1AA Girls Basketball; GM Girls Move on to Section Final

Five Journal 11 teams began the week alive in the Section 1A girls playoffs. By Saturday night, only one was left standing. Rushford-Peterson, Fillmore Central, Lanesboro, Kingsland, and Grand Meadow all battled amidst 1A quarterfinal and/or semifinal contests.  The Superlarks will play for their first 1A title.

Burro Girls Fight Past K-W

It was physical. It was a battle. Lanesboro’s girls (4-seed, 18-8) only trailed early in their 1A quarter with Kenyon-Wanamingo (5-seed, 12-13). Bret Klaehn’s group held off a late Knight charge to earn the school’s first berth in the section final four since 2007. The Burros trailed just once, 3-2. But an athletic Knight group, one that featured kids that led their volleyball team over Mabel-Canton in the 1A finals, never went away. They constantly applied full-court pressure. Lanesboro battled past it. The Burros built a 16-8 edge midway through the first half only for a 7-0 K-W run and a 16-15 game. Lanesboro then gained some breathing room by halftime, up 26-18. And the Burros began the second half 13-4 to go ahead 39-22. K-W slowly chipped away at that lead. A mini 6-0 spurt under the four-minute mark had the Knights within four (49-45). Josie Flom hit three second half trifectas to help key the comeback. But the Burros immediately got a momentum halting three-point play from leading scorer Kaci Ruen, who K-W concentrated their defense on. A three by Tessa Erlandson again made it a four-point game (52-48 > 2:00), but Jessie Schreiber and then Jenysn Storhoff hit two free throws in the final minute. K-W missed its last seven shots. Lanesboro scored the last six points to earn the 58-48 victory. All six Burros to score tallied at least six points. K-Ruen (13 pts, 18 rebs) was somewhat contained by K-W’s aggressive defense, but she still led Lanesboro in scoring. Malia Tessum (12 pts, 3-4 threes) and Schreiber (10 pts, 8 rebs) also made double figures. Tessum had nine in the first half. Brielle Ruen (9 pts, 6 rebs, 5 stls), Ella Cambern (8 pts, 3-4 FGs), and Storhoff (6 pts, 4-5 FTs, 7 rebs, 4 asts) helped. Flom (15 pts) hit four threes to pace the Knights. Erlandson (13 pts) and Stella Rechtzigel (13 pts) also hit double figures. Lanesboro (21 of 51 > 41%) out-shot the Knights (19 of 66 > 29%). The Burros had 24 turnovers to K-W’s 15. Lanesboro held an edge at the free throw line: 13 of 20 (65%) to 4 of 7 (57%). They won the glass 45 to 29. The Burros (4-seed, 19-8) moved on to play Hayfield (1-seed, 29-0).

Kingsland’s Depth

Overwhelms Fillmore Central 

Kingsland’s girls (2-seed, 18-8) used a strong performance from its bench to get revenge on Fillmore Central (7-seed, 12-15) in another 1A quarterfinal. The Falcons entered the game down two starters (Courtney Hershberger and Abby Bothun) from the teams first meeting, won 45-31 by FC. Kingsland’s depth thus proved critical in the playoff re-match. The Knights trailed just once, 7-6. After leading by low single digits most of the first stanza, Kingsland built a 37-27 halftime lead. The Knights had four three-point plays in the stanza, three of which were of the second-chance-variety. But FC came out of intermission with a 10-3 run to close to down 40-37. The Knights then got a 7-0 run, all points from non-starters Katelyn Hauser and Alexys Harwood. They went ahead 48-39. The lead stayed at least seven the rest of the way. Steve Hauser’s group prevailed 66-54. Kingsland’s starters, led by Audrey Webster (15 pts, 3-5 threes, 6 rebs), Shelby Beck (9 pts, 8 rebs), and Anika Reiland (7 pts, 6 rebs, 10 asts, 4 stls), combined for 38 points. The Knight bench, led by Harwood (11 pts, 4-6 FGs, 6 rebs), Chantle Reiland (8 pts, 4-6 FTs, 7 rebs), and Hauser (7 pts), combined for 28 points. FC got 41 points from its starters, led by senior Lauren Mensink (11 pts, 10 rebs), Madison Simon (10 pts, 5 stls), Kammry Broadwater (9 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts), and Alyssa Britton (8 pts, 7 rebs). Their bench scored 13. Regan Hanson (11 pts, 7-12 FTs) was their main reserve. Kingsland (23 of 62 > 37%) out-shot FC (15 of 55 > 27%) from the field, though the Falcons (20 of 33 > 61%) beat the Knights at the free throw line (15 of 26 > 58%). Both teams were sub-25% from distance. Kingsland out-rebounded FC 53 to 38 including getting 12 first half offensive rebounds and turning them into 16 first half second-chance-points. The Knights had more turnovers, 22 to 14. FC’s season ends at 12-16.  Kingsland (2-seed, 19-8) moved on to face the winner of Grand Meadow (3-seed, 20-6) and Rushford-Peterson (6-seed, 12-15).

Key Threes Propel Grand Meadow Over Up-start R-P 

Rushford-Peterson (6-seed, 12-15) was going for the upset.  The Trojans used a disciplined offensive and defensive attack to put higher seeded Grand Meadow (3-seed, 21-6) in a halftime hole, 24-18. But Ryan Queensland Larks righted the ship after intermission. They staved off a Trojans push at the end and earned a place in the 1A semis. R-P was efficient in the first half, making 9 of 17 shots to post their halftime lead. GM had just one basket over a 12-possession span; R-P went from down 9-6 to up 20-12. But the Larks were then efficient early in the second stanza, scoring on five straight possessions to get back to near-equal at down 28-27. From there, big three were the story. Sydney Cotten hit one at above the seven-minute mark to put the Superlarks up, 37-34. Lexy Foster hit one to make it 40-36 Larks (4:34). Foster followed with another a minute or so later (43-36). And McKenna Hendrickson nailed a fourth to make it 46-38 (1:58). After starting the game 3 of 12 from deep, GM hit its last four trifectas. But the game wasn’t over. A Kaylee Ruberg three cut the lead to 46-41 (1:20). The Larks then proceeded to miss the front end of three one-and-ones in the final 1:30. R-P got an Emarie Jacobson rebound put-back to make it 46-43 (0:23). They then had the ball down that score in the final 20 seconds. Ellie Ekern made a two to make it 46-45. But by the time GM in-bounded, and R-P fouled, only 1.8 seconds remained. Cotten hit the second of two free throws. R-P’s only shot for the win was a full-court baseball pass. GM held on by a 47-45 final. Unlike the FC/Kingsland game that preceded it, the contest was deliberate and without a ton of possessions. GM was led by Foster (15 pts, 3-4 threes, 6 rebs) and Hendrickson (10 pts). Kendyl Queensland chipped in 8 (pts), 6 (rebs), and 5 (stls). Cotten scored 7 points off the bench. Ruberg (18 pts, 8-14 FGs) 5 rebs) led Joe Hatch’s Trojans. Tayler Helgemoe (8 pts, 6 rebs) and Ekern (8 pts) helped. GM had just eight turnovers to R-P’s 14. The Larks were plus-eight at the free throw line (8 of 16 > 50%), as R-P didn’t attempt a freebie. The Larks also hit two more threes: 7 of 16 (44%) to 5 of 12 (42%). R-P (20 of 40 > 50%) out-shot GM from the field (16 of 41 > 39%). The Trojans season ends at 12-16. GM (22-6) moved on to a third battle with Kingsland (19-8).

Burros Repelled in Second Half, Fall to Hayfield

Lanesboro’s girls (4-seed, 19-8) gave undefeated #3 Hayfield (1-seed, 29-0) a good shot. But it wasn’t enough in the first 1A semifinal at Mayo Civic Auditorium. It took almost about 24 minutes for the favored Vikings to even lead on the scoreboard. Lanesboro started the game 7-1. At one point, they led 26-13. They had turnovers versus the Vikings full-court press, but the Burros were able to put the ball in the bucket. Kaci Ruen had 12 points in that 26-13 start.  Then, in the blink of an eye, the lead evaporated. Hayfield went 13-0 late in the first stanza, scoring said points on five straight possessions. They tied the game at 26-26. It was tied 30-30 at intermission. Hayfield finally took its first lead at 39-37 in the second half, following an Aine Stasko three-point play (11:23). It started an 9-0 run that put Hayfield up 45-37. All told, Hayfield scored on six straight possessions shortly preceding and during the run, with uber-quick sophomore guard Kristen Watson tallying nine of 14 points. The Burros hung around, but the Vikings had weathered the storm. Ahead, they played keep away late from Lanesboro, which had implemented a zone defense effectively in gaining their lead. Said zone was futile while trailing. The Burros couldn’t apply enough pressure late to trigger steals. The Vikings hit 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch. After building a 45-37 lead, Hayfield then never led by less than five. They held off a game Burro team by a 60-49 final. K-Ruen (13 pts, 5-7 FTs, 15 rebs, 5 stls) led the Lanesboro, but she was held to just one second half point. Jessie Schreiber (12 pts, 9 rebs) also hit double figures. Eighth grader Jensyn Storhoff (8 pts), Brielle Ruen (7 pts, 9 rebs), and Malia Tessum (7 pts) all helped. Hayfield got a game-high 25 points (9-15 FTs), 8 rebounds, and 6 steals from Watson. Fellow sophomore Natalie Beaver added 18 (pts) and 7 (rebs). Stasko chipped in 10 (pts), 8 (rebs), and 4 (asts). That trio scored 53 of the Vikings 60 points. Hayfield’s late charity stripe work gave them an edge at the line; 17 of 25 (68%) to 12 of 23 (52%). The Vikings’ full-court press also triggered 21 Burro turnovers. Hayfield had 13.  The Vikings went 5 of 21 from deep (24%), Lanesboro 1 of 6 (17%). Bret Klaehn’s group finishes an excellent season at 19-9. They both won their first SEC-East title and went as far as they’ve ever been in the playoffs since 2007. Three key seniors graduated; Tessum, B-Ruen, and Ella Cambern.