The Class A Championship Game featured a familiar face that's been in this position a few times before - Ada-Borup - going up against newcomer Minneota. Both teams are relatively young; the Vikings of Minneota have only two seniors while the Cougars from Ada-Borup have only one - so the future seems quite bright for both programs. This game then would seemingly then see which young group was ready to step up and grab the mantle so to speak; to be ready and step up and take their team to the Promised Land.
While Ada-Borup may have been the odds-on favorite in this one, it was Minneota that got off to the good start in this one as the Cougars simply couldn't find the hole in the early going. Trailing 7-2 early, it wasn't until the 11:52 mark when Ada-Borup made it a one-possession game again thank to senior Megan Kolness' two free throws. A jumper by Kolness at the 11:22 mark got the Cougars their first lead at 8-7 but the Vikings would not be deterred as they kept things tight and sophomore Taylor Reiss was having an outstanding first half getting offensive rebounds for putbacks. With 6:23 left, Minneota had forged a small 18-15 lead but then it was Ada-Borup going on a 7-1 run of its own to grab a 22-19 edge with 3:57 left. The Cougars then looked as if they were on the verge of getting some cushion in this one but the Vikings; particularly Reiss, would not let that happen as they once again closed the gap to a single-possession ballgame as Ada-Borup took a slim 29-27 lead into the locker room at the half. Not surprisingly, it was Reiss' 14 points which paced Minneota while Kolness and Monica Vega led Ada-Borup's attack with 7 points a piece. One item on the stat sheet that must have had Ada-Borup Head Coach David Smart steaming in the locker room was that Minneota had a decided advantage on the boards - 22 to 7 - and the Cougars had to change that stat in the second half.
The Minneota contingent was thrilled as their team charged out of the gates in the second half to a 36-31 lead but this Ada-Borup group; even as young as they are, has been in these pressure-cookers before and they calmly responded to tie things up at 36-all with 10:24 left. With 5:45 left Minneota was clinging to a 44-43 lead and you knew it was going to be one of those kinds of deals where things would be incredibly tight coming down the stretch. The Vikings would have a little burst that saw them grab five point leads on a couple of occasions but Ada-Borup refused to break out the proverbial panic button. With just under two minutes left they had sliced the Minneota lead down to 50-47 and now it was a matter of trying to get a stop. Unfortunately for the Cougars, however, they had to contend with an incredibly determined Taylor Reiss. The key late moment came with 1:36 left when the Cougars failed to box out Reiss on a missed Minneota free throw attempt and the lanky sophomore snared it for a rebound and putback that gave the Vikings a 52-47 lead that now had Ada-Borup behind the 8-ball. The Cougars had been having trouble trying to penetrate inside against a taller Minneota front line and now had no choice but to start thinking in terms of the three-pointer to try and quickly make up lost ground. They couldn't, however, and Minneota was sent to the charity stripe on several occasions in the waning moments as they claimed a 61-51 victory; a win which could be considered a mild upset at the very least. Taylor Reiss, who simply had an outstanding game, led all scorers with 30 points and, just as important, 12 boards which included NINE offensive rebounds. Megan Kolness led the Ada-Borup attack with 12 total points while Heidi Eggen, who had a solid second half for the Cougars, finished with 11 points.
Ada-Borup Head Coach David Smart was quick to point out afterward the stark contrast in the rebounding advantage that Minneota had (40-20 overall). "We just didn't do a good job of keeping them off the glass" a disappointed Smart remarked. He also agreed that they had a a tough time working the ball inside as well. "We didn't get a lot of good looks, either" he lamented. Still, he was very proud of this squad and diminutive junior point guard Shaina Stevenson made clear her and her team's desire to work incredibly hard during the off-season to get themselves into this position next year.
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