The annual Lewiston Auto/Warrior Club Holiday Basketball Tournament is a sign in Winona’s that the new year is about to dawn upon us. Teams from  Minnesota and Wisconsin come to Winona State University in pivotal non-conference match-ups.

The girls’ teams from the city, both Winona and Cotter, made positive statements this year.

Although we didn’t get to see a rematch from last year’s classic between Cotter and Winona (Winona won 51-48 in the prime-time slot) this year, both the Winhawks and the Ramblers impressed.

The Ramblers now find themselves on a three game winning streak after their dismantling of Tri-City United (72-42) and their impressive comeback victory against Onalaska Luther (61-57). The tournament was highlighted by junior Gabby Bowlin’s 1,000th career point, earned with an and-one layup in the Luther game. Bowlin had 27 points in that matchup. Senior Mikala Nelton provided 8 points and junior Jane Koll added 6.

Bowlin became the first Rambler since Micaela Trainor (‘12) to achieve the 1,000 point milestone, who also did it at the Holiday Tournament. Bowlin joins an elite group of Ramblers that include Trainor, Devin Bowlin (‘07), Whitney Wisecup (‘09), Jenny Gilbertson (‘08), Laura Erickson (‘08) and Kelly Kukowski (‘04).

“I felt a great deal of happiness to see Gabby achieve the 1,000 point milestone. I know how hard she has worked and it always is fun to see hard work pay off. Giving her the ball was a very cool experience. It is a moment I will always remember,” said coach and proud father Pat Bowlin.

However, the road doesn’t get any easier for the Ramblers. In the next two weeks, Cotter takes on two ranked opponents in Plainview-Elgin-Millville and Dover-Eyota.

“I felt it was important to win these two games because we have our most difficult four games of the year coming up starting on Tuesday against St. Charles. Confidence is huge for any team and the fact that we have some positive momentum is going to help us greatly, ” Bowlin said.

The Winhawks laid all preseason doubt to rest after defeating Waseca and #4 ranked Kasson-Mantorville in the tournament. Although the Winhawks have two Division I recruits (juniors Eden Nibbelink and Danneka Voegeli) to help guide the way, both of these wins were a team effort.

“Team chemistry is very important part of who we are. As good as many of our individuals are, we are much better when we work together. We have tried to be intentional about our team dynamics,” head coach Tim Gleason said.

The Winhawks avenged last year’s 31-25 section semifinal loss to Waseca with a 64-60 victory in the tournament. Nibbelink led the way with 19 points. Senior Hallee Hoeppner added 15. Gleason noted that Winona appeared to be well-prepared for the rematch.

“Our preparation for the Waseca game was the same as it has been for all of our games this year. We believe that consistency is important part of preparation and although it was the same matchup, both teams are much different than what they were last March.”

15 points was only the icing on the cake for Hoeppner, who dropped 23 on Kasson-Mantorville. As a team, the Winhawks hit 8 three-pointers, including 2 from senior Jayne Emerson and a critical hit from sophomore Selena Lor in the second half.

“Hopefully we will continue to improve as individuals and as a team – both as basketball players and as people,” Gleason added.