The first game on tap for the Friday evening session at Williams Arena featured the first of the Class AA semifinals - this one pitting Sauk Centre going up against Minnehaha Academy. While the Mainstreeters, with their sparkling 30-1 record may have had the edge on paper anyway, I had to figure that this one had the potential to be a good one.
The Redhawks; employing a 2-3 zone, stifled Sauk Centre's offensive attack early on and established a 4-1 lead by the 14:37 mark on a lay-up in transition by senior Angela Scharf at the 16:33 mark and a lay-up off of an inbounds pass by freshman guard Terra Rhoades at the 16:00 mark. Sauk Centre though, would regain the edge at 7-6 on treys from both freshman guard Kelsey Peschel from the right wing at the 13:56 mark and one from freshman guard Maesyn Theisen at the 12:53 mark. One jumper from the left corner by Maesyn Theisen at the 10:15 mark and a Maesyn Theisen score in the paint had the Mainstreeters up 11-9. Both teams would trade one-point leads over the next five minutes with neither side being able to gain any decisive advantage. Sauk Centre senior reserve guard Mauren Theisen banged home a "3" from the right corner with 5:25 left that forged a 22-all deadlock but a 4-0 spurt by Minnehaha Academy; capped by a lay-up by senior guard Gracia Gilreath with 2:53 left gave the Redhawks a bit of separation at 26-22 but that little cushion didn't last long. Maesyn Theisen drained a "3" from the left corner with 2:03 left and two charity stripe shots by junior post Rebecca Weir knotted things up at 27-all. Sauk Centre gained a four-point edge on 2 free throws by sophomore reserve guard Jill Klaphake with :57 left and a pair of freebies by senior guard Madison Moritz with :33.1 left for a 31-27 Mainstreeter lead but a very late score by the Redhawks cut that lead to 31-29 at the half. 14 points from Mauren Theisen led the way for Sauk Centre while sophomore guard Sarah Kaminski led the way for the Redhawks with her nine points. Rebounds were nearly even but turnovers had to be a concern for Head Coach Josh Thurow as his Redhawks were guilty of 12 in the first half.
Minnehaha Academy looked to regain that edge once the second half got underway and two scores by Kaminski - a "3" from the left top area at the 17:04 mark and two free throws at the 16:21 mark - did give the Redhawks the lead back at 34-31. Sauk Centre would come right back, though. Moritz drilled one trey from the left corner at the 16:03 mark and a lay-up by junior guard Madison Greenwaldt at the 15:17 mark gave the Mainstreeters a two-point advantage at 36-34 and two free throws by Maesyn Theisen had Sauk Centre's lead up to three at 38-35 at the 14:31 mark. Again, a Redhawk response in the form of a four-point push now had Minnehaha Academy up 39-38 by the 12:25 mark. Now it was Sauk Centre's turn to respond. Two freebies by Moritz with 9:23 left and two more by Peschel with 9:04 left gave the Mainstreeters a 42-40 edge. Gilreath's lay-up with 8:49 left that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie gave Minnehaha Academy a brief 43-42 lead but this is where things appeared to change in Sauk Centre's favor. Maesyn Theisen connected with a lay-up with 7:24 left and then Klaphake snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up for a 46-43 Mainstreeter lead and the Redhawks Thurow called an immediate timeout to survey the damage. But Sauk Centre was intent on trying to inflict more damage and a Maesyn Theisen jumper along the left baseline with 4:39 left upped the 'Streeter lead to five at 48-43. But Minnehaha Academy was far from finished. Gilreath connected with a lay-up in transition with 3:20 left and got fouled in the process as well and her ensuing freebie attempt was good which shrunk the Sauk Centre lead down to 48-46. Moritz would get two free throws for the Mainstreeters with 2:05 left but then Redhawk senior reserve guard Megan Thurow cooly drained a "3" from the right corner that cut Sauk Centre's lead down to a scant point at 50-49 and threw a ton of doubt into the issue. And when Moritz was called for traveling with 1:19 left, Minnehaha had a golden opportunity to seize the moment. Alas, it was not to be for the Redhawks at the most crucial moments. Maesyn Theisen snared a steal with :53.1 seconds and was immediately fouled and her two ensuing charity stripe shots now made it a three-point lead at 52-49. Still, a sliver of a chance for the Redhawks but they now needed a three-pointer and when Kaminski finally got half a look with :33 left, her attempted bomb was off the mark. Sauk Centre got the rebound and Moritz was immediately fould and she sank two insurance free throws with :11.6 left to seal the deal for the Mainstreeters as Sauk Centre advanced to Saturday's final with a 54-49 victory.
Sauk Centre Head Coach Scott Bergman heaped a lot of praise on Thurow's Minnehaha Academy squad afterward. "They play tremendous defense" he said. About Saturday's final showdown? "With the short turn-around time, there's not a lot of time to strategize.....We just haveto go out and play." Mauren Theisen's 14 points led the way for the Mainstreeters in this one while Maesyn Theisen was right behind with her 12 points. Kaminski led the way for Minnehaha Academy in the losing effort with her 14 points.
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