Howie's Sports Notebook, Sunday

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Hermantown extended its winning streak to five games with an impressive 69-38 high school girls basketball victory at Duluth Denfeld on Friday night. Shooting guard Bailey Hermanson had 20 points to lead the Hawks, who improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Lake Superior Conference. The Hunters under the firey coach Erik Reinertsen have improved big-time since the start of the season.

“I love the fact that we got to play so many people against Denfeld,” said Hermantown coach Eric Borndal. “Even though we started strong on a 9-0 run, they battled back and showed how gritty they are. I give their coach a lot of credit as they are improving a ton.”

The Hawks are continuing to build a competitive spirit as they approach the second half of the regular season, Borndal said.

“I do appreciate that as we continue to evaluate up to 12 players on our team, our girls are learning to buy into the fact that even if they don't play a certain amount of minutes, each minute that they are on the court is super valuable,” he added.

Borndal said Danika Bolf has really shown herself in the past couple of games as a reliable point guard behind Bailey Hermanson.

“As we continue through the season I think Danika’s poise will be a big help for us,” said Borndal.

The Hawks are committed to pounding the ball inside to their ultra-elite bigs Olivia Johnson, Aurora Decker and Jailynn Sherrill.

“While we didn't always finish inside the way we'd like, I think that we will create mismatches in the future that will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses,” Borndal said.

Hermantown begins a nine-game road stretch starting Friday at Esko at 2:30.

“I look forward to seeing how our girls play against another feisty team in Esko,” said Borndal. “I know Coach (Sue) Northey will have them ready to play us.”  

2024-25 Hermantown Girls Basketball Schedule / Results

At Cloquet – W 60-49. Overall: 1-0. Lake Superior Conference: 1-0. Home: 0-0. Road: 1-0.

At Bemidji – L 60-49. Overall: 1-1. LSC: 1-0. Home: 0-0. Road: 1-1.

North Branch -- W 65-52. Overall: 2-1. LSC: 1-0. Home: 1-0. Road: 1-1.

Proctor – L 66-32. Overall 2-2. LSC: 1-1. Home: 1-1. Road: 1-1.

Irondale -- W 72-17. Overall: 3-2. LSC: 1-1. Home: 2-1. Road: 1-1.

Chisago Lakes -- W 65-45. Overall: 4-2. LSC: 1-1. Home: 3-1. Road: 1-1.

At Grand Rapids -- W 69-25. Overall: 5-2. LSC: 2-1. Home: 3-1. Road: 2-1.

Cloquet – W 58-50. Overall: 6-2. LSC: 3-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 2-1.

At Duluth Denfeld, W 69-38. Overall: 7-2. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 3-1.

Friday – at Esko

Jan. 3 – at Duluth East

Jan. 10 – at East Grand Forks

Jan. 11 – at Crookston

Jan. 14 – at Rock Ridge

Jan. 16 – at Proctor

Jan. 21 – at Hibbing

Jan. 28 – at Superior

Jan. 30 – at Mesabi East

Feb. 6 – Grand Rapids

Feb. 7 – Duluth Marshall

Feb. 11 – Hibbing

Feb. 13 – Esko

Feb. 18 – Duluth East

Feb. 20 – at North Woods

Feb. 26, Mar. 1, Mar. 6 – Section Tournament

Home games are listed in boldface.