The Roland-Story Norsemen girls basketball team opened their 2024-25 season on Saturday, as they made the trip to the Iowa Great Lakes region to take on preseason (3A) #1 Estherville-Lincoln Central in non-conference action at ELC High School. Roland-Story entered Saturday ranked preseason (3A) #8.
Roland-Story jumped on the top-ranked Midgets from the get go, pushing the lead to double-digits in the 2nd quarter, with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Riley Johnson giving the Norsemen a 24-12 halftime lead. Roland-Story continued to use defense to create offense, pushing the lead to as high as 20, and leading 38-19 after 3 quarters. ELC would make a push in the 4th quarter, cutting the deficit to single-digits at different points, but Roland-Story was able to close out in the final moments for a 44-34 upset of the #1 team in Class 3A.
Riley Johnson had a game-high 14 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Claire Truesdell had 11 points and 3, three-pointers. Kam Lande also had a big night defensively with 7 rebounds and a game-high 13 steals. Hillary Ruschy led Estherville-Lincoln Central with 11 points.
Roland-Story girls return to action after the Thanksgiving holiday, when they open Heart of Iowa Conference play by hosting Grand View Christian at 6 PM on December 3rd.