Mankato East’s 5-foot-5 senior guard Peyton Stevermer became the 16th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau as the Cougars downed Albert Lea 64-40 Thursday night in a Big Nine Conference girls basketball game at the East gym.
Stevermer converted two free throws and a driving left-handed banker in the early stages before her fastbreak layup of an assist from junior wing Ellie Edberg with 10:13 to go in the first half put a temporary stop to the contest.
Stevermer ended up with 11 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.
“This really means a lot to me,” said Stevermer, who also has compiled 494 assists, 391 rebounds and 169 steals in her career. “My teammates and coaches have been great so this is a team thing. I hadn’t really thought about it until my dad put some things in my head. It happened so quick.
“I pride myself on my leadership because that’s the biggest thing I’ve worked on over the years. Scoring comes and goes, wins come and go, but you can always supply good leadership both on and off the court. Our team chemistry is as good as it has been and that seems to really carry over onto the court. I am really proud of the way Ellie and Maddy (Beaty) came through with Macy (Birkholz) not here tonight. … It was a real team effort.”
East (7-4, 7-3 in Big Nine) jumped out to a 21-6 advantage behind a trio of baskets from Edberg along with Beaty’s off-the-glass hoop and left baseline 3-pointer. Beaty, who fired in five 3-pointers in dropping through a career-high 20 points, put the Cougars in front 34-14 at the break with a left-wing triple.
“It was a lot of fun watching Peyton progress over the years,” said Rob Stevermer, East coach and Peyton’s father. “She has really worked to develop her game over the years, and I am very excited and proud for her. The whole team is excited for her and that makes it even more special.
“Over the years she’s put a lot of good games together, seeing people on the floor and getting a lot of assists. The last couple of years she’s become a good shooter and finisher around the basket as well. She’s become a good all-around player and she’s got some championships to look back on as well. … It’s a great milestone.”
Beaty buried three more triples in the second half as the Cougars finished things off without Birkholz, who was attending an academic function.
Edberg, a 5-10 junior forward finished with 18 points, five rebounds, three steals and four blocked shots for the winners, who won the boards 43-26 and committed fewer turnovers 20-16.
East connected on 23 of 60 from the field for 38.3%, compared to the Tigers’ 17 of 48 for 35.4%.
“I played the first half of the JV game and became more confident,” Beaty said. “It helped me through the varsity game. I take the open shots and luckily I made most of them.
“Peyton means everything to me. She is such a leader both on and off the floor. I love her so much and I am so proud of her and can’t wait to see what she does in the future. Words can’t describe how much she has helped me both mentally and physically. Both in basketball and softball, too, and I am so grateful to her for what she has done for everyone.”
East plays Saturday at Marshall.