Basketball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Samantha Pilarski and Zoey Leners Lead Upsala to Victory

With a playoff win on the line, Upsala rose to the challenge on Saturday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars 54-51. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cardinals.

Zoey Leners

Rebounds

03/01/25 vs Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa	12
02/27/25 vs Maple Lake	11
02/21/25 vs Osakis	12
02/20/25 @ Bertha-Hewitt	16
02/18/25 @ Melrose	13
+ 2 more games

Upsala was led to victory by Zoey Leners and Samantha Pilarski. Leners dropped a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Pilarski shot 44% from the field to rack up 19 points and five boards. Leners has been hot, having posted nine or more rebounds the last seven times she's played. Isabel Ripplinger was another key player, putting up six points.

Upsala's victory bumped their record up to 19-9. As for Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, their defeat dropped their record down to 20-9.

Looking ahead, Upsala will challenge Braham at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Braham knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five matches -- so hopefully Upsala likes a good challenge. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa does not have any more games scheduled as of now.