THEY DID IT AGAIN
When you have a player on the team that is converting free throws at an 80 percent clip and the opposing team is forced to foul down the stretch in a close game, it's only natural for a coach to want the ball in that player's hands.
And that's why senior Abby Hennen was the one at the free-throw line with the game on the line in the waning seconds of both the semifinals and championship of the Class A State Girls Basketball Tournament.
"I told the girls during a timeout to get the ball in Abby's hands," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. "She's shooting around 80 percent and she's been doing that since her freshman year, so why wouldn't we want her to be the one we want teams to foul?"
During the championship game on Friday at Target Center, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa had whittled a 16-point deficit to one before it was forced to foul Hennen. She calmly sank both free throws with 2.8 seconds left, giving Minneota a 48-45 win and a repeat of the state title.
Three nights earlier in the semifinals against Mountain Iron-Buhl, Hennen was fouled with 2.1 seconds left in a tie game. After missing the first free throw, MIB called a timeout in an attempt to ice the shooter. Hennen then stood at the charity stripe and went into her usual routine, aiming her feet to the left side of the basket and bouncing the ball four times before shooting. She calmly sank the second free throw to give her team the 46-45 victory.
"I feel I'm a pretty good free throw shooter so I try to stay confident that I can make them," she said. "And 'J' (Johnston) told me if I did miss, we would just go into overtime. That took a little pressure off because it wasn't as if I had to make it or we would lose."
Having a shot at a state title taken away due to the global pandemic didn't deter Minneota in this year's state tournament.
The Vikings capped off a perfect 25-0 season with the win over BBE, a team they also defeated 42-38 on Feb. 20 in Minneota. The Vikings were held under 50 points only three times all season; twice by BBE.
Technically, it was the second straight state championship for the Vikings after capturing the crown in 2019. They reached the semifinals of the state tournament last season and were favored to win the title, having been rated No. 1 all season, before the tournament was shut down.
"The girls were hungry after what happened last season," said Johnston. "COVID taught us that nothing is guaranteed. The girls worked so hard this year to get another chance. I am so proud of every one of them."Minneota has qualified for the state tournament each of the last four years and nine of the past 11 years; winning titles in 2013, 2019 and 2021. In the last three seasons, the Vikings amassed an 86-2 record.
The Vikings trailed only one time in the title game, 6-4.
With BBE doubling up on Hennen, a Miss Basketball and two-time All-State pick, junior Natalee Rolbiecki showed why she is also an All-State performer by scoring all 10 of her points in the first half.
Abby Rost, who had a stellar all-around performance, had eight of her 12 points in the opening half. Rost was named the Player of the Game by 45TV media personnel.
"It was very bittersweet going into the game," said Rost. "I wanted to play my hardest and leave everything out on the court one last time."
Rolbiecki and Rost each drained a pair of 3-pointers in that first half.
Minneota went into the locker room at intermission holding a 28-18 advantage.
In the second half, Minneota built what seemed to be a comfortable 16-point lead at 40-24 before going nearly 10 minutes without a field goal; hitting only a pair of free throws.
BBE went into a press and trapping defense that took some of the life out of Minneota's offense in the second half.
"They did a nice job with their Diamond Press and traps," Johnston said. "They got a little physical on the perimeter and got away with it so we had to adjust to that."
After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half, BBE cleaned things up and committed only three second-half turnovers which also sparked the Jaguars' comeback attempt.
"Credit to them for fighting back and trying to get back into the game," said junior guard McKenna Yost. "They became way more aggressive, especially in the full-court press. They started trapping our guards way more."
When Josie Knutson tossed in a 3-pointer, the Jaguars were within two points, 43-41 with less than a minute remaining. It was the first shot the Jaguars made beyond the arc after missing their first nine attempts.
"I think we expected them to rally at some point, so we weren’t overall surprised," Yost said. "For the most part we handled the pressure well. But on offense we got a little too passive and weren’t being as aggressive as we were before that. We stalled for a few minutes, too, and I think that’s what allowed BBE to keep rallying."
Minneota didn't panic, however. On their ensuing possession, Jeren Rost picked a perfect time to score her lone basket of the game, working free under the hoop and taking a pass from Hennen for an easy layup and a 45-41 lead.
"We were running a weave to take some time off the clock," Johnston said. "And we saw (senior forward Alissa) Knight kept moving up. So we told Jeren to slide down and get open."
BBE's Karissa Jones was then fouled on a layup attempt on the other end and she sank both free throws to make it 45-43.
Hennen, who has played in four straight state girls basketball tournaments, was then fouled and connected on one of two free throws for a 46-43 advantage with 26.6 seconds left.
BBE ran some time off the clock before calling a timeout. Instead of working for a shot from 3-point range in an attempt to tie the game, Knutson drove inside and scored with five ticks left on the clock, making it 46-45.
"I think we became more passive during the second half," said Abby Rost. "We were not attacking the basket as much as we were in the first half and I think that is what gave them the chance to creep back into the game. They just kept chipping away at our lead, and at that point we struggled to get anything going on offense. They stepped up their defensive pressure. This was very nerve racking, in a one-point game you never know what can happen."
Hennen was then quickly fouled and sank both free throws to finish with 12 points in her final game in a Minneota uniform.
BBE never came close with a desperation shot at the buzzer.
Abby Rost, the only other senior on the team, nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds to go along with her 12 points.
After a quiet first half, Yost came on strong in the second half, scoring seven points on a 3-pointer and a pair of field goals. Her nifty reverse layup with 1:41 remaining quelled an 8-0 run by the Jaguars and made it 43-36.
"McKenna made some key baskets for us in the second half," said Johnston. "Sometimes, we coaches have to remind her to shoot. She has a good shot and they were taking away our drives to the basket so we had to hit some shots from the perimeter."
Yost said she told herself to look for some open spots and be ready to shoot if the ball is kicked out to her.
"My three-pointer in the second half came off of a kick out from Abby Rost," she said. "The back door was also open for a lot of us throughout the game, so I tried to use that as an advantage. Credit to the guards too for seeing that back door, especially when BBE turned up their defensive pressure. We had practiced doing certain moves to fake Knight out because she’s a shot blocker. So when I got the ball off of back-door cuts, I just tried my best to fake her out and hoped that it would work."
Kennedi Jurrens came off the bench and scored all four of her points in the first half.
For BBE, Knight and Knutson finished with 11 points each. Knight also pulled down 10 rebounds. Jones added eight points.
When a team that is used to winning like Minneota, confidence remains high even during adversity.
"I was still confident that we would win, even when BBE was coming back," Yost insisted. "They started to pick up more fouls, and I knew my teammates would be able to knock down their free throws once we got into bonus. With a few seconds left and Abby Hennen at the line, I really knew we had won."
NOTES: Rost reflected on wearing her uniform for the final time in here career: "I realized I would not be putting my uniform on again right when the game ended. I remember running to the bench cheering after we won, and then immediately realizing how much I am going to miss all of it, my teammates, coaches, and all of the great memories." .... Hennen was a starter on the 2019 state title team, while Rolbiecki, Abby Rost and Jeren Rost were all reserve players on that team .... The Hennen siblings can now boast 13 state titles with Abby leading the way with four (two in basketball and two in volleyball). She may have had two more but the 2020 state basketball tournament was cancelled, and there was no state volleyball tournament in 2020. Minneota was ranked No. 1 in both sports that year. Morgan (volleyball and basketball) and Kyle (football and wrestling) were each on three state championship teams, and Samantha (volleyball), Kelsey (volleyball) and Molly (basketball) each played on one state championship team .... Johnston, also the Minneota football coach, generally gets a breather from coaching back-to-back sports. But this year he is co-coaching the junior high baseball team with Les Engler.
Minneota 48, BBE 45
BELGRADE-BROOTEN-ELROSA (FG, FT, Pts) - Jackie Lindsay 3-5 0-0 6, Alissa Knight 5-10 1-3 11, Karissa Jones 2-7 4-4 8, Karsee Kampsen 1-4 0-0 2, Abby Berge 0-8 3-8 3, Josie Knutson 4-12 2-3 11, Liz French 1-2 2-2 4, Harley Roering 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-50 12-20 45.
MINNEOTA (FG, FT, Pts) - Abby Hennen 3-8 5-6 12, Kennadi Jurrens 2-7 0-0 4, Natalee Rolbiecki 3-5 2-4 10, Abby Rost 5-10 0-1 12, Jeren Rost 1-3 1-2 3, Ireland Stassen 0-3 0-0 0, McKenzie Tolk 0-2 0-0 0, McKenna Yost 3-6 0-0 7. Totals 17-44 8-13 48.
Halftime: Minneota 28, BBE 18
3-pointers: BBE 1-12 (Knutson 1-6, Lindsay 0-1, Kampsen 0-1, Roering 0-1, Berge 0-3). Minneota 6-15 (Rolbiecki 2-3, A.Rost 2-3, Hennen 1-2, Yost 1-2, Jurrens 0-1, Stassen 0-1, J.Rost 0-1, Tolk 0-2).
Rebounds: BBE 37 (Knight 10, Berge 10, Jones 5, Lindsay 2, Kampsen 2, Knutson 2, French 2, Team 2). Minneota 31 (A.Rost 9, Rolbiecki 4, Stassen 4, Jurrens 3, Hennen 2, J.Rost 1, Yost 1, Team 7).
Assists: BBE 7 (Knutson 3, Berge 2, Lindsay 1, Knight 1). Minneota 15 (Hennen 5, A.Rost 3, Rolbiecki 2, Yost 2, Stassen 2, Jurrens 1).
Steals: BBE 9 (Knutson 3, Knight 2, Kampsen 2, French 1, Roering 1). Minneota 5 (Rolbiecki 2, Hennen 1, Yost 1, Stassen 1).
Blocked shots: BBE 4 (Knight 4). Minneota 5 (Hennen 2, J.Rost 1, Yost 1, Tolk 1).
Turnovers: BBE 13, Minneota 15.