The third Class AAAA semifinal on this day pitted underdog White Bear Lake going up against number two-seed STMA. Both students sections were roaring and ready to go for this one and both squads were experienced in this setting as were the coaches - White Bear Lake's Jeremy Post and STMA's Kent Hamre. The Knights got the second seed by virtue of their 27-2 record but don't tell the opposing Bears that as they were geared up for this battle.
And it was no surprise that this one was tight in the opening minutes with STMA holding a tenuous 7-6 lead by the 13:03 mark. A "3" from the right corner by junior guard Rae Johnson at the 9:19 mark increased the cushion to four points at 13-9 but White Bear Lake was able to come right back and knot the issue at 13 a piece with 6:45 left after a lay-up by senior reserve forward Makala Keefe. The Knights were able to get another lead at 16-13 but the Bears Keefe answered the call with her "3" from the left top area with 5:52 left. STMA looked like it may have made its first decisive move of the contest after a running jumper in the lane by junior guard Lizzy Heil with 5:11 left and two free throws by senior guard Kitri Zezza had the Knights up 20-16 with 4:48 left. Senior guard Sydney Tracy's jumper from the left elbow area maintained the four-point cushion at 22-18 and a Zezza freebie with 3:32 left upped the lead to five at 23-18. But White Bear Lake's Keefe saved the Bears bacon again as she got into the paint for one score with 3:14 left and was able to drop one free throw after being fouled in transition with 2:59 left that cut STMA's lead down to 23-21. Zezza would connect on a drive and finish with 1:44 left for the Knights but a lay-up by Keefe with :53 left in the first half had STMA going into the locker room at the half with a very uncertain 26-23 lead.
The Knights set out to try and correct the mistakes and missed opportunities from the first half and along the way they built a 32-25 lead and at that point it definitely looked like White Bear Lake might be in some real trouble. But the Bears were able to keep their composure and they smartly got their way back into the contest. Junior guard Alison Hinck connected on a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing freebie cut STMA's lead down to four at 32-28. One Rae Johnson free throw at the 15:06 mark upped the Knight lead to five at 33-28 but the first sign of real trouble for STMA came shortly thereafter when Bear junior reserve guard Alexa Molin drained a "3" at the 14:50 mark that cut the Knight lead down to 33-31 and a score in the paint by senior post Kate Brabenec at the 14:16 mark knotted the issue at 33 a piece. After a Rae Johnson lay-up at the 13:05 mark put STMA back up briefly at 37-35, the Bears took their first lead of the afternoon at the 12:55 mark when Brabenec got into the paint for a score and got fouled in the process and her obligatory free throw suddenly made it 38-37 White Bear Lake. The teams would then trade small leads seven minutes as this one hung precariously in the balance for both squads. With the Bears holding a tenuous 54-53 lead with under four minutes to play in regulation, senior forward Taite Anderson's lay-up with 3:28 left upped the lead to 56-53 but a Tracy score in the paint with 3:01 cut the deficit to one point for STMA trailing 56-55. A strong drive and finish by Rae Johnson with 2:34 left put the Knights back out in front at 57-56 and one free throw by 8th greade reserve post Vanessa Alexander with 2:13 left upped the lead to 58-56. An Anderson score in the paint with 1:55 left tied things up for White Bear lake at 58 a piece but when Rae Johnson was sent to the line after being fouled with 1:47 left, her two free throws put STMA back out in front 60-58. Now it was the Bears turn to respond and they did just that less than twenty seconds later as Hinck connected with a lay-up with 1:30 left for a 60-all deadlock. Both the Bears and the Knights had a chance to possibly win it from the charity stripe late but both Hinck and Tracy, respectively, could not knock down the freebies. White Bear Lake turned the ball over on its last possession and Zezza could only launch a desperation shot with less than a second left for STMA so off we went to overtime tied at 60 with the crowd in Target Center screaming its collective lungs out.
Two Hinck free throws with 3:11 left in the extra overtime period gave the Bears a 62-60 lead but a pretty running jumper in the lane by Rae Johnson helped tie this one up at 62-all for STMA. With 2:01 left the score was tied again at 64 with seemingly neither side willing to budge an inch but with just over a minute left, White Bear Lake delivered a crushing blow to the second-seeded Knights hopes as Molin uncorked a dagger three-point bomb from the left wing area for a 67-64 Bear lead and after Heil couldn't connect with a jumper on STMA's subsequent possession, Molin was fouled with :35 left and her two free throws mad it a 69-64 game that clearly had the Knights on the ropes. A "3" from the top of the key by Zezza with :24.3 left got STMA back to within single digits trailing 69-67 but now the Knights had to foul and well. Bear sophomore forward Jordan Ferrand got sent to the line with :16.6 left where she made the front end but the back end rattled out and went into Tracy's hands for STMA. The eighth-grader; Alexander, was able connect with a short shot with :04 left that cut the White Bear Lake lead down to one point at 70-69 but again, the Knights had no choice but to foul and hope for the best. With :02.8 left, White Bear Lake's Molin was fouled and she calmly stepped to the charity stripe and sank two free throws with ice water in her veins for a 72-69 lead. STMA was unable to get a desperation three-point attempt off before the buzzer and White Bear Lake fired the first shot of this 2016 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament with a 72-69 upset.
White Bear Lake Head Coach Jeremy Post talked afterward about how he wanted his squad to "play with no regrets" and how they had to "fight tooth and nail" in this one. "We made some mistakes but when it mattered the most we didn't.....We got a second chance to show who we are and we think we're pretty good." I got to ask Molin about the late "3" she hit in regulation if she really wanted to necessarily take the shot but her teammates surrounding her quickly chimed in with "We wanted her to take that shot!" Not surprisingly, it was Molin's 15 points that led the way for the Bears on this afternoon. On the other side, I asked STMA's Hamre about how the early second half seven point lead was lost and what transpired. "It wasn't the way we wanted to play" he lamented and added that "we forced some things". Hamre also pooh-poohed the notion about the added pressure of being the number two seed in this state tournament by saying that "these girls have had pressure on them all year long." A heartbroken Zezza painfully admitted that her team may have rushed things a bit too much and may have panicked when that early second half lead was lost. Not surprisingly, it was Rae Johnson who led the way for STMA in the losing effort with her 21 points whize Zezza was right behind with her 18 points.
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