Hornets to open playoffs at Pelican Rapids

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Frazee Hornets won’t have to travel too far when they open the Section 8AA tournament on Thursday night. The Hornets received the 14 seed and will travel to third seeded Pelican Rapids in the section opener. 

The winner of the game will take on either sixth seeded Hawley or 11th seeded Wadena-Deer Creek on Saturday night at the high seed.

The section tournament will continue next week with the Section 8AA semi-finals set for March 7 and the finals scheduled for Friday, March 10. Both the semi-finals and finals will be held at Detroit Lakes High School. 

The Hornets wrapped up their regular season last week with a pair of road games. On Tuesday night Frazee dropped a tough 59-56 game in overtime to Menahga on Tuesday night, before defeating East Grand Forks on Friday night by a score of 60-51. 

Frazee ended its regular season with a record of 8-16 overall and 2-10 in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference. 

Tuesday

Riyan Eckert hit a 3-pointer in the corner to tie the game up late on Tuesday night to send a thrilling non-conference game against Menahga into overtime. With the Braves leading 59-56, a Brynn Larson deep 3-point shot came up just short in tying up the game in overtime and sending it to a second overtime as the Braves were able to sneak by the Hornets 59-56. 

Head coach Trey Henius said the Hornets did a great job on the defensive end of the court to make things challenging for a potent Menahga offense.

“The team played extremely hard defense, making it difficult for Menahga to get off any good shots.”

Trey Henius, head coach

The Hornets stayed in the game throughout the contest thanks to a solid night at the free throw line by going 6-8 from the line.

Jayden Sonnenberg had a big night from the field as she scored 23 points to go along with 12 rebounds.

Larson also reached double figures with 16 points and 6 rebounds, while Hailey Selly finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds. 

Individual stats

Jayden Sonnenberg- 23 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals

Brynn Larson- 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Riyan Eckert- 3 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Kaidence Mayfield- 4 points, 1 rebound

Hailey Selly- 6 points, 7 rebounds

Katie Courneya- 2 points, 4 assists

Ashley Malikowski- 2 points, 1 rebound

Friday

Frazee wrapped up its regular season on a high note on Friday as the Hornets defeated East Grand Forks by a score of 60-51. 

“This was one of the best team efforts we had all season. Everyone shared the ball extremely well and played together,” said head coach Trey Henius. “We controlled the glass most of the game grabbing every rebound on both ends of the court.”

Jayden Sonnenberg once again had a big night as she recorded her second double-double of the week. She scored 22 points to go along with 13 rebounds, while Brynn Larson had 8 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Katie Courneya scored 13 points off the bench as she went a perfect 3-3 from behind the 3-point line in the first half. 

“She has been a huge role stepping up in varsity games and can’t wait to see how she keeps improving,” he said. 

In addition to the offensive output, Henius credited the Hornet defensive performance for making things difficult for East Grand Forks.

“Once again our defense showed its strengths making it difficult for EGF to have an good looks on offense,” he said. 

Individual stats

Jayden Sonnenberg- 22 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals

Brynn Larson- 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 assists., 2 steals

Riyan Eckert- 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Kaidence Mayfield- 2 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal

Hailey Selly- 7 points, 4/4 on free throws, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Katie Courneya- 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Ashley Malikowski- 2 points,

Kate Vigen- 1 rebound, 1 charge, 2 steals