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Eckert leads Rangers past White Bear Lake

By Justin Magill, Sport Ngin, 01/21/14, 9:30AM CST

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Forest Lake's Anna Eckert scores 18 to give the No. 5-ranked Bears their first loss

How do 18-year-olds celebrate birthdays?

Some may go to the casino to play some blackjack. Others may run to the gas station and try their luck on some scratch offs or the Powerball.

Maybe even take in an R-rated movie.

What about scoring 18 points on the road against one of your biggest rivals and giving them their first loss of the season?

For Forest Lake senior Anna Eckert, that's as good a birthday as it gets.

"I can't think of anything better," she said. "This is all I wanted."

Eckert's 18 points led the Rangers in their 53-46 victory against previously undefeated and No. 5-ranked White Bear Lake on Tuesday at White Bear Lake High School.

"I think people are starting to see how good of a player she is," Rangers' coach Jen Wagner said. "We get to see it everyday in practice how she plays. We know how good her footwork is and we know how good of a shooter she is.

"The 2014 class is loaded with talent, and people are now starting to realize that she is right up there."

Forest Lake has normally relied on senior Bailey Norby's inside presence this season, but the Bears double-teamed her all night and held her to seven points.

Eckert stepped up, especially in the second half when she poured in 12 points.

"She hit some big shots down the stretch," Wagner said. "They were coming at us pretty good down the stretch, but Anna knocked down a shot or made free throws for us."

The Rangers' win comes after a tough 49-47 loss on the road to Park of Cottage Grove, the other undefeated team in Suburban East Conference play.

"That was a tough loss, but I think it shows that we are tough and can come back after a tough loss," Eckert said. "We just played against two of the best teams in our conference and played pretty good, so I think it shows a lot about our team."

Forest Lake jumped out early on White Bear Lake in the first half. It had a 15-5 lead at one point before the Bears rallied late to cut the lead to 26-21 at the half.

It was the same story early in the second half when the Rangers built an 11-point lead, but White Bear Lake stormed back late.

Niki Dahl knocked down a 3-pointer for the Bears to make the score 45-42, but that was as close as they would get.

Eckert and company closed the night with an 8-4 run, putting themselves in the running for a conference championship.

Forest Lake improves to 12-4 on the season while the Bears drop to 14-1.

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