NYM improves to 16-5 overall with 11th straight win

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The New York Mills Eagles did something last week that few teams have been able to do over the past two years—defeat the Menahga Braves in Park Region Conference action.

Following a pair of lopsided wins over Staples-Motley and Pillager last week the Eagles made the trek up north to take on the conference leading Menahga Braves. The Braves were able to defeat NY Mills 64-49 in January, but this time around the Eagles were able to get the best of Menahga to hand the Braves their first loss in Park Region Conference action since falling to NY Mills on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. That snapped a 30-game Park Region Conference winning streak for Menahga.

With the win the Eagles improved to 16-5 overall, including 10-2 in the conference. They are tied with Wadena-Deer Creek for second place in the conference and trail Menahga by just one game with two conference games remaining on the schedule. The win also increases the Eagles winning streak to 11 games as they have went 12-1 in their past 13 games since the start of the New Year. 

This week the Eagles will travel to Henning on Tuesday night in conference action, before hitting the road to travel to Park Christian on Thursday night. On Friday NY Mills will host Bertha-Hewitt in their final conference game of the season. 

Tuesday

NY Mills knocked down 11 3-pointers on their way to a commanding 80-48 win over Staples-Motley in non-conference action last Tuesday night. The Eagles hit five 3-pointers in the first half alone and held a powerful Cardinals offense to just 17 field goals in the game. NY Mills led 40-19 at the halftime break and went on to overpower Staples-Motley 40-29 in the second half as well.

Ayla Olson had a tremendous game from the field as the senior hit a pair of 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 24 points. Gabi Vaden knocked down two 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, while Annika Dunrud hit three 3-pointers to finish with 15 points. Rosemary Laudenbach also reached double figures with 12 points, while Chloe Costin scored all eight of her points in the second half, while Violet Radniecki scored five points and Kylee Lehmann rounded out the scoring with one point.

Thursday

NY Mills once again come out of the gates on fire from the field as they took a 37-18 lead at halftime and never looked back on their way to a 70-30 win over Pillager on Thursday night.

The Eagles made the most of their looks inside the 3-point line as the team hit 27 2-point shots on Thursday night, compared to just five 3-pointers.

Ayla Olson had a solid first half as she nearly scored just as many points as the entire Pillager team in the first half, 18 points for Pillager and 14 points for Olson. She ended the game with 22 points in the win. 

Gabi Vaden scored 18 points, while Chloe Costin joined the pair in double figures with 12 points. Rosemary Laudenbach chipped in with a pair of 3-pointers to finish with eight points, while Annika Dunrud scored six points and Alayna Baune rounded out the scoring with four points. 

Friday

NY Mills did something that no other team has been able to do the past two seasons—hand Menahga a loss in conference action. The Eagles traveled to Menahga on Friday night to take on a Braves team that had won 30 straight games in the Park Region Conference. The last team to beat the Braves in the conference was none other than the Eagles who edged Menahga 54-44 on January 31, 2023. 

Tied at 22 points apiece at the end of the first half, Gabi Vaden knocked down three 3-pointers in the second half and Ayla Olson went 6-7 from the free throw line to hold off the Braves in the second half by a score of 51-48.

Olson led the way offensveily as she scored a game high 20 points, while Gabi Vaden hit four 3-pointers on her way to a 13 point night. Annika Dunrud and Alayna Baune each scored seven points, while Rosemary Laudenbach rounded out the scoring with four points.