Lady Redskins Win In The Den!

The Knox Lady Redskins entered LaCrosse High School with one goal in mind. That goal was to remain undefeated, which is exactly what the Lady ‘Skins were able to accomplish. The first quarter saw a lot of back and forth, as well as a lot of various defensive strategies. As both teams tried to get a grasp on the flow of the game, the Lady Tigers and the Lady Redskins struggled a bit to find the basket successfully. Ultimately, it would be the ladies from Starke County who would hold a two point lead at the end of the first quarter, 9-7.

Knox would then begin to stretch the lead out in the second quarter, as Felicity Olenjniczak would begin to turn up the offensive, as well as defensive heat. The 5’8 Junior would lead the Lady Redskin in both scoring as well as steals in the hard fought ballgame. The all-around athleticism of the Junior would earn her twelve of her game-high twenty points in the first half, with a lot of her scoring coming off of aggressive defensive pressure, that she would ultimately turn into points at the other end of the floor. Olenjniczak did not rely solely on fast break scoring in the ballgame, however, as she also knocked down three of Knox’s four made three-pointers in the game.

The truly incredible part for Knox was the fact that it definitely was not a one woman show. Junior forward Remi Jordan made a big contribution on both ends of the floor for the Lady Redskins, as she chipped in twelve points, eight of which came at the free throw line, while also leading the team in rebounds with five. With the defense tightening up on the red-hot Olenjniczak, Jordan would become the scoring force for Knox in the second half, scoring ten of her fourteen in the final two quarters. Quite possibly the most impressive part of Knox’s win came from their defensive strategy throughout the ballgame. Playing a trapping style 3-2 zone defense, the Lady Redskins had 6’1 Sophomore Megan Bolen, 6’0 Junior Remi Jordan, and 6’0 Sophomore Brianna Korcha trapping all over the floor in different ways throughout the game. With the lengthy six-footers creating an abundance of deflections, the Lady Redskins were able to get a great deal of their points off of forced turnovers.

The Lady Tigers of LaCrosse were able to hold their own for much of the game, and saw great efforts put forth by players up and down their roster. Sophomore Jersie Bartels would lead the Lady Tigers in scoring with fourteen points on the night, scoring six in the first half and eight in the second. Kaylee Welkie and Sami Vance would handle the bulk of the rebounding for LaCrosse as they each ripped down six rebounds a piece. In the first half it was Senior Morgan Wozniak who would account for nearly half of the Lady Tigers’ points, as she scored all seven of her points in the first two quarters. Wozniak would also lead the team in steals with two in the effort.

At game’s end, it was the size and depth of the Knox Lady Redskins that wore down LaCrosse, giving Knox the 53-29 win at the Tiger Den, to go along with a perfect 6-0 record to start the season. In all, the Redskins would finish with eighteen steals on the night, being led by Riley Messer and Olenjniczak, who each accounted for six steals a piece.The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI went to Junior Felicity Olenjniczak, who scored a game-high twenty points, which included three, three-pointers, to go along with six steals in the win.

Both Knox and LaCrosse have a little time off before they return to action. The Lady Tigers will be back at it on November 26th, when they travel to Hobart in the first of their four game road trip, while Knox will be back at it on November 27th, when they go across Starke County to take on the 5-0 North Judson San-Pierre Lady Bluejays.

Individual Scoring Statistics:

Knox – Riley Messer-6, Megan Bolen-3, Remi Jordan-14, Felicity Olenjniczak-20, Brianna Korcha-8, Preston Minix-2

LaCrosse – Morgan Wozniak-7, Mya Morrow-2, Sami Vance-4, Madi Heavilin-2, Jersie Bartels-14