WE DID IT!
By Scott Thoma
scott@thomabooks.com
Like bees protecting the hive, the Minneota swarmed all over the court to protect what has belonged to them for several years; the section trophy and a berth in the state tournament.
Minneota turned up its defensive pressure in the second half and avenged an earlier loss to Southwest Minnesota Christian with a 60-51 victory in the Section 3A championship Friday night before a large crowd at the RA Facility at SMSU in Marshall.
The Vikings (21-8), who fell to SW Christian 62-49 on Feb. 9 in Edgerton, will open at state against top-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl (27-3) on Thursday, March 16 at Maturi Pavilion at the University of Minnesota.
This marks the sixth straight trip to state for Minneota, last year's Class A runner-up.
"At the beginning of the year, I thought we had the capability of being among the top teams in the section," said Minneota coach Al Panka. "We probably weren't the odds-on favorite, so the girls hard their work cut out for them. We talked all year about how this wasn't going to happen right away and they needed to keep grinding, which they did, and they got here because they worked so hard and it meant so much to them."
It's not always about who you play during the season, but when you play them.
Minneota lost four of its last five games of the regular season, but that quartet of losses came against teams with a combined record of 85-21.
"No doubt," replied Panka when asked if playing those tough teams at the end of the season was a direct correlation to the way the Vikings played in the post-season. "I think that helped that definitely made us a better team. Those were tough teams we played and we were battled tested. We got to see different defenses from these teams and it's just not the same as in practice. It made us come together as a team, knowing what teams were going to try and do to us."
Southwest MN Christian concentrated on stopping Minneota's leading scorer Ireland Stassen, but soon realized the Vikings have other proven scorers as evidenced by three other players finishing in double digits; Grace Hennen with 17 points, Faith Myhre with 15 and Dakoda Hennen with 14. "Coach had us so motivated for the second half," said Dakoda Hennen, who scored all 14 of her points in the second half. "He told us if we had open looks to go ahead and take the shot. After I made the first one, I felt (confident) and kept shooting when I was open."
While Stassen finished with only six points, she led the team with 10 rebounds to among with three assists and two steals. Kenadi Arndt was limited to six points, but contributed nine rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots.
"I try to make sure the girls understand that value doesn't just come from scoring," said Panka. "There is so much more to this game and they have really bought into that now."
Stassen is the lone senior starter on the team and her unselfish play has been instrumental in getting others involved.
"Being a senior leader is something I don't take lightly; mainly because I knew when I was younger, I looked up to those girls," Stassen said. "So, I do my best to be the best role model and teammate I possibly can, especially when you have big games and some girls haven't played in that setting before. Hopefully I can help them settle in and just play."
Minneota broke away from a 20-20 tie when Stassen scored on a putback and then a 10-foot jumper, followed by a pair of free throws from Grace Hennen for a 26-20 lead with 3:55 remaining in the first half.
Things went sour for the Vikings after that as the Eagles closed out the half on a 12-2 run to take a 32-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
"We were playing well up to that point and we just let them take control at the end of the first half," said Grace Hennen. "So, at halftime we talked about what we needed to do and how important it was to get off to be aggressive and make them work for every point. And that's what we did."
The Vikings limited the Eagles to only 19 points in the second half, their lowest output in one half this season. Still, Southwest MN Christian was able to take a 48-42 lead when Madyson Fey connected on a three-pointer with under eight minutes to play.
The game took a sudden momentum swing to Minneota's side following a timeout.
"I told the girls that this is your final chance now," Panka revealed. "They had to step it up right now or they would fall further behind. They just went out and did it."
"We all knew our jobs and that we needed to stay aggressive," said Dakoda Hennen.
The Vikings reeled off 12 unanswered points on a Dakoda Hennen eight-foot fadeaway, a 15-footer by Emma Bottelberghe, a floater in the lane by Stassen, and a three-point play by Grace Hennen after being fouled while scoring on a drive to the basket, a 14-foot set shot and free throw by Dakoda Hennen. That gave Minneota a 54-48 lead with 3:59 to go, and the tenacious defense kept up a relentless pace that only allowed the Eagles three more points the rest of the way.
Southwest MN Christian was forced to foul after that and the Vikings kept cashing free throws to thwart any comeback attempt.
"This team this year was just full of heart and drive, and we heard all the talk about how we are going to be with a new coach and losing so many seniors," Stassen said. "But we talked about it at the beginning of the year and that it was the same in volleyball and everyone was doubting you. But we weren't going to just let that happen."
NOTE: A somber moment with nine second left in the game when Fey and Ana Veldkamp cracked heads as they both attempted to intentionally foul Dakoda Hennen. Fey lay on her stomach for a few moments before getting up and walking over to the bench to be administered to. She was bleeding from the nose and mouth. Veldkamp lay momentarily motionless on her back right in front of the Minneota bench as trainers rushed over to her. She lay on her back for nearly 10 minutes before she was able to get up and walk under her own power as fans from both teams stood and applauded. Veldkamp, who ended up with a large gash on her forehead, was able to participate in the medal ceremony.
Minneota 60, SW Christian 51
Southwest MN Christian......................................................32 19 - 51
Minneota...............................................................................28 32 - 60
Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): SW MN Christian 21-for-57, 37 percent; Minneota 22-for-51, 43 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): SW MN Christian 5-for-18, 28 percent; Minneota 4-for-15, 27 percent ... Free-throw shooting: SW MN Christian 4-for-7, 57 percent; Minneota 12-for-19, 63 percent ... Rebounds: SW MN Christian 22, Minneota 28
SW MN Christian Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Jocelyn Barron 1-3 1-2 3, Kierra Binford 0-3 0-0 0, Madyson Fey 6-12 1-2 15, Lindsie Fick 1-4 0-0 2, Makenna Moss 6-14 2-3 14, Kinsie Nelson 0-5 0-0 0, Makenzie Pap 3-5 0-0 8, Ana Veldkamp 4-11 0-0 9 ... 3-pointers: Fey 2, Pap 2, Veldkamp 1 ... Rebound leaders: Moss 6, Pap 5, Binford 4 ... Assist leaders: not available .... Steal leaders: Binford 1, Fey 1, Fick 1, Nelson 1, Pap 1, Veldkamp1
Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 2-5 2-4 6, Emma Bottelberghe 1-2 0-0 2, Dakoda Hennen 5-7 2-4 14, Grace Hennen 6-12 5-5 17, Kiersyn Hulzebos 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Krog 0-1 0-0 0, Faith Myhre 5-13 3-6 15, Ireland Stassen 3-10 0-0 6 ... 3-pointers: D.Hennen 2, Myhre 2 ... Rebounds: Stassen 10, Arndt 9, D.Hennen 3, G.Hennen 3, Myhre 2, Hulzebos 1 ... Assists: Arndt 4, Stassen 3, G.Hennen 1 ... Steals: G.Hennen 3, D.Hennen 2, Arndt 2, Stassen 2 ... Blocked shots: Arndt 5, Myhre 1 Stassen 1