Tigers handed 1st conference loss

Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City handed the Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta girls' basketball team its first West Central Conference South loss of the season 67-45 Monday at home.

The loss puts the Tigers, Falcons, and Minnewaska Lakers in a three-way tie for first place in the conference, each with one loss.

The Tigers only trailed 33-27 at halftime, but were outscored 34-18 in the second half.

"We were out played and out hustled," said coach Ken Gagner. "The Falcons beat us in every category of the game. They exposed many of our weaknesses and showed us how hard we must work in practice to try and improve."

The Falcons dominated the boards 36-21 and shot 49 percent (23-47) from the field.

The Tigers were only hitting 28 percent (13-44).

At the free-throw line, the Falcons were 16-of-26, while the Tigers were 12-of-20.

Mary Rentz led the Tigers with 12 points.

Also scoring were Heather Gagner with eight, Kelly Ritter with seven, Jenna Nelson and Stefanie Strobel with five apiece, and Megan Dierks and Nicole Gillespie with four apiece.

Gillespie led the team with six rebounds, while both Nelson and Strobel dished out four assists. Strobel also recorded four steals.