Kottke twins lead Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart in historic season

The three small Minnesota communities of Buffalo Lake, Hector and Stewart have one of the top girl’s basketball teams in the state. The Mustangs have exceeded 20 wins this season and are on the verge of the best season in school history, lead by twin sisters Rachel and Kristi Kottke.

The Mustangs don’t have a junior varsity team, the 10 players out for basketball make up the varsity squad.

“It’s nice when all 10 are here, and no one is sick,” said Jesse Weick, in his third season as the Mustangs’ head coach. “My assistant coach and I have had to step in when we’ve had a girl away.”

***Click the video box above to watch Alec Ausmus’ story on the Kottke twins***

Don’t write this team off as an easy out, they have won over 20 games by an average of 34 points, including 18 straight victories. They have a tough one-two punch with the Kottke sisters.

“We’ve had a lot of crazy games, and 100 point games and keeping other teams to 20 and stuff like that,” said Rachel about the Mustangs’ success on the court.

The Mustangs score many of their points pushing the ball and using a fast-break to get to the hoop.

“I think our athleticism we have this year is something our school isn’t used to having,” said Kristi.

Leading the team in scoring is one thing, but the Kottke sisters each reached the one thousand point scoring milestone in the same game.

Kristi hit the mark first with a three point shot, five minutes later, Rachel hit one thousand, also with a three pointer.

“I got it first,” said Kristi. “when I got it, it was more like, alright, let’s get back to the game, we have a game to play. When she (Rachel) got it, I was more proud of her than when I got it.”

Rachel also reflected back on the special night, “when we did and hugged and everything, it was super special, because you imagine it as a kid and when you actually get it, it feels different than you imagined.”

The Kottke sisters continue to climb the scoring ranks at BLHS High School, but as a team, they want to take the program back to the state tournament for the first time since 2010.

Rachel and Kristi are juniors this season and are chasing their older sister Sara’s scoring record. She holds the all-time scoring record at BLHS with 2,005 points.