The News Compass will highlight some of the Lakers varsity competition each week. Here is how Prior Lake fared on the ice and court.
Girls hockey
A fine season by the Prior Lake girls hockey team came to an abrupt end in the Section 2A playoffs Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The Lakers met top-ranked Minnetonka in the section semifinals. The Skippers, fresh off a 22-0 blowout of New Prague in the first round, had too much firepower for Prior Lake, topping the Lakers 9-0.
Coach Kiersten Nelson said her girls played hard throughout the game despite the box score.
“It’s hard to see a season like this one end,” she said. “The girls worked hard every day for each other. They loved each other and it showed in our games and record.”
The team finished with a 15-11-1 record, tied for the most wins in program history. The Lakers graduate six seniors.
“This senior class is a special group, they have been a critical part of the growth and development of this program,” Nelson said. “They have worked incredibly hard to change the culture and perspective of our program and have done a great job of starting to accomplish that.”
Girls basketball
The Lakers continue rolling towards the playoffs, recently banking wins over the Lakeville schools.
First, Prior Lake hit the road and bested Lakeville North on Friday, Feb. 7, 66-50. Toni Fisher led the Lakers with 16 points, with Bree Bowman adding 15 points and Alaya Carter chipping in 10 points.
The win set up a home showdown with Lakeville South, when Prior Lake extended its home winning streak to 18 games in a nailbiter.
The teams alternated the lead in a back-and-forth game that featured aggressive defense.
Down four points with 6:30 left in the game, the Laker defense kicked up a notch and pressured some turnovers that turned into easy baskets. Prior Lake held on down the stretch for a 61-60 win.
Haven Fisher led Prior Lake with 18 points, and Bowman added 12 points.
A big matchup looms on Valentine’s Day as the No. 6 Lakers host No. 4 Eastview at 7 p.m. The Lightning (19-3) lead the South Suburban Conference and are undefeated in conference play, while Prior Lake (19-3) have a pair of conference losses, including a 10-point defeat at Eastview on Dec. 13.
Boys basketball
Prior Lake had an up-and-down stretch in the schedule recently, dropping road contests at Shakopee and Rosemount before recovering to best the Lakeville schools in consecutive games.
First was a Friday, Feb. 7 win against Lakeville South, 72-64. Norbu Jenpa led the Lakers with 18 points, while Cade Wozney also reached double digits with 15 points.
Prior Lake then bested Lakeville North 84-67 on Tuesday. Jenpa dropped 22 points in the game, while Alex Hulskotter added 15 points.
