Girls Basketball

     The Aitkin Gobblers shrugged off their three-game losing streak and got their first win of the season Monday night as they defeated the Mille Lacs Raiders 41-37 in Onamia. The Gobblers led by a baker's dozen at the half and then held on to get the win. Kate Palm and Kacie Kaiser led the Gobblers as both players put up 9 points. Molly Franke added 7, Chey Shaffer had 5, Tika May and Eva Kalis each had 4 and Taya Hawkins had 2 points. Coach Kaija Davies after the win, "We started strong in the first half, but the second half got away from us. We need to find our composure and keep growing as a team. It's a tough schedule but responding the right way is what matters."

Gobblers   27 14 41

Raiders      14 23 37

      The Gobbler JV picked up another win Monday, beating Mille Lacs 62-29. Annika Kalis led the Gobblers with 11 followed by Natalie Shereck with 10 and Chey Shaffer with 9. Leah Palm and Isabel Spicer each had 5, Ada Samuelson, Grace Hunter and Lynae Kinzer each had 4, and Hailey Munsterteiger and Charlotte Lundgren each scored 2 points.

Gobblers   33 29 62

Raiders       8  21  29

    The Aitkin "JH" Gobbler girls split a pair of games at home Monday against Pine River-Backus. The 8th grade lost a low scoring contest 9-5. Coach Ryan Fowlds called it, "The lowest scoring basketball game I've ever been involved in. We had lots of great looks but struggled shooting the ball. It was one of those nights when it seemed like there was a lid on the basket." Mya Patterson and Rehse Rikala each scored 2 points, and Abby Kalis had the other point. The 7th grade scored a 13-5 victory over the Tigers. Abby Kalis had 6 to lead Aitkin while Zoey Baierl had 4, Alayah Teal had 2 and Hannah Fowlds had a free throw. Coach Fowlds, "We struggled shooting, but our defense stayed stout, and we pulled out the win."

      Turnovers and some tough shooting led to a 63-43 loss Saturday for the Aitkin Gobbler girls at Pine City. They trailed by nine at half and never got closer than eight as they saw their record fall to 0-3 on the season. Aitkin trailed early and it was 20-11 when Tika May hit a free throw. Down 22-14 later Adah Williams scored but the Dragons bounced right back with a bucket of their own to lead 25-16. Williams nailed a three to close it to six points, but the Dragons scored seven straight points before Kacie Kaiser hit two free throws to end the scoring for the half. The second half saw the Dragons score the first three points, but Kate Palm hit a trey, and Taya Hawkins hit two free throws to make it 35-27. Two buckets by Pine City were followed by a nice left hand off the glass by Kaiser. It was 45-31 when Hailey Munsterteiger was fouled on a three-point shot and promptly hit all three free throws. The rest of the scoring for Aitkin was a three by Williams, two free throws by Palm and a pair of hoops by Kaiser. Kate Palm led the Gobblers in scoring with 10 while Eva Kalis, Kacie Kaiser and Adah Williams each had 8. Hailey Munsterteiger had 3 and Tika May and Taya Hawkins each had a free throw. The Gobblers had a good day at the free throw line as they hit 13-15.

Gobblers     21 22 43

Dragons      32 31 63

      The Gobbler JV picked up a nice 47-27 win led by Hailey Munsterteiger and Chey Shaffer who each scored 8 points. Molly Hunter added 7, along with Ada Samuelson while Elsie Kyllonen had 6, Natalie Shereck had 4, Leah Palm, Paityn Hawkins and Eleanor Hughes each had 2 and Isabel Spicer had a free throw.

Gobblers      24 23 47

Dragons       16   11  27

     The Aitkin "JH" Gobbler girls posted another big win Friday as they defeated Pine City on the road 37-11. Hannah Fowlds had a big game hitting 3-4 from beyond the arc and scoring 15 points. Abby Kalis pitched in with 9 points while Rehse Rikala had 6, Alayah Teal had 5 and La'Mya Patterson had 2 points. Coach Ryan Fowlds after the win, We played a combined game and they had big 8th grade girls. We played very tough against a physical and bigger team than us. Alayah was huge on defense against their big girl and most talented player and held her to just five points. Abby was tough on defense with 7 steals."

Gobblers     24 13 37

Dragons        5  6  11

      The Aitkin Gobblers stormed back from a nine-point deficit at the half and got back to within two in the second half but a barrage of three-pointers by the Barnum Bombers kept the Gobblers at bay and Barnum went on to a 62-53 win on their home court. Aitkin trailed most of the first half and well into the second but a three got it down to 41-36 and then Taya Hawkins drilled a three to close it to 41-39. The Bombers came down the floor on four consecutive possessions and hit threes on all of them to restore the lead to double figures. It was 55-42 when Hawkins converted a three-point play and later when Adah Williams hit a free throw, then nailed a three it was 60-51. Barnum added a free throw, and Hawkins hit a bucket for the final Gobbler points of the night. Hawkins had 17 to lead Aitkin while Kate Palm added 12 and Eva Kalis had 10. The rest of the scoring had Williams with 7, Kacie Kaiser with 4 and Tika May with 3. Gobbler Coach Kaija Davies after the loss, "We struggled early to find our rhythm which allowed Barnum to jump out to a lead. Foul trouble and a few lapses in composure made it difficult to close the gap. Taya came out strong and provided steady scoring for us throughout the game. With this being their fourth game and just our second we know experience played a factor. We're learning, growing and turning our focus to Saturday."

Gobblers  17  36 53

Bombers  26 36 62

      The Gobbler JV lost a tough game at Barnum, dropping a 54-48 decision. They trailed by just a point at the break and kept the game close throughout the second half. Hailey Munsterteiger led the way with 13 points while Molly Franke added 10, Chey Shaffer had 8, Ada Samuelson had 7, Grace Hunter and Charlotte Lundgren each had 4 and Eleanor Hughes finished with 2 points.

Gobblers   24 24 48

Bombers   25 28 54

      The Aitkin "JH" Gobbler girls defeated Hinckley-Finlayson at home Thursday by a score of 41-4. Alayah Teal led the way with 13 points while Hannah Fowlds and Rehse Rikala each had 7, Abby Kalis and Mya Patterson each had 6 and Zoey Baierl added two points. Coach Ryan Fowlds after the win, "We played a very complete game led by our defense. Alayah won the Player of the Game award, Rehse won the Hustle award and the whole team won the Sportsmanship award. I'm very proud of how they carried themselves."

Thunderhawks  4  0  4

Gobblers           37 4 41

(photos by Carrie Baierl)

  The 2025-26 girls' basketball schedule is out. Let's take a look.

Tuesday, November 25--Pillager at Aitkin

Tuesday, December 2--C-I at Aitkin

Thursday, December--December 5--Aitkin at Barnum

Monday, December 8--Aitkin at Mille Lacs Raiders

Tuesday, December 9--Grand Rapids at Aitkin (postponed)

Friday, December 12--Howard Lake-Waverley at Aitkin

Monday, December 15--Aitkin at Moose Lake-Willow River

Tuesday, December 16--Hibbing at Aitkin

Thursday, December 18--Aitkin at Two Harbors

Monday, December 22--Tournament

Tuesday, December 23--Tournament

Friday, January 2--Walker-Hackensack at Aitkin

Tuesday, January 6--Ogilvie at Aitkin

Thursday, January 8--Aitkin at Braham

Thursday, January 15--Mesabi East at Aitkin

Friday, January 16--Aitkin at East Central

Tuesday, January 20--Aitkin at Hinckley-Finlayson

Thursday, January 22--Mora at Aitkin

Monday, January 26--Aitkin at Pierz

Friday, January 30--Aitkin at C-I

Monday, February 2--Staples/Motley at Aitkin

Tuesday, February 3--Aitkin at Mora

Thursday, February 5--Aitkin at Pine City

Thursday, February 12--Denfeld at Aitkin

Thursday, February 19--Aitkin at Duluth Marshall