The second game on this day from Mariucci Arena featured a couple of unknown teams for me - Kasson-Mantorville; the Section 1AAA champ going up against the Section 4AAA champ and #3 seed New Prague. With these types of games; particularly with unknown teams, you just never know what you're going to get and as I watched this game unfold after having been shoved up to the upper-level press area, that premonition rang true.
This one was tight throughout the opening minutes with neither side being able to gain any kind of decisive advantage. After I got settled in to the upper level, New Prague was holding a slim 22-21 advantage, Kasson-Mantorville sophomore post Kristin Scott got into the paint for a score and got fouled in the process and the obligatory freebie had the Komets up 24-22 and a jumper in the lane with 6:48 left by Scott increased that advantage to 26-22 and a jumper by senior guard Kari Pingel from the left corner with 6:25 left made it 28-22 Kasson-Mantorville. That six-point advantage was short-lived, however, as the Trojans fought their way back. Two free throws by senior guard Jess Allar with 5:22 left sliced the deficit to four and then sophomore guard Maize Deihl came up big. One free throw with 5:13 left and then a "3" from the right corner with 4:20 left tied the issue at 28 and then a score in the paint with 3:22 left had New Prague up 30-28. The Komets would come right back, though, and forge a 32-all deadlock with 1:32 left. The score would stay deadlocked until Kasson-Mantorville senior forward Danika Hodgman connected with a jumper in the lane and got fouled in the process with :14.2 left and the obligatory freebie gave the Komets a 35-32 lead which they took into the locker room at the half.
New Prague would recover from that late first half lapse and eventually get the score tied again at 39-all but at the 14:12 mark, the Komets' Scott would strike down low again as she scored and got fouled in the process and her free throw put Kasson-Mantorville up by three again at 42-39. Diehl appeared ready to come to the rescue again for the Trojans, though, when she drove into the lane for one score at the 10:52 mark and then followed that up with a score in the paint at the 10:21 mark that narrowed the Komets lead down to 43-42. However, a Pingel "3" from the right wing with 8:44 left shoved the lead back up to three points at 45-42 and an offensive rebound and putback by 8th grade post Peyton Suess with 7:12 left maintained that three-point edge at 47-44. Trailing 49-46 with 5:02 left, New Prague still didn't appear to be in the danger zone just yet but a score by Scott in the paint with 4:25 left upped the Kasson-Mantorville lead to 51-46 and that's when things began to fall apart for the Trojans. Senior guard Jess Allar fouled out with 3:22 left and New Prague Head Coach Ron Gunderson; not at all pleased with the call on his senior guard, voiced his displeasure to the officials and promptly got nailed for a technical that sent the Komets Scott to the line where sank both freebies that increased the Kasson-Mantorville lead to 53-46. The Trojans tried desperately to fight back from that unfortunate set of circumstances. Sophomore reserve forward Taylor Hustad nailed a "3" from the right corner with 3:04 left and a lay-up by senior forward Jenna Cox with :45.9 left narrowed the margin to three trailing 58-55. The Komets junior guard Maddie Worden was sent to the line for two freebies but couldn't connect on either attempt. Somehow, though, she was able to sneak in and snare her own miss and get a lay-up with :38.2 left which sealed the deal as Kasson-Mantorville pulled off the upset by a final count of 62-55.
Kasson-Mantorville Head Coach Ryan Heraldson spoke at length about how proud he was of his squad and how they held up after senior guard Cori Kennedy went down with an injury early in the contest. "She's our leader and point guard.....but we'll adjust". Heraldson also thought one of the keys to his squad's victory was the hustle they showed going after loose balls. Indeed, that may very well have offset the 20 turnovers the Komets were guilty of in this contest. The other big factor in the final stats was rebounds where Kasson-Mantorville simply pounded the boards for a 42-24 advantage which had to be another sore spot for New Prague's Gunderson. It will be interesting to see how the Komets adjust without Kennedy on the floor but after today's win they may have received a huge boost of confidence.
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