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DeLaSalle puts away St. Croix Lutheran with 37-point second half effort

By Adam Holt, SportsEngine, 02/01/19, 9:45AM CST

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The Islanders' Nurjei Weems led all scorers with 20 points and contributed 13 rebounds.

Nurjei Weems (22) pulls up at the top of the key for two points. Weems led all scoring with 20 points, helping DeLaSalle ease past St. Croix Lutheran 61-47 on Friday night. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Nurjei Weems (22) pulls up at the top of the key for two points. Weems led all scoring with 20 points, helping DeLaSalle ease past St. Croix Lutheran 61-47 on Friday night. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Mya Williams (23) dives for a loose ball. Williams tallied eight points for the Islanders in a 61-47 win at St. Croix Lutheran High School. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Mya Williams (23) dives for a loose ball. Williams tallied eight points for the Islanders in a 61-47 win at St. Croix Lutheran High School. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

It hasn’t been an easy run for DeLaSalle, but the Islanders are finding a way to persevere.

DeLaSalle struggled early against a fundamentally sound St. Croix Lutheran team, but scored the first 10 points of the second half and never saw the game get close again, in a 61-47 road win on Friday.

It was perhaps emblematic of the season for the Islanders (10-5, 3-0), who’ve juggled a lot of pieces due to a rotating cast of players being in and out of the lineup due to injuries.

For instance, junior forward Nurjei Weems has been a focal point for the offense, since senior leader Elaina Jones (10.7 ppg last year) has missed most of the season with an injury. Freshman point guard Kiani Lockett is just getting back into games after missing the first half of the season. But much like they did against the Crusaders (14-6, 4-0), the Islanders think they can click down the stretch.

“Just trying to get them to all work together, and play together, guards and posts,” DeLaSalle coach Tanysha Scott said. “It was a good game.”

First Report

A big run to start the second half was all it took for DeLaSalle to top Tri-Metro Conference rival St. Croix Lutheran 61-47 on the road Friday.

A choppy first half saw the teams combine for 20 fouls and a 12-of-27 performance at the free-throw line. DeLaSalle led 24-21 at the break.

The Islanders, ranked No. 9 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, scored the first 10 points of the second half, en route to pulling away from the Crusaders the rest of the contest.

DeLaSalle (10-5, 3-0) asserted itself inside and got a couple of timely three-pointers in building a 16-point lead in the second half.

St. Croix Lutheran’s Kenna Moon connected on a three-pointer, and had a steal and layup to briefly get the Crusaders (14-6, 4-0) within eight late in the inter-division matchup.

Nurjei Weems led all scorers with 20 points and 13 rebounds for DeLaSalle. Teammate Savannah White had nine points, and Nora Francois and Mya Williams added eight points each.

Moon led St. Croix Lutheran with 19 points, while Juel Skrien pitched in with eight. Clara Avery and Luci Hauge each scored six.

Sophomore guard Kenna Moon (32) carries the ball up court past defender Nora Francois (21). Moon scored a team-high 19 points for St. Croix Lutheran. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Sophomore guard Kenna Moon (32) carries the ball up court past defender Nora Francois (21). Moon scored a team-high 19 points for St. Croix Lutheran. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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