Basketball teams end successful seasons

• Lancelot E. Furber, sports@pinecitymn.com, Pine City Pioneer

Both Dragon varsity basketball squads had much to be proud of at the close of the 2018-19 season.

Dragon girls

The 2018-19 Dragon girls basketball team completed  one of the most successful seasons in school history with their run to the Section 6AA championship game.

Members of the varsity team included: seniors Chloe Alleman, Emily Carpenter, Hannah Husom, Hannah Lorsung, Jolie Wicktor; juniors Ally Chromey, Ashley Faur, Makenna Nelson, Alaina Steele, Lily Wilson; sophomores Ellie Hasz, Meredith Kolling; and eighth graders Kloey Lind and Sophie Lahti.

Individual awards included All State Honorable Mention to Ellie Hasz, All State Academic to Chloe Alleman, Hannah Husom, Hannah Lorsung and Jolie Wicktor. All Section went to Lily Wilson and Ellie Hasz. All Conference went to Ashley Faur, Lily Wilson and Ellie Hasz. All Conference Honorable Mention went to Alaina Steele.

Ellie Hasz joined the Dragons’ 1,000 point club this season and Lily Wilson became the career steals and assists leader in program history

The team set school records for wins (24), points scored in a season (1,996), points per game (66.5), assists (465), field goals attempted (1,684), field goals made (712), field goal percentage (42.3%), three-pointers attempted (668), three-pointers made (223) and three-point percentage (35%).

The team also made 19 three-pointers in one game which is second all time in Minnesota girls basketball history. To cap it off, the Dragons won their section championship game for the first time since 1989.

Dragon boys

The 2018-19 Dragon boys basketball team also completed a very successful season, breaking two state records: completed three-point baskets in a game (27) and completed three point shots in a season (368).

The Dragon varsity team also captured The Great River Conference title outright, going undefeated in conference play. They ended the regular season with a 23-3 record and hosted Sauk Centre in the first round of playoffs. After that 84-75 victory, the Dragons fell to a very talented Spectrum team in an extremely competitive section quarterfinal game.

Individually, Nick Hansmann and Seth Logan both eclipsed the 1,000 point mark this season. Joining Hansmann and Logan were Jake Adams, Koleman Lind and Konnor Jusczak  as All-Conference selections. Hansmann and Logan were also named to the 6AA All-Section Team.

Throughout the year, the Dragons had several volunteer opportunities for  players including youth camps, youth tournaments, the Knights of Columbus Free-Throw Contest, an Alumni Tournament and working with the elderly at a local assisted living complex. Pine City players put in over 125 hours of volunteering.

“Moving forward, we are very excited about the group we have returning, which includes nine of 12 players on varsity and a young and scrappy JV team that had a 19-win season,” said coach Kyle Allen.