The 2:00 P.M. game on tap saw the Class AA teams swing into action as Pequot Lakes squared off against #1 seed and defending state champion New Richland-H-E-G. The Panthers, of course, are led by the one and only Carlie Wagner whose heroics led New Richland-H-E-G to their first state title last year. Their return trip was no surprise as they breezed through their section and onto state with an unblemished 28-0 record. Pequot Lakes got here by virtue of their 81-62 win over Hawley in the Section 8AA Championship game and the Patriots sported a fine 23-6 record.
Pequot Lakes got off to a good start as senior guard Katie White drilled a "3" from the right corner at the 17:22 mark but it didn't take long for the Panthers' Carlie Wagner to go to work. She snared an errant Pequot Lakes pass at the 15:23 mark and dashed the other way for a lay-up and got fouled in the process and her ensuing free throw knotted things up at 3-all. New Richland-H-E-G expanded their lead to 7-3 by the 14:00 mark but Pequot Lakes would strike back as a jumper by senior guard Kayla Miller from the left corner and a smart steal and lay-up the other way at the 12:53 mark by senior guard Vanessa Lane suddenly had the Patriots up 8-7. But that small Pequot Lakes advantage would be short-lived.
A burst by the Panthers over the next five minutes gave them the wiggle room they were hoping to establish early on in this contest and they built a 29-19 advantage before Pequot Lakes was able to muster a bit of a burst and sliced that lead down to 29-23. New Richland-H-E-G was able to re-establish a double-digit advantage at 34-25 with 5:23 left on Carlie Wagner's jumper from the left top just inside the arc but this pesky Pequot Lakes squad refused to be deterred. A '"3" by Miller from the right corner with 3:32 left helped the Patriots claw back to within five trailing 35-30 and a rebound and putback by Lane with 1:49 left had Pequot Lakes within two trailing 41-39. New Richland-H-E-G would find another burst right before the half; a 9-2 run highlighted by a "3" from senior guard Jade Schultz with 1:10 left and a lay-up in transition by Carlie Wagner with :58 left along with two Carlie Wagner freebies with :35 left that allowed the Panthers to secure a 50-41 advantage going into the locker room at the half. Little wonder that Carlie Wagner's 26 points led the way for New Richland-H-E-G in the first half with no one else in double digits. Pequot Lakes had a balanced scoring attack with Miller getting 15 points and White scoring 12 points. Rebounds were very close as well with the Patriots holding a 26-25 edge in that department.
A 6-0 burst by New Richland-H-E-G fueled by a rebound and putback by freshman Maddie Wagner and a "3" from the left top by Carlie Wagner had the Panthers up 57-41 and Pequot Lakes Head Coach Jon Dale; sensing imminent disaster, called a thirty second timeout to try and prevent it. Unfortunately for the Patriots, New Richland-H-E-G had no intention of slowing down anytime soon and by the 15:18 mark the lead ballooned to a 62-43 count. Carlie Wagner by now had found her favorite spot on the floor - the left top area - and she uncorked another "3" from that spot at the 14:05 mark for a 67-48 Panther lead.
By the 11:40 mark, Carlie Wagner had already tallied 45 points and by this juncture it certainly wasn't out of the question if she just might duplicate last year's jaw-dropping numbers. Other New Richland-H-E-G players were contributing as well, of course. Schultz nailed a "3" from the left corner at the 11:26 mark that made it a 76-52 game and with 9:10 left the lead was 80-59. Carlie Wagner tallied 49 points on her trey from the left corner with 8:02 left and a score in the paint by fellow senior post Paige Overgaard made it an 87-62 New Richland-H-E-G advantage. With 6:51 left, Carlie Wagner got to 51 points with two charity stripe shots that sent the New Richland-H-E-G contingent into a frenzy (and rightfully so) and an 89-62 advantage. Overgaard did foul out for the Panthers with 5:41 left; perhaps the only fly in the ointment in this one for New Richland-H-E-G but that had no bearing on the outcome. For me the thing that stands out is how the greater New Richland-H-E-G community all comes together to cheer on this team not to mention the students because this squad is truly something special. And let's be honest here - players like Carlie Wagner only come along once in a great while. A player of her caliber and ability that can change an otherwise ordinary team into a title contender as she has and with 4:05 left, the future Minnesota Golden Gopher set a new state record that was announced when she tallied her 53rd point of the day. Simply amazing. At the same time, you couldn't help but feel badly for the Pequot Lakes seniors - Lane, White and Miller as the tears flowed once Dale took them out of the game in the final minutes. New Richland-H-E-G rolled to a 100-68 victory and cemented a spot into the semifinals on Friday night.
Afterward, a gleeful but humble Carlie Wagner was mobbed by the media folks (including yours truly) to get her thoughts on this latest victory. When asked about her record-breaking 53 points, she lauged and said that she didn't even notice it until she went out and the crowd went nuts and the P.A. announcer verified it. In her usual graceful style, Carlie Wagner talked about what's most important to her in this game. "Just taking it one game at a time and worrying about the next opponent after it's over." She admitted that doing what she did today was "exciting and stuff" but she obviously doesn't let it get to her head. I asked her if she feels an instinct to try and take things over when things are relatively tight like they were early on in this contest. "Yes" she replied....."I want to have the ball to see what I can do". That's not ego at all. Great players like her want the ball and need to exploit their strengths. That's just the reality of it. And I think another reality is that New Richland-H-E-G is most likely enroute to yet another state championship.
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