KoMets stand as HVL’s last unbeaten

The Kasson-Mantorville girls basketball team has made dominating the HVL a habit that’s going to be hard to break. Over the past 43 conference games, the KoMets have watched their opponents come and go only to have them come away empty handed as they continue to defend back-to-back conference championships.
Last week, that trend continued, as the KoMets became the last team standing in the HVL, running their conference record to 9-0 with victories over Hayfield and Triton.
“The HVL is a tough conference year-in and year-out and we have found it to be more balanced this season,” K-M head coach Ryan Haraldson said when asked about his team’s success. “It isn’t easy being the biggest school in the HVL with everyone trying to knock you off the top spot, but that goal of winning the HVL each year has given us focus to continue to improve each game, which only makes us better come playoff time.”
The KoMets’ status atop the HVL didn’t come with out a challenge as they hosted Hayfield on January 24. Both teams came into the contest with matching 8-0 conference records and held high spots in the rankings as K-M entered as the fourth-ranked team in Class AAA and Hayfield entered with the ninth ranking in Class AA.
The game turned into as much of a heavyweight fight as the records suggested as both teams spent the entire game slugging it out. After the Vikings were held scoreless for the first 8:30 of the game, they would bounce back and grind out a halftime score of 17-16 in favor of the KoMets.
In the second half, the KoMets began relying on the perimeter game to open