In the first year of a new era of Sauk Centre girls basketball, the Streeters are back on top of Section 6AA.
Riding the energy of an intensity-building defense that stayed on the attack, Sauk Centre stifled the Milaca Wolves in a 55-41 victory in the section championship game March 6 at Halenbeck at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud.
The win sends the Streeters (23-6) back to the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament for the 11th time in school history and the second season in a row.
“It’s awesome,” said Kahlen Suelflow, junior guard. “We worked all season for this, and I’m so happy we were able to pull though.”
A slow scoring start left both teams scrambling for the first foothold in the game, which the Streeters found behind the red-hot shooting of Suelflow. The quick-footed playmaker scored 10 of the team’s first 14 points in a 14-6 start for Sauk Centre.
“Counting on her from the 3-point line is a given,” said Maesyn Thiesen, Streeters head coach. “When she was able to get into the lane, she did a good job of reading the defense and attacking the gaps where there were openings.”
Milaca quickly cut the lead to four at 16-12, but the Streeters kept the Wolves at arm’s length. After another Suelflow 3-pointer and a 2-point basket from senior post Elly Herickhoff upped Sauk Centre’s lead into double digits, junior forward Jenna Riley gave the Streeters fans a major jolt to close out the first half, connecting on a 3-pointer right before halftime.
Entering the break, the Streeters led 30-16.
“She’s kind of our hype man,” Herickhoff said of Riley. “You know she’s always there to cheer you on, and she’s also a shot-maker in pressure moments. We give her the ball, and we know she’s going to make it.”
While those types of moments were not always easy to find against a Milaca team that entered the section tournament as the top seed, Sauk Centre’s defense ensured it would lead regardless. With 14 minutes remaining in the game, the Wolves were still at 16 points, struggling to make anything, close or far. The Streeters executed their defensive game plan to perfection, with their guards swarming Milaca’s ball-handlers at the perimeter and their forwards waiting in the lane to block or contest the Wolves’ driving attempts. Along with Herickhoff’s four blocks, Riley added four steals.
“We just kept up the defensive intensity and knew we couldn’t let them back into the game,” said Paige Determan, sophomore guard.
Energized by their constant ability to get stops, the Streeters kept going. About midway through the second half, third-seeded Sauk Centre held a 20-point lead at 38-18, and that cushion eventually grew to 24 behind 3-pointers from Riley and Determan and a consistent barrage of scoring moves from Herickhoff and Suelflow, who ended her day with a team-high 19 points.
“Our defense has just been unstoppable,” Suelflow said. “Ever since playoffs have hit, we’ve just increased it to a new level. That just makes our offense flow. It all came from the defensive side, and then we were finding we were hitting shots offensively. It’s nice to see things fall into place.”
The Wolves, led by the sister combination of Madison and Annabelle Gothmann, found a second wind in the closing minutes, firing off a 11-0 run in a quick burst through intercepting inbound passes and scoring in transition. Sauk Centre, though, gathered itself in time to punch its ticket to state.
“We needed to take a deep breath and take a step back and calm down,” Herickhoff said. “We were rushing everything. Once we slowed down and played how we wanted to play, we trusted ourselves and tried to stop their momentum as much as we could.”
Sauk Centre’s section championship repeat comes following a season of significant growth. After starting the season 5-3, the Streeters went 17-2 in their next 19 games, developing a firmer understanding of how they wanted to play under first-year head coach Maesyn Thiesen. Heading into state, they can certainly say they are playing their best basketball.
“I’m so grateful to this group of girls who have been willing to adapt to some new things and work hard every single day,” Thiesen said. “That’s also a testament to the program Mr. (Scott) Bergman has built.”
SC 30 25 — 55
MIL 16 25 — 41
SC: Suelflow 19 points (4 rebounds), Herickhoff 18 (10R, 4 blocks), Riley 13 (6R, 6 assists, 4 steals), Determan 3, Kaiya Nelson 2, Peyton Borgmann (3A) and Nya Thieschafer (3A).
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