On Monday, Brooke Gaustad scored the 1,000th point of her high school basketball career. The senior didn't have long to have the distinction of being the latest Grafton athlete to reach that milestone.
Later that night, Jake Hanson scored his 1,000th point.
"They were probably about two hours apart,'' Grafton boys basketball coach and athletic director Mike Hanson said. "It's pretty amazing when you think about it.''
Both reached the 1,000-point mark at home, as Grafton was hosting Cavalier in a doubleheader.
Gaustad scored 15 points, leaving her with 1,009 points. She reached 1,000 with a layup in transition early in the second half. Hanson hit a free throw late in his game for his 1,000th point. He finished with 24, giving him 1,003 points.
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"It was quite a coincidence,'' Jake Hanson said. "It was neat for us. We're good friends.''
They've excelled with different styles.
Hanson, a third-year starter, averages 17.9 points for the 15-1 Spoilers, who are ranked fifth in this week's Class B state poll. He's connected on 26 treys.
"If I was trying to defend Jake, I'd look to stop his perimeter shooting first,'' Mike Hanson said. "Defenses chase him all over the court. But he gets a lot of points from the outside, working off picks. And he can drive to the basket.''
Gaustad averages 12.9 points, as well as team-best averages of 4.6 assists and 4.9 steals, for the balanced Spoilers team that is 13-1 and ranked fourth in this week's B state poll. She's a fifth-year varsity player.
"Brooke gets a lot of her points in transition, and off her hustle on defense,'' Spoilers coach Laurie Sieben said. "She's a presence on defense. She'll get a steal and take it in for a layup. Jake probably has the ability to create his shots more. But they're similar in that they are very intense on the court.''
Balance has Bears leading subsection
Clearbrook-Gonvick has maintained its success with a new style this season.
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The Bears were 18-11 last season with an offense built around a pair of 1,000-point career scorers in Brooke Wraa and Whitney Rogstad. Both graduated last spring and now, with an offense that shares the scoring, C-G is 13-4 and leads the QRF rankings in the East Subsection 8A.
"It's a different type of team,'' C-G coach Ross Faldet said. "We relied heavily on Wraa and Rogstad to make shots last year. Now we're way more balanced. We've had seven girls who have scored in double digits in games. From game to game, we never know who will step up and hit the shots. But it's usually somebody.''
That balanced showed in a recent four-game stretch in which three different players -- Angela Burgess (twice), Jessica Spray and Brittany Wagner -- had game-high point totals.
Wagner paces the team with a 12.2 scoring average, followed closely by Burgess (10.3 ppg), Spray (10 ppg, as well as 7.4 apg) and Brooke Watkins (9.9 ppg).
"I think we're tougher to defend with our balance,'' Faldet said. "And our defense is better. These girls love to play defense. They're good at pressuring the ball, getting a lot of deflections and steals.''
The Bears average 58.1 points a game while giving up 40.9 points. Spray (5.1 spg) and Wagner (3 spg) are the main defensive ballhawks.
Skersick, Kaster reach 1,000 points
Kari Skersick of Bagley and Shelby Kaster of Win-E-Mac each scored the 1,000th point of her basketball career in the past week.
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n Skersick joined her three older siblings as 1,000-point scorers when she scored 12 against Fosston on Monday. The 5-10 sophomore needed 12 points to reach 1,000 -- she scored her 12th point with 12 seconds remaining in the game. Skersick, a third-year starter, averages 17.5 points and 9 rebounds this season.
"Kari's from a pretty good basketball family,'' Bagley coach Brandon Schwegel said. "Kari is a power-forward type. She gets a lot of points with her rebounding, a lot of second-chance baskets. She's always around the ball, so she gets a lot of points at the free-throw line.''
n Kaster, a 6-1 sophomore, reached the 1,000-point milestone with a 31-point, 15-rebound performance against Badger-Greenbush-Middle River on Friday. She was the second Patriot within a week to reach 1,000, as senior guard Cassie Kihne did it three days earlier.
Kaster averages 18.9 points, as well as 12 rebounds, for the 17-1 Patriots.
"Shelby's a true post player,'' Win-E-Mac coach Ian Hanson said. "She has nice moves around the basket. She's got height and long arms, and she's a pretty physical player.''
Briefly
Dakota Prairie senior Brandy Messner recently scored the 1,500th point of her basketball career. . . . North Star standout Jake Hagler had 36 points against New Rockford-Sheyenne on Tuesday, pushing the junior over the 1,500-point mark for his basketball career. . . . Ada-Borup senior Brian Blasey has made a verbal commitment to compete in track at North Dakota State University. Blasey won the shot put and finished third in the discus at last spring's Minnesota Class A state meet. . . . North Star senior Josh Haugen has signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Mary in Bismarck. . . . Area high school seniors who have signed letters of intent to play football at Minnesota State-Moorhead include Lucas Solie of Fertile-Beltrami, Alex Lee of Norman County West and Derek Kraft of Norman County East.
DeVillers reports on sports. Reach him at (701) 780-1128; (800) 477-6572, ext. 128; or send email to gdevillers@gfherald.com .
