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Daul, Bears get key road conference win

By Justin Magill, Sport Ngin, 02/25/14, 7:00PM CST

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Niki Daul's 17 points lead White Bear Lake past Forest Lake in Suburban East showdown

One month ago No. 4-ranked White Bear Lake was riding high with an undefeated record and a top-five ranking to go with it.

The Bears were stunned when Forest Lake rolled into town and came away with a seven-point win.

Not something White Bear Lake is accustom to, especially on its home court.

"We looked at the tape, and I was wondering what we were doing," Bears coach Jeremy Post said. "That wasn't the team that we had before."

The Bears returned the favor on Tuesday night behind Niki Daul's 17 points, taking down Forest Lake 57-44.

"We were just tougher and more aggressive on defense," Daul said. "That was the biggest difference between the two games."

White Bear Lake's defense has been tough all season and flexed its muscle in the key Suburban East Conference matchup. The Bears can wrap up sole possession of the league title with a win Friday night at home against Roseville.

Daul's 3-pointer's were huge against Forest Lake. She hit three of them in the first half, helping give White Bear Lake a 30-19 halftime lead.

"We just got open," Daul said. "I thought we did a great job spreading the ball around, and that gave us some good looks."

"She's just a great shooter," Post said of Daul. "If she gets a clean look, she isn't going to miss often."

For as good as Daul was with her shooter's touch, Post was more impressed with her defense.

In the first meeting at White Bear Lake the Rangers' Anna Eckert celebrated her 18th birthday with 18 points to sink the Bears.

Daul's obligation was to not let Eckert tear apart the Bears again.

"I though she did a great job against her (Eckert)," Post said of Daul's defe. "She was the star of that game, and I asked everyone if we wanted to have that happen again. Niki Daul did not want to have that happen again, and she (Eckert) was not a big factor tonight.

"I was more impressed with how she played defense. There were five or six times when she tipped a pass that went over my head to break up their offense."

Forest Lake drops to 18-7 and 13-4 in the Suburban East. A win would have tied it with the Bears at the top.

White Bear Lake now holds its own destiny for the conference title with a 15-2 record in conference play and 23-2 overall record.

"We competed from start to finish," Post said. "That is all that you can ask for. If you do go down, you want to go down with your best shot. We didn't do that the first game, but tonight I was very proud of how we played and came out with a great team win."

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