The nightcap at Mariucci Arena on this Wednesday night featured one team that I had seen play earlier this season - third-seeded Minnehaha Academy going up against unseeded New London-Spicer. The Redhawks, who have have been here several times before under Head Coach Josh Thurow - were looking to make another statement in this year's tournament. The Wildcats sported a solid 23-6 record and claimed a tough 75-72 victory over Tracy-Milroy-Balaton to claim the Section 3AA title.
Both teams came out in a 2-3 zone on defense to start this one; presumably in hopes of clogging up the middle and to force off-balance perimeter shots. New London-Spicer, however, was able to take advantage of early opportunities to build an 8-2 lead thanks to a jumper along the left baseline by junior forward Kabrie Weber at the 15:17 mark and a lay-up by senior guard Alyssa Fredrick. The Redhawks would soon cut into that deficit as a jumper in the lane by sophomore guard Terra Rhoades at the 13:43 mark and a Terra Rhoades "3" from the right wing area at the 12:12 mark had the Wildcat lead down to 10-7. The Redhawks would tie the game at 12 a piece by the 9:20 mark but New London-Spicer would get on another push. A jumper along the left baseline by junior reserve forward Erin Tebben at the 10:11 mark and a "3" from the left corner by Fredrick with 7:49 left had the Wildcats up 17-15 and that margin was increased to four at 19-15 when senior forward Megan Thorson connected with a jumper in the lane with 6:46 left. A "3" from the top of the key off of an inbounds pass by Terra Rhoades kept the Redhawks within striking distance trailing 21-18 but it was here that New London-Spicer embarked on a 9-1 run. A three-point bomb from the left corner by Weber with 3:01 left and a score in the paint by Thorson with 1:58 left upped the Wildcat lead to 26-19. Two free throws by junior post Morgan Swenson with 1:30 left and another Thorson score in the paint with :54 left had New London-Spicer up double-digits at 30-19. Minnehaha Academy star senior guard Sarah Kaminski dropped two free throws with :36.2 left but with a 30-21 lead going into the locker room at the half, the Wildcats definitely had things going their way to this point.
New London-Spicer looked to be off and running again in the early moments of the second half. Two Thorson freebies at the 17:22 mark and a jumper in the lane by Weber at the 15:55 mark had the Wildcats up 34-21 and a "3" from the top of the key by sophomore guard Shea Oman at the 15:04 mark had New London-Spicer up 37-22 and the Red Hawks appeared to be in quite a quandary by this point. At the same time, though, you knew that an experienced Minnehaha Academy team was not going to meekly go away and a 9-0 run over a little less than two minutes had the Redhawks right back in the thick of things trailing 37-31. Kaminski, who had yet to be the offensive factor in this game that many thought she would be, got going a bit later as two free throws with 8:17 left and a "3' from the right top area with 8:02 left cut the New London-Spicer lead down to five at 43-38. Two scores in the paint by freshman post Avery New - one with 7:02 left and another one with 6:24 left - had the Wildcat lead down to four at 46-42 and there was no reason to think that Minnehaha Academy couldn't complete the comeback. Strangely, however, the Redhawks dreams seemed to die right there as New London-Spicer went on a key 8-2 run; highlighted by two big plays by Oman - three free throws with 5:13 left after being fouled behind the arc and a three-point bomb from the left top area with 3:11 left for a 54-44 Wildcat lead and now Minnehaha Academy was right back where they started from with time becoming a scarce commodity. An Oman steal and lay-up the other way with 2:31 left made it a 56-44 game and free throws by both Thorson and senior reserve guard Mariah Adams late sealed the deal as New London-Spicer pulled off the upset with a 58-44 victory.
Wildcat Head Coach Mike Dreier talked a bit about how his team kept its composure when Minnehaha Academy made a run to get things close in the second half. "We've been through a lot of tough situations all season long and we've got kids who've got quite a bit of experience.....They really, really battled tonight." On the 2-3 zone that his team was playing: "Defensively that's what we usually play.....I think we did a pretty good job of it tonight." Torson on when the Redhawks made their run in the second half and got things to within a single possession: "At first we started to panic but the goal of the team was to stay calm and make good passes because we knew their pressure was really good." Weber on her early three-pointer and if she's known as one of the main three-point shooters on the squad: "I can be but I think our team has a lot of great shooters." On the flip side, it was disappointing from a Redhawk perspective that Kaminski couldn't seem to get involved more offensively - certainly from a scoring standpoint anyway but what I didn't know coming into this game tonight was that she contracted a bad case of the flu the night before and that obviously affected her performance on this night. Afterward, Thurow could only give credit where credit was due - to New London-Spicer. Despite the loss, Thurow is one of the nicest, classiest coaches out there and he's confident that his team will have an opportunity to get back to the state tournament next year. Thurow's 17 points paced the Wildcats on this night and she also snared ten total rebounds as well while Oman added 13 points. Terra Rhoades unexpectedly led Minnehaha Academy on this night with her 22 points while Kaminski added 12 points.
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