For the Vermilion Ironhawks, a rematch with the nation’s top-ranked team went much like the first.
Vermilion was within three points at halftime against Anoka-Ramsey, but couldn’t sustain any momentum in the second half.
A poor shooting night cut short any chance of a Vermilion upset, and the Rams racked up 49 second-half points and cruised to a 73-41 community college women’s basketball contest in Ely.
Vermilion bounced back Saturday and dominated Riverland 84-38 to climb back over the .500 mark to 6-5, but the marquee matchup of the weekend was the one with Anoka-Ramsey.
“We executed our defensive game plan and held them to I think their season low for a half,” said Vermilion Head Coach Ryan Zyla. “But when you’re at home and you shoot that poorly, you’re not going to beat a lot of teams let alone the number one team in the country.”
Vermilion shot only 22 percent from the floor against the Rams and connected on just four-of-28 (14.3 percent) from three-point distance.
Leading by three, Anoka- Ramsey outscored Vermilion 25-13 in the third quarter and essentially ended matters.
Five Rams scored in double digits with Charise McKenzie coming off the bench to lead with 16 points and teammate Mariam Alowonie adding 14.
Freshman Kye Clater led Vermilion with 15 points and Alyria Greene wound up with eight points and 12 rebounds.
The following day, Vermilion struggled for a half but erupted in the third quarter, scoring a program-record 44 points in the third on the way to a lopsided win.
“To be honest, we haven’t shot well lately, but we did shoot a little better against Riverland in the third quarter,” said Zyla. “We made a nice run and I think we knew we didn’t lay our best in the first half, but we caught a breath, reset, went out and created some turnovers and hit some ‘threes.’” Clater knocked down five triples and had a team-best 23 points for the Ironhawks, while Trinity Bodie and Danita Gonzalez both added 10 points.
Ruth Wandulu, Trina Roberts and Amyia Yunker all added eight points for the Ironhawks, and Clater picked up eight steals.
Vermilion forced 38 Riverland turnovers.
The Ironhawks are back on the road this weekend for games against Ridgewater and nationally ranked Minnesota West, and they close out their pre-holiday slate on Friday, Dec. 19, at Iowa Central.
“We’ve got West and Ridgewater and West is a powerhouse, top-five nationally ranked,” said Zyla, “We’re looking forward to going to play a great team and it’s a great challenge for us this weekend. And then we go to Iowa to play a D2 school and that’s exciting for us, and it helps with our girls traveling home and gives us a game. We love to play bigger and tougher competition.”
