Pines comes away as opening night victors

The Northland Pines girls basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with a 54-5 win over Mercer at Northland Pines High School last Thursday.

With confidence coming into the season-opener, every player tallied a point in the win, led by Tatum Meier, who poured in a career-high 18 points to lead the Eagles.

Ryley Darr was the second-leading scorer with nine points, going 4-for-7 from the floor and three steals.

Junior Natalie Kohn and freshman Owie Ndlangamandia also contributed to the scoring with six points apiece.

Ryyn Darr, Kaydence Brost, Morgan Nyman, Adi Thompson and Aubrey Davis also scored at least a field goal.

Meir led the team in rebounding with six, while Davis finished with a strong five boards. Brost and Darr (Ryley) each had four.

“Tonight’s game was one we felt confident about going in, but we also set some very specific team goals—staying poised, being organized on both ends of the floor, and eliminating unnecessary fouls,” said Head Coach Jaclyn Halsey after the win. “The girls delivered. We finished the night with just two team fouls, and it was great to work through more of our offense in live play.”

Another thing the Eagles did was not turn the ball over, as Northland Pines committed only six turnovers.

It didn’t take long for the points to pour in for Northland Pines, as at one point the Eagles were ahead of Mercer by 40-plus points.

Although it was a commanding victory, Halsey still knows it’s early in the season and the team will only improve.

“We still have areas where we need to be sharper and more crisp, especially with the basic fundamentals we emphasize daily, but overall it was a strong team effort,” she explained.

Meier really stood out to Halsey in the win, not only for her scoring but her aggressiveness throughout the game.

“Beyond the scoring, it was her intensity on every possession that stood out. Seeing an underclassman compete with that kind of fire and confidence is exciting, and I believe this is just the start of a big year for her.”

Halsey also talked about the play of Ndlangamandia in the season opener.
“ I also want to highlight Owie Ndlangamandla, who earned her first varsity points—finishing with six—and showed impressive poise, calmness, and even moments of leadership as a freshman,” she stated.

The Eagles know what’s ahead of them as the team hosted local rival Three Lakes at the Fieldhouse this past Tuesday. Northland Pines will then travel to Ashland for a game Saturday, Nov. 29, at 1:30 p.m. The GNC season will open versus Antigo at Northland Pines on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 7:15 p.m.