Eskomos Get Playoff Win Over Gobblers

Wes Vork-NSO

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Mar 3

Wes Vork-NSO

It has been said that no matter what the sport it takes a total team effort to win. The Esko Eskomos proved the old adage true Tuesday night in their opening round of Section 7AA girls basketball against the Aitkin Gobblers. With several key players on the bench in foul trouble, Esko’s reserves stepped up to help secure a 69-50 win over the Gobblers to further advance them in the playoffs.

The Eskomos started strong and built a huge first half lead against the Gobblers. Even though Aitkin was seeded #7, they returned several starters from last year’s section final team and proved to be no pushover. By the end of the first half the Gobblers worked their way into the game, with Esko taking a 31-24 lead into the locker room.

Esko came out strong defensively in the second half. The Gobblers first field goal did not
come until
12:03 remained
on the clock, nearly six minutes into the game. However, not all went smooth for the Eskomos. Courtesy of a tightly called game, three key starters were forced to the bench in foul trouble. Fortunately for the Eskomos, they were able to bring in a group of senior reserves and not miss a beat.

Esko head coach Scott Antonutti commented to NSO, “Mid-way through the 2nd half we had 3 starters [Deadrick, Pelletier, Trapp (all underclassman)] that had to sit significant minutes in foul trouble. But our three seniors that didn’t start the game did a fantastic job finishing it.”

Julianne Carley had an outstanding game rotating in and out once Aitkin was forced to start fouling. Esko managed to get the ball into her hands, forcing the Gobblers to send her to the line. She helped to seal the victory by going 5-6 down the stretch from the charity stripe. Kate Marquis and Katie Tonner also did a magnificent job of coming off the bench to help secure the win.

After the game, coach Antonutti could not have been prouder of his senior leaders. “We had our senior night at our last regular season home game, but this game definitely exceeds that in importance and their contribution was obvious to everyone in the stands tonight. What a great example of team players they are, they were the difference tonight!”

Even though fouls severely cut her minutes, Keely Deadrick was able to lead the Eskomos with 16 points. Amanda Bergstedt was close behind with 15, followed by Carley’s 8 points and 7 from both Marquis and Tonner. Others scoring for Esko were Alyson Glumac and Savanna Trapp with 6 points each and Lydia Pelletier with 4. Meredith Chaput led the Gobblers with 13 points in the losing effort.

With the win, Esko moves on to play #6 Rush City, who advanced with a 62-57 winner over #3 Pine City. The Section 7AA matchup will be played at UMD on Saturday at 6 PM.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com