Aberdeen Christian’s Mallory Miller puts up a shot as Ipswich’s Lindsey Grabowska (14) defends during Tuesday night’s game at the Aberdeen Christian School gym. Photo by John Davis taken 2/9/2021

By Dave Vilhauer – Aberdeen Christian jumped out an early lead, withstood several Ipswich rallies, and closed with a flurry in a 60-53 Lake Region Conference girls’ basketball victory Tuesday night at Aberdeen Christian Gym.

The Knights bolted out to a 9-2, before Ipswich tied the score at 11-11 by quarter’s end. Christian then built a 24-15 advantage in the second quarter. The Knights owned the lead until early in the fourth quarter when Ipswich took a brief one-point edge. The hosts responded with a quick surge and then made several clutch shots down the stretch to hold the Tigers at bay.

Mallory Miller was a force in the lane on both sides of the ball for Christian. Offensively, the sophomore scored a game-high 25 points (15 in the first half). Defensively, the 6-foot-4 post player made life miserable for the shorter Tigers when they tried driving to the basket.

Hanna Miller contributed 13 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter to help the Knights seal the deal.

Katie Bierman came off the bench to lead Ipswich with 16 points. Fellow reserve Halie Feldman added 10.

The Knights, 7-7 on the season, play host to North Central at 6:30 p.m. at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

IPSWICH: Halle Heinz 3 2-3 9, Hailey Bierman 1 0-0 2, Lindsey Grabowska 1 1-2 3, Chesney Olivier 2 0-0 4, Bailey Pitz 3 0-0 7, Katie Bierman 6 2-5 16, Ashton Loken 1 0-0 2, Halie Feldman 3 2-2 10. Totals 20 7-12 53.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN: Joy Rohrbach 1 0-1 2, Kaylee Block 3 1-2 8, Hanna Miller 5 3-4 13, Grace Kaiser 3 3-7 9, Mallory Miller 12 1-1 25, Chloe Bosma 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 9-17 60.

Ipswich 11 21 41 53

Aberdeen Christian 11 26 42 60

3-point field goals – Heinz, Bitz, Bierman 2, Feldman 2, Block. Total fouls – Ipswich 15; Aberdeen Christian 10.