Blossoms fight to stay above .500

A mid-season slump has derailed Blooming Prairie’s scorching 7-2 start, but despite going 3-5 in the team’s last eight games, the Awesome Blossoms still sit at 10-7 overall to keep their winning record intact.

Last week’s action saw the team finish 1-1 with a key Gopher Conference win over Bethlehem Academy and a non-conference loss to Southland.

“Southland is a well-rounded team. Our girls got better throughout the night, but you can't give up 40 points in the first half and expect to recover. We did play a better second half,” said Blooming Prairie Head Coach John Worke.

The team’s loss to the Rebels featured a nightmare collapse on defense where Southland managed to build a 40-24 lead at halftime.

The Awesome Blossoms’ offense was able to draw plenty of fouls that turned into easy points, but the team’s defense was also guilty of many such infractions.

Blooming Prairie finished the game 18-22 from the free throw line but also allowed Southland to go 17-24 from the charity stripe – effectively negating the team’s easy points.

Southland’s offense capitalized on turnovers and transition points while Blooming Prairie struggled to find consistent shots in what would finish as a 64-49 loss.

Elaine Schwarz led all Awesome Blossoms with 15 points in the game, while teammate Emmerson Nelson also broke double-digit points with 11.

Blooming Prairie managed to secure a Gopher Conference win earlier in the week by beating Bethlehem Academy 70-41 at home.

This time it was Worke’s squad that dropped nearly 40 points in the first half by posting 37 on some stellar shooting from the field.

Bethlehem Academy struggled to find any space on offense and stared a difficult 37-18 deficit in the eyes at halftime.

When play resumed, Blooming Prairie went to work putting the Cardinals away by outscoring the opposition 33-23 in the second half.

The trio of Claire Schwarz (18 points), Addison Hjelmen (12) and Nelson (17) were on fire for the Awesome Blossoms and accounted for 47 of the team’s 70 points.

Blooming Prairie will hope to add to its win total when the team hosts United South Central for a game on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.

Player Stats

vs. Southland

                     P

E. Schwarz     15

Nelson           11

C. Schwarz     8

Salinas          5

Hjelmen         4

Stoen            4

Anderson       2