Vasecka goes over 1,000 points in Titans’ match-up against Harrisburg

On Saturday, Feb. 5 the Tea Area High School girls’ basketball team competed in the Dak XII / NEC Clash Tournament in Madison against Groton Area. The Titans jumped ahead early and led 14-1 after the opening quarter. Tea Area held off a comeback by Groton in the second quarter with a fantastic second half. Tea Area outscored Groton 30-3 in the third and fourth quarters to get the 56-21 victory.

For the Titans, Brynn Schupner recorded the double-double, scoring ten points and pulling down ten rebounds. She also had three assists in the game. Katie Vasecka finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Kendra McKinney had nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Cassidy Gors finished with six points, three rebounds and Mara Grant also had six points, four rebounds, and one assist. Kaitlin Kuhnert had four points, four rebounds and Grace Stansbury had two points, and two rebounds. Stella Peterson finished with one point, three rebounds, and one steal.

On Tuesday, Feb. 8 the Titans took on Harrisburg and despite never leading in the game, the Titans fought hard and nearly came away with the win, but ultimately fell 51-49.

One highlight in the game for the Titans was Vasecka surpassing the 1,000 career scoring mark. Vasecka scored 14 points in the game, grabbed nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

“Katie getting her 1,000 points is a great accomplishment for her and our team in general. For her to get this achievement so early in her career it just goes to show how great of a talent she truly is. Katie is a hard worker in every sense of the word,” said Titan head coach Adam Schorzmann. “She’s always the first person on the court and shooting before practice starts and she does more than what is required as well. She’ll do several workouts throughout the day and she’s really just never satisfied. She’s a great player to coach and have on the team because she’s always asking questions, giving suggestions, and she’s also an unselfish player. I think this is a huge accomplishment but honestly, this is the tip of the iceberg for Katie. She has a bright future ahead of her.”

Also scoring in double figures against Harrisburg for the Titans were Grant and Schupner. Grant finished the night with a double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. She also had two assists in the game. Schupner scored 11 points, had six rebounds, and had one assist. Gors finished the night with five points, two rebounds, and one assist.

Peterson had three points, two rebounds and one assist and Stansbury finished with two points, one rebound, and one assist. McKinney contributed one assist and two steals.

The Titans have three regular-season games remaining on their schedule. They will host Lennox this Friday, Feb. 11 in doubleheader action with the Titan boys. The girls are scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday, Feb. 17 the Titans will travel to Yankton to compete against the Bucks and on Friday, Feb. 18 the team travels to Elk Point Jefferson for their final regular-season game.

Playoff action begins Feb. 22.

“As a team, going down the stretch it’s all about execution and teamwork. We have some good teams still left on the schedule (Lennox, Elk Point Jefferson, and Yankton) and we need to be ready to execute, be focused, and have energy in those games,” said Schorzmann. “We’ve had a tough schedule this year but that’s what makes great teams better. We’ve had our opportunities to win against the best teams in the state and haven’t been able to pull out one of those signature wins yet, that’s the difficult part so far. We’ve come a long way as a team from the beginning of the year. I can honestly say that down the stretch I’m confident that we’ll be in a good position once it comes to our region because we’ve been battle tested.”