Girls Basketball

#5 Warriors Fulfill Promise, Top D-E for Section 1AA Title

The last two post-seasons have ended in hard disappointment for Caledonia girls basketball.  Two years ago, a senior-laden Warrior team made the Section final versus Goodhue, only to fall 78-58.  Last year, the Warriors led Rochester-Lourdes 31-19 at intermission and by 16 in the second half only for Eagle Aaliyah Williams to sink Cal’s season with a late three, as R-L won in the 1AA semifinals 61-59.  They later advanced to state.  Senior Josie Foster and junior Aubrie Klug were each key parts of both of those teams.  It only then made sense that each made key plays down the stretch in this year’s Section 1AA final versus Dover-Eyota (2-seed, 22-7), as the #5 in Class AA Warriors (1-seed, 26-3) toughed their way to state with a gritty victory.  It was a fight.  The game featured 11 jump-balls, 54 combined turnovers, and 43 combined free throws.  The Warriors trailed only briefly (in the first half), but did not put it away until late against a game Eagle team headed by long-tenured Coach Brian Harris.  Caledonia scored the first eight points only for D-E to score the next nine (the Eagles’ only lead at 9-8).  Scott Sorenson’s group took the lead for good later in the first half courtesy of a six free throw 8-0 run.  Caledonia hit the bonus early in the stanza, and made 14 of 18 freebies in the half.  They went to intermission up 37-27.  The second half had no big runs.  It was choppy.  Caledonia built their biggest lead of the game, 42-31, early in the half.   D-E scored six straight to close to down three, 46-43, with under 9:00 left.  But veterans Foster and Klug responded with back-to-back buckets, and the lead was pushed to 50-43.   With under 4:00 to play, D-E was within four at 54-50.  Klug and Foster were again there to make plays.  The former hit a big step-back, top-of-the-key three to make it 57-50.  It was big not only due to the magnitude in the game but Klug was 4 of 23 shooting when taking the shot (she had left many attempts short all game long).  Foster then authored a steal and went coast-to-coast.  With 2:33 left, the Warrior lead was boosted back to nine at 59-50.   An in-bounds play with 1:09 left then iced it.  Foster set a screen and slipped to the bucket.  In-bounder Nicole Banse found her for the layup, making it 61-53 with exactly 1:00 left.  Klug added a couple free throws as the Warriors fought through the Eagles by 63-53 final, and fought their way back to state for the first time since the 2019 team was state runner-up.   It is their 8th state trip overall.  Klug (20 pts, 8-8 FTs, 9 rebs) led the Warriors in scoring despite the shooting struggles.  She twice was fouled attempting a three, and she made all six free throws. Banse (16 pts, 6-6 FTs, 4 stls) was also money at the line.  Foster (11 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls) also made double figures.  Kensey King added 7 points.  Miranda Palmby (15 pts, 9 rebs) and Isabel Duellman (11 pts) hit double figures for the Eagles.  Abby Griebenow added 9 (pts) and 7 (rebs) off the Eagle bench.  Turnovers killed the Eagles, as the long Warriors helped force D-E into 31 miscues (including 19 in the first half).  Caledonia had 23 turnovers.  The Warriors also won at the free throw line, 19 of 23 (83%) to 12 of 20 (60%).   They only hit 2 of 12 threes (16%), but D-E was just 5 of 27 from deep (19%).  Caledonia hit nine threes versus the Eagles in the regular season meeting, a 74-50 Warrior win in Eyota.  Caledonia (27-3) heads to state on a 9-game winning streak.  Their only loss to a Minnesota team is to Section 1A champ Goodhue.  They are seeded sixth and will play third-seeded #4 in Class AA Minnehaha Academy (20-9). 

Larks Cannot Overcome #1 Wildcats

Grand Meadow’s defense was there.  The Larks (3-seed, 25-2) held the #1 Goodhue (1-seed, 23-5) to 46 points.  It was Goodhue’s lowest scoring out-put of the year (by one point).  They came in averaging 70 points per game.  But Goodhue also brought their defense, and it was better.  They held GM to an easy season low of 27 points.  Ryan Queensland’s girls fought an uphill struggle against one of the state’s best small school girls’ programs, and thus came up short 46-27 in the Section 1A championship game.  After a 4-3 Lark start, Goodhue went 13-0 to lead 16-4.   They then never trailed.  The Larks were able to navigate Goodhue’s full-court press sufficiently enough, but scoring in the half-court was a massive struggle.  GM shot just 4 of 24 in the first half and trailed 23-12 at intermission. Goodhue never ran away with it.  Five straight Lark points midway through the second half had it a 10-point ballgame at 33-23 (7:50).  But maybe Goodhue’s top player, Kendyl Lodermeier, then scored seven of eight Wildcat points.  All told, Goodhue went on a 10-0 run to lead 43-23 with 3:33 left, and was all she wrote.  The defending state champion Wildcats defended their 1A crown via a 46-27 victory.  GM was led by their excellent senior, 1,700-plus point scorer Lauren Queensland (17 pts, 7-18 FGs, 7 rebs).  She was the only Lark with more than four points.  The rest of the team was 3 of 32 from the field.  Goodhue got a big boost from Ava Wallaker, who scored a team-best 16 points.  K-Lodermeier (11 pts, 8 rebs) was the only other Wildcats in double figures.  She scored eight of her points in the final seven minutes.  GM finished 10 of 50 from the field (20%) and 2 of 19 from deep (11%).  Goodhue was 16 of 40 from the field (40%), 5 of 18 from deep (28%).  GM did have 14 offensive rebounds.   Turnovers were near even, GM with 18, Goodhue with 17.  The Larks season ends at 25-3.  Their 17-game win streak, which started back on January 14, came to an end.   Seniors on the team include Queensland plus fellow starters Aspen Kolling and Rylee Schaufler, reserves Grace Soltau and Alyssa Peterson.   It was GM’s third section title game in four years, but the Larks are still looking for a first state berth.