There may have been no school on President’s Day, but the Two Harbors Agates basketball teams did not have the day off. The International Falls Broncos made the trip to play what felt like a Sunday double matinee on a Monday, with the girls varsity taking the court at 1 PM and the boys varsity to follow.
The Two Harbors girls basketball team was coming off a pair of wins. The Agates beat the Denfeld Hunters with a score of 57-40 on February 12th, then whopped Carlton/Wrenshall just a couple days later. The game ended 51-25 with sophomore #41 Belle Bolle scoring a career-high 21 points. The team had been battling some illness but was able to rally against the Raptors.
The Agates played International Falls back on January 13th and fell to the Broncos at that time 57-72. On the 19th, the first half of the game’s score remained pretty close but the Broncos began to pull ahead in the second, despite great efforts by the Agates.
“The girls fought hard,” said Coach Gavin Bopp, after the game. “Ultimately, we couldn’t put them away.”
The final score was 59-68. The crud going around still plagues the team. “We’re fighting some sicknesses here, so I think that showed in the second half. We just didn’t have a whole lot of energy left in the tank there,” said Coach Bopp. “We got out of our offense the second half.”
When the Two Harbors Boys Basketball team joined the crowd towards the end of the game, the energy of the gym went up a notch. It was great to hear them cheer on the girls while they awaited their turn against the Broncos.
The varsity boys team had lost their previous game to Carlton/ Wrenshall on February 16th, with a score of 76-85, but had won against Mesabi East on the 12th, winning 66-42. When they traveled to International Falls on January 27th, they nearly doubled the Bronco’s points by the end of the game, winning 84-44.
They would avenge the loss of their friends on the girls’ team on Monday with a score of 74-37, doubling the points this time exactly.
The Two Harbors boys basketball team will play at Greenway on Friday the 23rd. The previous matchup between the two ended in a 69-64 win for the Agates.
Playoff brackets are expected to be announced over the weekend. Best of luck to both the girls’ and boys’ teams as they head into the playoffs!
