The Sauk Centre Streeters girls basketball team were making the most of their looks early in their return to the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Girls Basketball State Tournament.
Through the first 18 minutes of their quarterfinal game against West Central Conference rival Minnewaska Area, the Streeters drilled seven of nine 3-point attempts, seizing a lead in the opening minutes and controlling it for the entire first half.
The well ran dry after that, though, as the Streeters struggled to find the hoop down the stretch in a 60-53 loss March 12 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
“It was a game of two good teams going at it, and they just happened to come out on top,” said Scott Bergman, Sauk Centre head coach.
Neither squad needed additional motivation to advance, as the area rivals had split the regular-season series and were ready to do whatever it took to win the third meeting and secure a state semifinals spot. Early on, it looked like Sauk Centre was poised to do just that, jumping out to an 11-2 start, including six points from senior guard Cierra Kortan.
Minnewaska Area eventually found its footing, scoring seven straight points and staying competitive even as the Streeters connected on their first six 3-pointers of the contest.
Threes from senior guard Maddy Schuster and sophomore forward Jenna Riley and a turnaround jumper by Kortan increased Sauk Centre’s lead to a game-high 10 in the closing minutes of the first half before the Lakers scored the final two buckets of the half to pull back within six.
“That was a big difference, really,” Bergman said.
The second half saw the Lakers make pivotal adjustments to claw into the game, attacking one-on-one matchups against smaller defenders and moving down the court with pace after grabbing defensive rebounds. Soon enough, Minnewaska Area tied the game up at 40 off the back of a 10-2 run.
“They’re a tough team,” said Kortan, who led the Streeters with 21 points. “They’re very physical and they play a good defensive game. It just caught us off (guard) a little bit.”
With a renewed sense of energy and a loud fan section at their backs, the Lakers made the timely shots they got. Sydney Dahl buried a 3-pointer to break a 50-50 tie with just over three minutes left, and the Lakers closed out a thrilling state opener on a layup from Dahl and free throws from Megan Thorfinnson.
The Streeters’ offense received chances late in the intense showdown but could not cash in on those opportunities, tallying only seven points across the final 11 minutes.
“We could not get the ball to go in the basket, but we knew we could wear teams out,” said Nick Danielson, Minnewaska Area head coach. “… They’re (Sauk Centre) a very good team, and they didn’t get worn out much, but when our crowd gets into it, our defense amps up and our girls feed off that.”
It was a difficult result to swallow for Sauk Centre, who roared back to the state tournament behind considerable depth and a team-driven focus on the defensive end of the court. It will play New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva in the consolation bracket at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.
“This is important for me,” Bergman said. “We won the state tournament in 2018 and we haven’t won a state tournament game since. In the COVID year, we were 0-2. Now, we’re 0-1 in this one. Let’s go win a game.”
MNW 30 30-60
SC 36 17-53
Sauk Centre: Kortan 21 points, Schuster 12 (5 assists), Tory Jennissen 11 (11 rebounds), Elly Herickhoff 3 (5R, 3A), Kahlen Suelflow 3 (5R) and Riley 3.
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