Legendary Hermantown girls basketball coach Eric Borndal said he was proud of his team’s performances in a pair of games decided in the final seconds of regulation play last week.
The Hawks (12-6) lost to Superior 63-60 on Tuesday and rebounded with a spirited 66-65 road win at Mesabi East Thursday.
“These were very important games as we head into the late part of our season, as we learn from our mistakes and hope to make a strong push come playoff time,” said Borndal, Hermantown’s personable first-year head coach. “In both first halves we played some of our best basketball. We need to be able to put together two halves and it will be really interesting to see how good we can be.”
Borndal said it’s been fun to watch senior captains Annika Nelson, Izzy Wotjtsiak and Hope Kohanski contribute key baskets to help support the scoring of Bailey Hermanson, Olivia Johnson and Aurora Decker.
“It is clear that we play at our best when we share the ball and have multiple threats on offense,” said Borndal. “The mental toughness of our seniors was shown the past month as we have played 10 games on the road in a row.”
Hermantown will host Grand Rapids (2-18) on Thursday and high-powered Duluth Marshall (13-6) Friday. Tip-off is at 7:15 both nights.
The Hawks are 4-1 at home.
“It will be a fun challenge, as we look forward to starting February while playing at home.” Borndal said of the back-to-back Lake Superior Conference games.
The Hilltoppers are led by freshman guard-forward Chloe Johnson, one of the top-ranked college prospects in the Class of 2028.
2024-25 Hermantown Girls Basketball Schedule / Results
At Cloquet, W 60-49. Overall: 1-0. Lake Superior Conference: 1-0. Home: 0-0. Road: 1-0.
At Bemidji, L 60-49. Overall: 1-1. LSC: 1-0. Home: 0-0. Road: 1-1.
North Branch, W 65-52. Overall: 2-1. LSC: 1-0. Home: 1-0. Road: 1-1.
Proctor, L 66-32. Overall 2-2. LSC: 1-1. Home: 1-1. Road: 1-1.
Irondale, W 72-17. Overall: 3-2. LSC: 1-1. Home: 2-1. Road: 1-1.
Chisago Lakes, W 65-45. Overall: 4-2. LSC: 1-1. Home: 3-1. Road: 1-1.
At Grand Rapids, W 69-25. Overall: 5-2. LSC: 2-1. Home: 3-1. Road: 2-1.
Cloquet, W 58-50. Overall: 6-2. LSC: 3-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 2-1.
At Duluth Denfeld, W 69-38. Overall: 7-2. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 3-1.
At Esko – W 68-50. W 68-50. Overall: 8-2. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 4-1.
At Duluth East, W 52-48. Overall: 9-2. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 5-1.
At East Grand Forks, L 58-52. Overall: 9-3. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 5-2.
At Crookston, W 67-53. Overall: 10-3. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 6-2.
At Rock Ridge, L 85-56. Overall: 10-4. LSC: 4-1. Home: 4-1. Road: 6-3.
At Proctor, L 75-52. Overall: 10-5. LSC: 4-2. Home: 4-1. Road: 6-4.
At Hibbing, W 67-41. Overall: 11-5. LSC: 5-2. Home: 4-1. Road: 7-4.
At Superior, L 63-60. Overall: 11-6. LSC: 5-2. Home: 4-1. Road: 7-5.
At Mesabi East, W 66-65. Overall: 12-6. LSC: 5-2. Home: 4-1. Road: 8-5.
Thursday – Grand Rapids
Friday – Duluth Marshall
Feb. 11 – Hibbing
Feb. 13 – Esko
Feb. 18 – Duluth East
Feb. 20 – at North Woods
Feb. 26, Mar. 1, Mar. 6 – Section Tournament
Home games listed in boldface.