There was a time a few years back where Rushford-Peterson’s girls and boys basketball teams were very strong. The girls have fallen off in recent memory, but this season things are looking solid or better for both. The Trojans hosted a two-night holiday tournament, with SG, D-E, and Randolph. R-P’s teams both went 2-0. The girls started things versus Spring Grove. They did so in throwback Peterson Tiger jerseys. Joe Hatch’s girls controlled things, taking advantage of a bunch of Lion turnovers. Trojan junior Kaylee Ruberg had a double-double (12 pts, 10 rebs) in the first half and sophomore point guard Ellie Ekern had 11 points. The home team led 37-10 at intermission and cruised to a 61-19 win. Ruberg (16 pts, 13 rebs) and Ekern (13 pts, 7 rebs) led a group of 10 Trojans who scored. Emarie Jacobson (6 pts, 4 rebs), Hannah Ronnenberg (5 pts, 6 asts, 5 stls), and Tayler Helgemoe (5 pts, 5 rebs, 3 blks) helped. SG was led by Jordian Leahy (6 pts). R-P had 23 offensive rebounds for 22 second-chance-points. The boys then took the court, a marquee match-up of 1A rivals. R-P had a woeful start; 1-10 field goals and eight turnovers in first 19 possessions. But SG only led 12-5. The Trojans then hit a switch, scoring on five straight possessions. Over their last 11 possessions of the half, they shot 8 of 11 with one turnover. Senior guard Malachi Bunke scored the last eight points (over three possessions). By halftime, R-P led 24-21. Lion junior Tysen Grinde had 12 points in the half. The second half was tight to the mid-point, as the Trojans led 37-35. But R-P again flipped a switch, scoring on six of seven possessions (6-8 FGs), going on a 14-2 run. With under 4:00 left, they led 51-37. They prevailed 53-41. After the 1 of 10 shooting start, the Trojans shot 20 of 31 (65%). They went 21 of 41 (51%) from the field and 8 of 23 (35%) from deep all told. SG was 3 of 8 from deep, leaving R-P plus-15 points from beyond the arc. Bunke (19 pts, 4-9 threes, 7-12 FGs, 5 rebs) led the way. Justin Ruberg (15 pts, 7-10 FGs, 8 rebs) was a key help. Andrew Hoiness (8 pts, 5 stls) and Grady Hengel (8 pts, 3 asts) gave support. Grinde (17 pts, 3-5 threes) and Elijah Solum (15 pts, 6-10 FGs) led the Lions. Night two had R-P playing Randolph. Trojan Kaylee Ruberg was the story. The junior scored 24 in the first half (9-13 FGs, 6-6 FTs). A 21-5 start led to a 41-26 R-P intermission lead. The Trojans posted a 62-45 win. Ruberg authored her second 30-point game of the year (33 pts, 12-20 FGs, 9-9 FTs, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 4 stls). Helgemoe (11 pts, 3-8 threes, 5 rebs, 6 blks), and Ekern (10 pts, 7 rebs) also reached double figures. Ronnenberg had double-figure assists (0 pts, 0-3 FGs, 3 rebs, 10 asts, 4 stls). The Trojans made 10 of 10 free throws. Paige Ford had 14 points to lead Randolph. The boys then took the floor. R-P again started slow. The Rockets scored on seven of their first nine possessions and led 16-10. R-P then took command with a 17-0 run. After trailing 16-10, Chris Drinkall’s group out-scored Randolph 30-11 to lead 40-27 at halftime. The Bunke cousins lit it up. Junior Dawson Bunke got all his buckets (15 pts, 4-7 threes) in the first half, hitting four threes. Malachi Bunke (18 pts, 6-8 threes, 5 asts) then hit five second half threes including four in the Trojans first six possessions. R-P started the half 7 of 7 field goals to lead 59-32. They prevailed 73-45. The Bunke’s enabled the Trojans to hit a season best 15 of 24 threes (63%). R-P shot 27 of 41 from the field (66%). Ruberg (15 pts, 7-7 FGs, 8 rebs) was perfect inside. Hoiness (13 pts, 3-6 threes) and Hengel (9 pts, 5 asts) helped. Quinn Sabila had 22 for Randolph. R-P’s boys (1-1, 5-2) are the top QRF 1A squad (5-0 versus section). R-P’s girls (2-2, 6-4) have won three straight and five of six. They won seven games the last two years combined.
Trojans Host and Sweep Holiday Games
