 8-7 decision; Dominic Larson, fourth at 114; Carlos Caneles Hernandez, fourth at 121; Kian Ling, fourth at 127; Carlos Castillo, sixth at 160; and Levi Hennings, sixth at 172.
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In a girls basketball game heard Friday night on 104.3 La Voz, Adrian-Ellsworth got 16 points from Katelyn Frodermann and 10 points from Brylee Zebe in earning a 52-33 home win over Heron Lake/Okabena-Fulda. The Dragons improved to 3-1 on the season. The Coyotes, now 2-3, were led by eight points from Ava Fisher.
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In area boys basketball Saturday, it was:
Hancock 60, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 49
Westbrook-Walnut Grove 61, Mankato Loyola 57
Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 88, Red Rock Central 46
St. Peter 91, Pipestone Area 83
In area girls basketball Saturday:
St. Peter 78, Pipestone Area 70
In area boys hockey Saturday:
Luverne 3, Waseca 3
In area girls hockey Saturday:
Luverne 5, South Central 2
In area boys basketball Friday night, it was:
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 92, Minneota 67
Blue Earth 108, Windom 68
Fairmont 61, St. James Area 54
Marshall 71, Luverne 59
Jackson County Central 85, New Ulm 73
Sioux Center 47, Sheldon 35
Boyden-Hull 61, Central Lyon 50 (OT)
Okoboji 81, Sibley-Ocheyedan 51
Harris-Lake Park 52, George-Little Rock 41
MMCRU 74, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 30
Norris 68, Western Christian 45
In area girls basketball Friday:
Westbrook-Walnut Grove 49, Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey 16
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 69, Red Rock Central 5
Murray County Central 60, Southwest Minnesota Christian 59
Hills-Beaver Creek 61, Edgerton 41
Marshall 62, Luverne 22
Windom 84, Blue Earth 39
Fairmont 59, St. James Area 41
New Ulm 69, Jackson County Central 68
Sioux Center 70, Sheldon 16
Central Lyon 83, Boyden-Hull 22
West Lyon 63, MOC-Floyd Valley 62
South O’Brien 43, Trinity Christian 26
Harris-Lake Park 48, George-Little Rock 41
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 64, MMCRU 48
In area boys hockey Friday:
Prairie Centre Area 5, Windom Area 3
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