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Sparked by defense, Holy Angels holds off Benilde-St. Margaret’s

By Ryan Williamson, SportsEngine, 12/09/21, 5:15PM CST

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Despite 26 turnovers, the Red Knights made the game close down the stretch.

Grace Massaquoi (2) drives the lane in the first half. Massaquoi led all scoring with 32 points for the Stars in a 78-67 win over the Red Knights on Thursday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Grace Massaquoi (2) drives the lane in the first half. Massaquoi led all scoring with 32 points for the Stars in a 78-67 win over the Red Knights on Thursday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Academy of Holy Angels' Jenna Buer (5) shoots over the hands of a defender in the second half. Buer tallied 15 points for the Stars. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Academy of Holy Angels' Jenna Buer (5) shoots over the hands of a defender in the second half. Buer tallied 15 points for the Stars. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

Leading by double digits nearly the entire first half and the first few minutes of the second half, Holy Angels withstood a furious Benilde-St. Margaret’s rally as the Stars did just enough to win 78-67 on Thursday at the Academy of Holy Angels.

The Stars (5-1) led by as many as 14 points in the first half as they made life miserable for the Red Knights with a suffocating full-court press. When the half wrapped, Holy Angels had forced 17 Red Knight turnovers. 

While playing staunch defense, the Stars’ offensive attack was led by senior guard Grace Massaquoi. She scored 15 first-half points and led Holy Angels with 32 points for the game. She also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Early in the second half, the Stars saw their lead grow to 15 points. But then, the Benilde-St. Margaret's rally began.

The Red Knights (1-3) used outside shooting to get back into the game. Sophomore Olivia Olson knocked down three second-half three-pointers and finished with 28 points in the game. 

Freshman Kendall McGee was also a threat from deep as she finished with 21 points.

Despite Benilde-St. Margaret’s best efforts, the Stars, ranked No. 3 in the latest Class 3A Minnesota Basketball News rankings, held on. Two other Holy Angels players—sophomore guard Jenna Buer and senior guard Kassandra Caron—each put together double-digit efforts. Buer finished with 15 while Caron tallied 13.

Olivia Olson led scoring for Benilde-St. Margarets with 28 points before fouling out in the final minute of the game. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Olivia Olson led scoring for Benilde-St. Margarets with 28 points before fouling out in the final minute of the game. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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