Awesome Rematch: WEM at BP Monday on Kat Kountry 105

The Blooming Prairie girls' basketball team goes for the season sweep of No. 9 rated Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Monday night at 7:15 pm with coverage on Kat Kountry 105 FM and the free downloadable Kat Kountry 105 app. The No. 11 ranked Awesome Blossoms edged the Buccaneers 43-42 February 12 on a basket in the closing seconds.

Blooming Prairie (14-1 overall, 11-0 Gopher Conference) is seeking their first conference title since 2014-15. WEM (12-3, 10-1) shared the league title last season with Medford. A BP win would secure no less than a share of the conference title. Each team has two regular season games remaining after Monday.

BP coach John Bruns says WEM is a "handful. They've got four or five kids that can really shoot the three's. And they play great defense. We're going to have to come in and play like we did the first time. Play one possession at a time. If we get up early in the game or if they get up early in the game, we just still have to play that one possession at a time style."

Bruns says players are stepping up in the absence of starter Maggie Bruns, "The last couple of games we've gotten some really good offensive production from some people...In the NRHEG game (Tuesday), we got a double-figure game from two girls that have never been in double figures before. Emily Miller had ten points and Anna Pauly also had ten points." Pauly, a 6-foot sophomore also had 11 rebounds and five blocks against the Panthers."

In Friday's win over Hayfield Allison Krohnberg scored a career-high 13 points, "finding different ways to put points on the board," said coach Bruns on the AM 1390 KRFO High School Coaches Show Saturday morning. Maggie Bruns is the third leading scorer on the team behind Megan Oswald and Bobbie Bruns.

Blooming Prairie has allowed, on average, less than 40 points per game. Bruns says the team works on defense quite a bit at practice, "We talk about it a lot. We try to take away their, whether it's a person that scores a lot or whether it's a scheme that they have, we really focus on those things in practice...They really enjoy playing defense...We average 15-20 steals a game. And we do that without pressing."

For the record, WEM also gives up less than 40 points per game. All three Bucs' losses have come to ranked teams: 57-52 to No. 12AA Lake Crystal Welcome Memorial, 43-42 to No. 11A Blooming Prairie, and 62-58 to No. 3A Sleepy Eye St. Mary's last Friday. WEM has a win over No. 6A Mayer Lutheran.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app