Rebels girls basketball nets two conference wins

Champlin Park girls basketball won two conference games last week, beating Coon Rapids on Jan. 30 and Robbinsdale Armstrong on Feb. 1.

Rebels at Coon Rapids

Champlin Park girls basketball opened last week with a 65-57 win over Coon Rapids at home on Jan. 30, further marking a positive stretch that saw the Rebels take three wins from their last five conference games.

Tied 30-30 at halftime, Champlin Park had the better response in the second half. Nyomi Crushshon put up 21 points against Coon Rapids, second overall on the night only to Coon Rapids’ Helen Ben with 22.

Champlin Park at Armstrong

Champlin Park girls basketball earned a second win last week by beating Robbinsdale Armstrong 52-39 at home on Feb. 1.

While the night eventually went the Rebels’ way, it was far from an uncontested start. Armstrong took an early lead, blanking the Rebels to 9-0 after six minutes. Champlin Park responded by closing the gap to 9-5, but Armstrong’s Anna Smelser then hit a three to make it 12-5.

As the half closed toward its final five minutes, Armstrong remained ahead by a thin margin of 19-14 thanks to the strong opening efforts of Jade Peterson, Marin Wilson, and Emalee Fisher. Champlin Park had answered, however, and the likes of Natalia Tolentino, Savannah Belongia, and Nyomi Crushshon had guided the Rebels back into the game. With less than two minutes left, Champlin Park took their first lead at 22-20. An exchange of three pointers saw the score sit at 25-23 to Champlin Park at halftime.

The trend continued in the second half, with Champlin Park scoring 27 more points while Armstrong’s output slowed to 16 points. Champlin Park eventually won by 13 points, despite having trailed for almost the entire first half.

Armstrong’s top scorers were Wilson with 12 points and Fisher with eight. Champlin Park’s were Nyomi Chrushshon with 16 points and Savannah Belongia with 11.

Armstrong will play two games the following week, hosting Coon Rapids and Minneapolis Southwest on Feb. 7 and 9 respectively.

Champlin Park ended the week with a 6-8 conference record, 7-13 overall. Meanwhile, Armstrong’s conference record adjusted to 0-10, 6-14 overall.

Champlin Park will play two games next week, hosting Mounds View on Monday, Feb. 5 and traveling to Blaine on Feb. 7.