Baxter girls advance past Colo-NESCO in regional opener

BAXTER — Baxter senior Emie Tuhn sets a new school record every time she makes a 3-pointer.

And the way the Bolts’ all-time leading scorer is shooting it right now, that number will continue to grow by a decent margin with each remaining game in her career.

Tuhn started off Thursday night’s Class 1A Region 8 opener with back-to-back 3s and then sunk six more in the second half during a 58-22 home win over Colo-NESCO.

“I’m just trying to make the most out of it because I know it’s coming to an end soon,” Tuhn said about her final games with the Bolts. “Seeing the ball go in gives me a lot more confidence. That helps me be more aggressive, too.”

Tuhn’s aggressiveness has picked up lately. She’s made at least five treys in seven straight games. The shots also are going in more frequently. She’s shooting 36 percent from deep on the year but is making them at a near 50 percent clip during those seven games.

She also leads Class 1A and ranks second in the state with 83 treys.

“(Tuhn’s) been playing tremendous basketball the past three weeks or so,” Baxter head girls basketball coach Kyle Krampe said. “We want her to shoot it. When she’s aggressive, we are such a better basketball team. Her aggressiveness opens things up for the rest of the girls, too.”

The back-to-back 3-pointers that started the game for Tuhn helped the Bolts get out to a quick lead. Colo-NESCO responded with four straight points, but a 9-0 run pushed the margin to 15-4.

That spurt featured back-to-back 3s from Kamdyn Krampe and Karlee Koehler. Tuhn’s putback later made it 17-5 and then she delivered an assist to Avery Wonders that swelled the margin to 19-5 after one quarter.

The Bolts outscored the Royals 13-3 in the second. Krampe hit a 3 both early and late in the period and Tuhn’s layup to end the half pushed the margin to 32-8.

There were no secrets in the game as the two teams were playing for a third time this season. The Royals (4-17) again played a zone defense against Baxter, and the hosts made them pay to the tune of 12 triples.

“They didn’t change much so we knew we’d have to hit outside shots,” Coach Krampe said. “Kamdyn did a good job stretching it in the first half, and then Emie hit a bunch in the second half.

“I would say we were stagnant in the second quarter. We rely on the outside shots too much, but that goes back to not having a true post. They took away our skip passes, too.”

Half of Tuhn’s 3s came in the third as Baxter outscored Colo-NESCO 18-11. Her first deep ball came at the end of a shot clock and then back-to-back triples pushed the margin to 45-15 and the Bolts led 50-18 after three.

It was one of those nights for Tuhn as her seventh 3 of the night was the first bucket in the fourth and it hit all parts of the rim before dropping in.

Tuhn finished with 29 points, five rebounds, four assists, seven steals and two blocks in the win. She was 8-of-17 from long range.

The other big statistic was the 22 points allowed by the Bolts. They held the Royals to five points or fewer in three of the four quarters.

“Ball pressure was our main emphasis,” Coach Krampe said. “We needed to apply pressure full court and make them play faster than they wanted to play. We wanted to get easy baskets.

“Our half-court defense could have been better, and it will have to be better against BCLUW.”

The Bolts’ quarterfinal matchup against BCLUW will tip off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Conrad. The Comets are 2-0 against Baxter this season.

Kamdyn Krampe finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals and Kendall Brummel tallied six points, three rebounds and two steals.

Koehler chipped in three points, two boards, two assists and two steals, Kaylyn Krampe posted three rebounds, two assists and two blocks and Hannah Huffaker put in four points. Makayla True and Wonders grabbed two boards each.

The Bolts (12-9) shot 33.3 percent from the floor, made 12-of-34 from 3 and connected on 6-of-11 from the free-throw line. They turned the ball over only 12 times, swiped 19 steals and dished out 17 assists on 20 field goals. Baxter also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.

The victory was the Bolts’ third straight over Colo-NESCO, and Baxter has won 11 of the past 12 games in the series.

“We wanted to apply ball pressure on defense and push the pace on offense,” Tuhn said. “We knew scoring in transition and on the fast break would help us today.”

Notes: BCLUW (15-7) defeated the Bolts 48-45 and 70-56 this season. The first game was tied at halftime and Baxter trailed by two after three in the second meeting. Grace Farnsworth averages 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Comets, while Savannah Moeller averages 11 points and eight boards per contest. “We have to rebound better,” Tuhn said. “They have taller girls so limiting their second-chance points and boxing out will be key.”