[Thanks again, El!*  February is, after all, National Pasty Month, and they are terrific for warding off those arrow-through-the-head migraines!  (* The product was hand-delivered on Senior Night by fellow Cardinal Super Fan, a/k/a/, The Pasty King.)  😉 ]

As we know from the previous posting, the Cards beat Detroit Lakes on this night.  It was not an insignificant win.  The Lakers had a come-from-behind victory against us early in the year, and in their previous game had taken still undefeated and No.1-ranked Fergus Falls down to the wire.  They actually match-up well with Fergus with big bodies and 3-point shooting.  Of course, DL then went on to also lose to Class AA power, Staples-Motley (fortunately, there is a state-wide hue-and-cry to break up the Staples-Motley juggernaut!  😉  ).

The Cards won in our usual manner – with in-your-face, pestering, pants-on-fire, take-no-prisoners defense.  I suspect a rather substantial portion of Laker points were garnered from the free throw line – when they weren’t wearing a Cardinal inside their jerseys.  It’s true we struggle offensively ourselves, but we sure are fun to watch play defense!  The Cards finished the regular season with a win at Rocori on Thursday.  We finished 2nd in the Central Lakes Conference and received the No. 1-seed on the South subsection, securing an opening round home game this Tuesday at 7:00.  And not in just casual passing, the JV team finished the season with a 23 – 1 record, winning by an average score of 48 – 24.  I believe that bodes well for the future!  🙂

[Looking out the bathroom window before leaving for the game.]

[Helpful household hint for keeping that commode seat warm during Minnesota winters.]

[Buzz Miller filled in admirably as PA announcer for the evening.]

[Round up the seniors!]

[Let the festivities begin!]

[Karla, as delivered by . . . Ms. Balloonhead?]

[Sam]

[Eventually, they all leave the nest.]

[Kalli]

[Dani]

[Accompanied by Karly.]

[Jess]

[Parting is such sweet sorrow.]

[A little pre-game jumping up and down . . .]

[And chanting something indecipherable.]

[Ladies, check this out.  Basso profundo!]

[So, we’re agreed – Zorbaz after the game?]

[Pre-game milling around – catching complete strangers wandering into the line of fire.]

[We carried the the JV to a 23 – 1!]

[So next year we’ll be covered even more by the cub reporter!]

[Amanda C and Sarah share a secret sorority handshake.]

[ 😉 ]

[Karly and Sarah – in lieu of a handshake?]

[Jess and Sarah with a different perspective.]

[Dani and Sarah with the ever popular fist bump.]

[After low-fiving in previous games, Kalli and Sarah opt for the high-five.]

[Amanda C rises to the occasion.]

[Karly begins her evening of Mass Disruption.]

[Dani joins the front court pressure . . .]

[And a leap!]

[A Laker under assault.]

[Just a guess, but the ball is apparently somewhere above the rim.]

[Kalli setting up a high post move?]

[Still setting . . .]

[Sarah]

[Emily joins the Disruptor with back court pressure.  They’re both on the cross-country team so they can run all night.]

[Kalli is the last line of defense.]

[Though she eventually anticipates company.]

[Karly spins to the current ball handler.]

[Dani awaits the inbounds.]

[Emily on the point.]

[Dani and a Laker negotiate for the pumpkin.]

[You put your right leg out and you shake it all about!]

[Guessing a Kalli score.]

[Here they come again!]

[Scoring was coming with difficulty.]

[Luella and her sister – have been coming to Cardinal games since before I arrived on the planet.  Talk about your Super Fans!]

[I believe Zorbaz specializes in pizza?]

[At least I think they do in DL?]

[The ref confirmed the pizza rumor.]

[Why does the gym get darker when we run in front of the light panel?]

[No. 1 is about to panic!!]

[And again?]

[Karly has two Lakers in her sights.]

[Karly and Sarah compare notes.]

[Yeah, really, it’s pizza.]

[As a Card shoots free throws, you get an idea of the relative size differences between the Lakers and our Cards.]

[Kalli’s shot is . . . ?]

[Macy, fresh off another JV win.]

[Amanda C’s good!]

[Just remember, pepperoni is not good right after a game!]

[Amanda C may have missed this one, contrary to what the odds makers predicted?]

[Jess displays a form that should be 100%!]

[My last shot – fitting as Karly would have been my player-of-the-game.]

[Three evenings later, i.e., last night, out the same bathroom window.  (Yes, older people do spend a lot of time in bathrooms.]

[And soon I must prepare for leftovers, as this afternoon “Weakie” and I are off to see the Gopher (my alma mater) women’s hockey team play St. Cloud State (“Weakie’s” alma mater) – because we can’t get enough of women’s hockey!  😉  And if we hadn’t already had other plans for the evening, we could have stayed down there for the Card boys’ hockey team’s section game against top-seed Little Falls.]

p.s.  No, I did not stay up until the end of last night’s (this morning’s) girls’ hockey semi-final, eventually won in the 6th overtime, 4 – 3, by Minnetonka over Lakeville North.  The game lasted 4 hours until 1:00 am.  The game was reportedly the longest girls’ game in history, though I’m not sure they looked beyond the borders of the continental 48.  It even made ESPN news this morning.  I do not like the Skippers’ chances in the championship game tonight.