The Minnesota West Lady Jays stayed red-hot Wednesday night as they routed an overmatched Ridgewater team 92-18 in Wilmar. With the victory, Minnesota West is now 19-1 and winners of 15 straight games.
Tia Murray had 18 points for the Lady Jays while Olivia Hayenga added 17. Hattie DeVries contributed 16 points while making all eight of her field goal attempts. Madisyn Huisman hit for 15 points and also pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds.
Minnesota West led 35-13 at the end of the first quarter and then went to outscore Ridgewater 25-0 in the second stanza. Ridgewater scored just five points over the final 30 minutes of the game while shooting a mere 14.5% from the floor overall. The Jays also forced 26 turnovers and won the battle of the boards by an overwhelming 66-25 margin.
In the men’s game, Minnesota West was defeated by Ridgewater 84-74. The Bluejays trailed by 19 early in the second half and trimmed the deficit all the way down to five with 1:19 remaining but could get no closer.
Elijah Williams led Minnesota West offensively with 22 points. Bie Ruei and Brock Bruns each had 13 points; Bruns added a game-high nine rebounds. The Bluejays, now 5-14 this winter, were a sharp 21-of-24 from the free-throw line but were hurt by 21 turnovers.
The Lady Jays play at 1 p.m. Saturday at Western Technical College. The men’s game has been cancelled, as Western Tech announced Wednesday that it was canceling the remainder of its season due to a lack of eligible players.
