Austin Packers girls’ basketball edges Mankato East Thursday night 64-63

Kyra Walters drilled a 3-pointer with :41 left to put the Austin Packers girls’ basketball team in the lead for good against Mankato East Thursday night in a 64-63 squeaker at Ove Berven Gym.

The Packers rallied from a five-point deficit at the half to outscore the Cougars 39-33 in the second half and Walters tallied 15 points for the game, and Hope Dudycha poured in 21 points to lead the Packers in scoring.  Colie Justice added eight points, Erica Lundberge tallied seven, Elyse Hebrink chipped six points and Emma Dudycha added five points in the winning effort.

With the win, Austin moves to 10-2 in the Big 9 Conference, and they are now tied atop the conference with Red Wing, who lost to Rochester Mayo Thursday night 56-52.  The two teams are a half-game ahead of third place Mankato West, and the Packers are now 13-3 overall on the season.

Austin’s game versus Mankato East for tonight has been postponed, and the Packers will be back in action next Tuesday at Albert Lea versus the Tigers, with varsity tip-off at 7:30 p.m.