When the team you coach is predominately underclassmen, you will have to put up with the highs and lows. Such is the case for Andrew Fleischman of the Edgerton Flying Dutchmen. He starts one senior, who is his daughter Addison, and he starts Reece Wassink, a junior and a three-year starter. But after that it’s players that are young and/or inexperienced.

On the other side of the gym on Monday, March 1, was Coach Denise Nerem of the Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles. Her situation is the exact opposite. She starts three seniors, which includes her daughter Maren who entered the season as the all-time leading rebounder in Eagles girls’ basketball history. A few games ago she joined the school’s 1,000-point club. Coach Nerem dresses one sophomore and no freshmen.

Southwest’s experience—and tenacious defense—put them in the driver’s seat from the get-go and they cruised to a 75-43 win. The victory increased the Eagles’ record to 11-3 while the Dutchmen’s record evened at 7-7.

Morgan Pap scored 17 points in the game. All 17 points came in the first half. Nine of the 17 came on her first three shot attempts from the field and SW was up 11-5. SW’s other two points came from Nerem who scored down low in transition. Nerem’s next three points came via an old-fashioned three-point play after she aggressively attacked the hoop. That made it 14-5.

Edgerton’s points came from Haley Wieck on a putback, a Wassink bucket on a out-of-bounds play under the hoop, and an Alyda Vande Griend free throw. After Savannah Schultz hit a runner, Edgerton trailed 14-7.

Pap went right back to work hitting her fourth trey. Her fifth and final trey of the first half doubled Edgerton’s total as SW led 26-13. Wassink scored Edgerton’s final five points of the first half, and the Dutchmen trailed the Eagles 31-18 at intermission.

Rylie Fey was relatively quiet in the first half. Actually she was silent. She hadn’t scored a point over the game’s first 18 minutes. That changed drastically in the second half. The lean, lanky junior went to work right away getting a putback bucket. Then, after the SW pestering defense forced a five second call on Edgerton, Fey responded with a deep three. Had Fey been just a couple steps deeper, she would have been on her dad’s lap in the bleachers. Then Nerem went to work—again. She attacked the bucket for two before Cybil Vander Top hit her down low for two more.

Wassink finally put EHS on the board in the second half with 15:58 on the clock when she made a free throw. Edgerton went on a mini run to make the score 48-31. Wassink scored (assist Mateya Gilbertson). Addison Fleischman drained a trey (assist Schultz). Wassink scored again (assist Schultz). Vande Griend got a bucket after a Braelyn Kracht steal and Fleisch-man hit another trey (assist Gilbertson).

Nerem helped restore order for the Eagles when she got a putback bucket. Then she scored during the offense’s flow (assist Morgan Pap). Nerem next made a free throw. Vander Top joined the scoring parade after getting a steal. Nerem got an assist to Fey and Hannah Pap assisted Fey before Fey became the assister to Ella Veldkamp.

With the score 65-36 after a Wassink old-fashioned three-point play at the 3:20 mark, both coaches went to their bench. Whitney Pap scored before Brooklynn Moss scored and later added a free throw. Tyra Snyder got an assist to Vander Top and Makenna Moss ended the scoring with a two-pointer (assist Vander Top).