Semifinal Friday at the 2016 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament had me over at Williams Arena again on a day where the smaller Class A and Class AA schools have a chance to shine. The first semifinal game in Class A featured two teams that I'm not familiar with - fifth-seeded Wheaton/Herman-Norcross going up against number one seed Goodhue. On paper anyway, the Wildcats appeared as a clear favorite but we all know how much things on paper matter the way this 2016 state tournament has been going.
Goodhue employed a 2-3 zone early on in the contest which caused a plethora of problems offensively for the Warriors and the Wildcats were only too happy to cash in on the many turnovers their defense created as a 7-0 run highlighted by a "3" from the right corner by junior guard Mckenzie Ryan gave Goodhue an early cushion. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross appeared to be enroute to make inroads on the deficit shortly thereafter, though as two free throws by sophomore guard Anna Rinke at the 15:10 mark and a Rinke three-point bomb from the left corner at the 13:53 mark had the Warriors back to within a single possession trailing 11-8. The Wildcats, however, then put Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in a huge hole; embarking on a 14-0 blitz that saw sophomore forward Sydney Lodermeier and junior guard Maddy Miller doing most of the damage for Goodhue. Miller sank two free throws at the 13:40 mark and connected with a lay-up at the 13:23 mark that extended the lead to 15-8 and then Lodermeier dropped one free throw at the 12:40 mark and snared an offensive rebound and putback at the 12:08 mark for a ten-point 18-8 Goodhue lead. Lodermeier capped this game-changing run with her jumper in the lane that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory freebie that had the Wildcats up 25-8 and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross was clearly reeling at this point. Complicating the Warriors situation was that Goodhue was already in the bonus by this point making their chore of trying to defend the paint that much more difficult. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross tried desperately to make inroads on the deficit and a short jumper in the lane by senior guard Jordan Stafford with 5:45 left trimmed the Wildcat lead down to 29-18 but then Goodhue went on 9-0 push; highlighted by a Miller lay-up in transition after a steal that made it 38-18 with 4:31 left and Warriors Head Coach Tim Gail had no choice but to call a timeout to try and get his troops reorganized. The Miller/Lodermeier tandem proved to be a headache for Wheaton/Herman-Norcross and no amount of Excedrin was going to change this feeling for Gail and his staff and the duo did most of their damage in the paint down the stretch of the first half. Warrior senior guard Jordan Stafford managed to alleviate a bit of the pain with her two free throws with :11.3 left but with Goodhue up 50-25 in this Stalingrad-esque first half for Wheaton/Herman-Norcross at halftime, the Warriors appeared buried.
The Goodhue steamroller was fueled up and ready to roll at the beginning of the second half as a Lodermeier drive into the lane and finish in transition and a "3" from the right top area by senior forward Taylor Larson had the Wildcats up 57-27 and the rout was officially on. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross certainly wasn't giving up the fight and a "3" from the top of the key by junior forward Hannah Gail at the 15:07 mark indicated that but the Warriors were simply outmatched on this day and they never could sustain any meaningful run that could have made things interesting. The MSHSL "Running Time" rule was becoming a very real possibility with Goodhue safely up 65-32 by the 11:15 mark and a jumper from the right side by sophomore reserve guard Emily Benrud at the 10:10 mark and a score in the paint by junior reserve guard Haley Lexvold at the 9:10 mark insured that possibility with the Warriors now up 69-32. Both Gail and Goodhue Head Coach Josh Wieme were able to unload their benches late in the contest which gave the reserves on both teams a chance to shine. Senior reserve forward Kailey Diercks nailed a "3" from the left corner for Goodhue with 3:28 left and junior reserve guard Megan Ryan connected with a lay-up with 1:21 left as the Warriors sailed into Saturday's Class A Championship Game with a 74-35 romp.
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross' Gail couldn't say too much beyond the obvious afterward. I asked him about the 14-0 run that Goodhue had early in the second half that changed the complexion of this for good; referring to it as an "avalanche." "It was an avalanche all right" he replied. "An avalance of turnovers"; referring to the 31 turnovers his team suffered in the ballgame - 21 of them in the first half. Even Stafford admitted that "it was scary out there". I asked Goodhue's Wieme afterward if he was in agreement that his squad was efficient on both ends of the floor today. Wieme: "I don't know if I've thought of that word (efficient) but I think that a lot of times we've talked about we're going to wear teams down but I would agree that these last couple of days we've been very efficient; especially shot selection." I also asked Miller if she tries to pattern her game from her older sister Mikayla who is a standout point guard at GAC. Miller: ".......Growing up with her and watching her, I was like, 'Oooh, that's a good move!'....And she's helped me with moves and stuff so a lot of credit to her I guess!" It looks like little sister is a good learner as she led all scorers in this game with her 24 points while Lodermeier chipped in with 18 points. Stafford was the only Wheaton/Herman-Norcross player in double figures on this day with her 12 points.
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