By Mike Drooger –

Dean Verdoes, legendary Flying Dutchmen player from the 1960 state champion team, once said he thought the toughest job a coach has is getting each player to know his (or her) role on the team. The EHS girls have their roles on the 2021 team. Those roles will change from game to game and sometimes change within a game.

On March 5, the EHS girls entertained the Rebels of Murray County Central hoping to snap a three-game losing streak. Because EHS had defeated MCC 63-55 earlier in the season, Coaches Andrew Fleischman and Mark Hadler knew the Rebels would make defensive changes. In that earlier win, Reece Wassink scored 33 points and Alyda Vande Griend added 23. MCC would pay extra attention to that pair of players, which would force other Dutchmen players to assume the role of scorer.

The Edgerton girls responded. They put eight players in the scoring column plus they played great team defense in a 52-40 win to even their season record at 8-8.

Wassink was sandwiched by MCC’s 6’2” and 6’ posts and the other three MCC players often sagged to take away entry passes, which created openings on the wing. Addison Fleischman located the opening and Savannah Schultz found Fleischman on back-to-back possessions. Fleischman’s first two attempts from three-point land found net and EHS led 6-0, but the Rebels battled back and took an 8-7 lead.

Miriam Ockenga then assisted a Schultz field goal before Wassink evacuated the congested lane area for an open baseline field goal to put Edgerton up 11-8.

Haley Wieck scored (assist Wassink) and Fleischman had all day to decide if she wanted to shoot from the baseline. She did want to shoot and she swished it (Vande Griend assist) and it was 15-11.

It became 18-11 when Mateya Gilbertson assisted a Fleischman trey off the glass. Ockenga made a free throw and Vande Griend hit one from the baseline for a 21-14 advantage. Vande Griend scored the first half’s final five points thanks to a pair of assists from Schultz. Edgerton led 26-20 at the break and Fleischman had 11.