The last game on this opening day of the 2015 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament was the second Class AAA quarterfinal game featuring teams that both have the nickname of "Tigers" - Princeton, the Section 7AAA champ going up against last year's runner-up and #4 seed Marshall which came out on top in Section 2AAA. Princeton was another one of those "Who are these guys?" teams to me from not having seen them play before but Marshall made a splash last year; making it to the final where they fell in three overtimes to Park Center. This Marshall team is dominated by juniors and seniors who have been through this experience before and you can bet that they remember the sour feeling of how things ended last year.
It took them just a bit but Marshall found it's groove when senior guard Morgan Saugstad hit back-to-back treys - one at the 15:54 mark and another at the 15:26 mark to make it 6-0 and a free throw by fellow senior forward Callie Graff made it 7-0. Junior forward Marah Mulso's score in the paint made it 9-0 and Princeton Head Coach Andy Fenske felt compelled to call a thirty-second timeout. That stoppage in play, however, did not slow down Marshall as their lead soon expanded to 14-2 in the span of a minute and Fenske was forced to burn a full timeout. Things continued to deteriorate for Princeton, however, and Marshall was quick to pounce on the opportunities it was given. A 9-3 burst by Marshall; capped by a jumper from the right side by Mulso with 9:49 left made it 23-7 and then Marshall's senior guard and leader, Sarah Buysse, figured into the equation. A pair of freebies with 9:14 left and one more with 8:43 left made it 26-7 and then Sarah Buysse found herself open from the left wing area behind the arc and launched a "3" point bomb that now made it 29-7 with 8:08 left. Princeton; continuing to fire blanks from FG range grew more and more frustrated with its offensive futility and that frustration finally came to a halt with 4:11 left when freshman reserve guard Julia Bjurman got one freebie to go down when she was fouled. But that free throw hardly made a dent in the deficit as Marshall methodically wore down its opponent. A Graff lay-up with :53 left and two free throws by Morgan Saugstad with just :02.6 left gave Marshall a prohibitive 42-14 lead at the half. Sarah Buysse's 13 points led the way for Marshall in the first half. Not only was Princeton shooting a miserable 6-29 from FG range for 20.7% but Princeton was getting utterly pounded on the boards as Marshall held a 27-13 advantage on the glass.
Princeton tried to get off on the right track in the second half; going on a 6-0 burst capped by a score in the paint by junior forward Emily Kruschek at the 15:48 mark but any wisp of hope of a spirited comeback in this one by Princeton was quickly put to rest as Marshall proceeded to go on a 10-run of its own making it 52-20 at the 13:28 mark. A score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Natalie Petrich at the 11:42 mark gave Marshall a thirty-point 54-24 advantage and another foray into the paint and finish by Morgan Saugstad at the 10:09 mark maintained the thirty-point edge at 57-27. With a safe cushion at hand, Marshall would be patient and deliberate in their half-court offensive sets; trying to burn as much time off the clock as possible. It also gave Marshall Head Coach Dan Westby a chance to get his bench onto the floor so they could get their names in the book as well. Junior reserve guard Gabby Hess connected with a drive into the lane with 3:44 left and junior reserve forward Emily Buysse connected with a lay-up with 3:16 left for a 65-29 Marshall lead. Princeton would get one more point on the board to make the final count 65-30 in Marshall's favor once the final buzzer sounded.
I had an opportunity to speak with Marshall's Sarah Buysse afterward, who unofficially tallied 16 points on this night. I asked her first about the formula for success for this Marshall team. "We've been playing together for so long" she replied and she mentioned how this team has worked together for so long as well. I also had to ask her if there is still a bitter taste in the collective mouths of the team after the three overtime loss to Park Center a year ago in the final. "Oh yes....We think about that all the time" she replied. Marshall Head Coach Dan Westby talked about his team's rebounding on this night. "It's all about attitude" he replied noting that his team may not be the biggest but they sure get after it on the floor against bigger teams.
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