OAK PARK HEIGHTS — Junior Annika Peper poured in a career-high 25 points as Stillwater cruised to a 71-32 Suburban East Conference girls basketball victory over Park on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at Stillwater Area High School.
Peper eclipsed her previous high scoring game of 21 that came against Farmington on Jan. 3. Liana Buckhalton added 15 points for the Ponies (9-4 SEC, 13-6), who jumped out to a 34-17 halftime lead.
“They played with a lot of energy and really did a good job of playing together on both sides of the floor,” Ponies coach Tim Peper said.
Tori Henderson 10 points to lead the Wolfpack (2-11, 3-17).
Park 17 15 — 32
Stillwater 34 37 — 71
Park (pts): Tenley Nelson 9, Tori Henderson 10, Mesa Jameson 7, Olivia Czarnota 4 and Raimee Ashfaq 2.
Stillwater: Liana Buckhalton 15, Franny deLeon 9, Annika Peper 25, Amy Thompson 7, Addison Bergstad 4, Chloe Rymal 4, Marit Wolden 2, Lucci deLeon 2 and Gabrielle Smith 3.
Roch. Mayo 62, Stillwater 53
At Oak Park Heights, after trailing by six points at halftime, Rochester Mayo surged past the Ponies for a 62-53 nonconference victory on Saturday, Jan. 27 at SAHS. The Spartans (16-3) received 24 points from Amelia Mills and outscored the Ponies 32-17 in the second half.
Amy Thompson totaled 24 points, but the Ponies faded down the stretch — which was not a big surprise considering the lingering effects of illness for several players.
“I thought the girls did a great job, but we just kind of lost our legs down the stretch,” Ponies coach Tim Peper said. “We were up six with about six or seven minutes left, and then we just went cold. It was our third game in four days and we were just fatigued.”
Franny deLeon added nine points for Stillwater.
Rochester Mayo 30 32 — 62
Stillwater 36 17 — 53
Rochester Mayo (pts): Amelia Mills 24, Mia Banks 11, Kaia Kirkeby 8, Ava Miller 17 and Maggie Dyer 2.
Stillwater: Liana Buckhalton 8, Franny deLeon 9, Annika Peper 2, Amy Thompson 24, Addison Bergstad 4, Chloe Rymal 3 and Lucci deLeon 3.
Stillwater 69, Mounds View 67
At Arden Hills, two days after a narrow loss to Woodbury, the Ponies were in another tight battle before holding off Mounds View for a 69-67 conference victory on Friday, Jan. 26 at Mounds View High School.
Amy Thompson hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 37 points to lead the Ponies while Liana Buckhalton also dropped in 19 points.
Thompson’s total was just one point less than her career high and two points under the single-game school record of 39 points that Sara Scalia set during the 2017-18 season.
Mounds View (6-7 SEC, 9-9) entered the game on a three-game conference winning streak and after losing to the Ponies also played tough in its next game against East Ridge (9-4, 12-8), which joins the Ponies in a tie for second place in the conference standings behind White Bear Lake (12-1, 16-5).
“They only lost to East Ridge by four points on Tuesday, so they’re playing well,” Ponies coach Tim Peper said.
Kate Roeber and Bria Stenstrom combined for 41 points to lead the Mustangs.
Stillwater 46 23 — 69
Mounds View 43 24 — 67
Stillwater (pts): Liana Buckhalton 19, Franny deLeon 1, Annika Peper 8, Amy Thompson 37, Addison Bergstad 2 and Lucci deLeon 2.
Mounds View: Kate Roeber 21, Bria Stenstrom 20, Logan Kirk 5, Jocelyn Setley 3, Cada Scott 6, Lily Ryan 6 and Emma Bratland 6.
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