Girls Basketball: Cougars upset Kenyon-Wanamingo

Ashley Hinsch’s near triple-double helped the Zumbrota-Mazeppa girls basketball team to a 72-58 upset victory over Kenyon-Wanamingo Tuesday in Zumbrota.

“This was kind of a signature win for us,” Z-M head coach Scott Paukert said. “We put two halves together. Hopefully we can build on this.”

Hinsch, a senior, finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals to lead the Cougars (5-8, 1-2 HVL Blue). Senior Laura Huneke contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Kalli Paukert added a career-high 16 points in the win. She made 9 of 14 free-throw attempts.

K-W (11-3, 2-1 HVL Blue) had three players foul out of the game as Z-M got to the free-throw line 41 times, making 24. The Cougars led 38-23 at halftime thanks in large part to Huneke, Paukert said.

“Laura really shot the ball well,” Scott Paukert said. “She really got us going early.”

K-W never got closer than 10 points but the Cougars never quite put the game out of reach, Paukert said.

“The last four minutes seemed to take forever,” he said. “They were pressing us really heavy.”

Paukert said the only negative from Tuesday’s game was feeling like an up-and-down Z-M team was capable of winning these games earlier in the year. The team always had it in them, he said.

Z-M will attempt to keep the momentum going against Triton Thursday in Zumbrota.

Tags: sports, prep, girls, basketball, zumbrota, mazeppa