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Tuesday night’s matchup was essentially a breather for the Ely Timberwolves - especially after back-to-back contests that went down to the wire.
The high school girls basketball team raced out to a 35-3 lead against visiting Silver Bay, and the rout was on.
Ely prevailed 66-18 to climb over the . 500 mark at 3-2, and the lopsided contest came in the wake of a one-point defeat at Mesabi East one week earlier and an overtime victory at International Falls on Dec. 5.
“I think we’re going in the right direction,” said Ely Head Coach Tomi Cole. “We started off with some harder games and now that the games have progressed, they’re learning more and doing what they are asked. I think we are in the right direction as we head toward break.”
The Wolves misfired at the end of regulation and lost by one point to Mesabi East, and they missed on chances to close out International Falls in regulation.
“We were in a similar situation up there that we were against Mesabi East, in that we were tied and didn’t execute,” said Cole. “But we finished it out in overtime and went out and played hard. There were turnovers in the last couple minutes of regulation that hurt us.”
Tuesday’s game had no such drama as Ely pressured the Mariners into a series of early turnovers and took complete control.
The Wolves had 20 steals in the game, including five by Gretta Lowe and four by Amelia Penke, both sophomores.
Penke recorded a double-double with a team-high 17 points to go with 11 rebounds.
Sophomore Audrey Kallberg was a rebound shy of a double-double, notching 11 points to go with nine boards.
From the outside, junior Zoe MacKenzie warmed up, draining four of the team’s six three-point shots on the way to a 12-point evening.
Senior Clare Thomas added nine points and fellow senior Maija Mattson finished with six points and six rebounds.
• Ely survived its turnovers and misfires at the end of regulation, and went on to a 67-64 win over Class AA International Falls.
Sophomore Lydia Shultz had a huge evening, scoring 20 points to lead the Wolves and finishing with seven assists.
Kallberg had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Penke added another 14 points to the Ely arsenal.
Thomas contributed 10 points to give the Wolves four players in double figures. She also had six assists and five steals as part of a big all-around game.
“We really needed that one after a tight loss to Mesabi East,” said Cole.
• The Wolves travel to Chisholm Monday to start a busy week that includes three games in five nights - all against Section 7A competition.
“Chisholm lost a lot including their star player from last year but they are quick and athletic,” said Cole. “If we’re not prepared and don’t play well it could be a difficult night. We’ve got some section games that matter coming up and games that we need to come in and play hard for.”
Ely hosts Cook County Tuesday as part of a girls and boys doubleheader while a Dec. 20 visit to Cherry follows.
• The Wolves host Two Harbors and Cook County as part of the three-team Hoops for Hope Holiday Tournament, which runs in conjunction with a boys holiday tournament from Dec. 26-28.
