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Northfield sees off Byron in the Breakdown Sports Tip Off Classic

By Nick Gerhardt, SportsEngine , 12/03/16, 3:30PM CST

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Grace Touchette's 21 points led the Raiders past the Bears and Ayoka Lee's 27 points.




Northfield doubled down on its efforts to slow down Byron’s Ayoka Lee Saturday at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic at Hopkins High School and it paid off in a 59-51 victory.

Lee, a 6 foot-5 junior, decimated the Raiders from the post in the first half with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Northfield opted to try to play Lee one-on-one but ditched that idea in the second half.

“We had a game plan going in where we wanted to try that didn’t involve doubling her all the time,” Raiders head coach Tony Mathison said. “I knew their perimeter was young but didn’t know how they could shoot. We made the decision at half to keep both our posts in and really just wear her down. Her frustration began to show.”

Lee had just four points in the second half and the Raiders started to pull away behind the efforts of junior point guard Grace Touchette. Touchette led Northfield with 21 points and gave the Raiders a 10-point lead with a three-pointer with less than six minutes to play. 

In a possible postseason preview, the Raiders maximized their offensive possessions through Touchette leading the floor. Both Byron and Northfield advanced to the Class 3A, Section 1 semifinals last season but ended their seasons there.

Vanessa Dimick added 10 points for the Raiders, who have started the season 2-0 with wins over section opponents.

Bears' head coach Darren Nelson expected to move the ball better against Northfield when Lee started to get doubled.

“We kind of varied some things up to get some shots,” Nelson said. “A lot of times we’ll put four guards on the floor and they’re obviously going to leave someone open. We just have to find shooters.”

Josie Bisgard finished with 13 points for Byron with all of her points came in the second half.

The Raiders led 32-26 at halftime with seven different scorers. Lee led the Bears with 23 and had only two other scorers in the half.

Northfield’s Annika Hoff drew the matchup with imposing Lee for much of the game. After having to face her alone in the first half, she got some help in the second.

“Once we made that adjustment, we played much better,” Hoff said. “I just had to focus on boxing her out every single time."

First Report

Grace Touchette helped lead Northfield to a 59-51 victory over Byron Saturday in the Breakdown Sports Tip Off Classic at Hopkins High School with her 3-point shooting and floor leadership.

Touchette scored 21 points and ensured the Raiders offense maximized possessions to keep the ball away from a dangerous Bears' offense. 

Ayoka Lee was the focal point down on the block for the Bears. Lee finished with 23 points in the first half, but the Raiders doubled her in the second half and she finished with 27 for the game.

Vanessa Dimick chipped in 10 points as well for Northfield, which has opened the season with two wins. 


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