Sometimes less than a second stands between victory and defeat.
Rochester Mayo and Plainview-Elgin-Millville played 38 minutes and 59 seconds of even basketball before Olivia Korngable's two free throws separated the teams with 00.6 seconds on the clock.
Mayo escaped with a 56-55 overtime win in a thrilling finish to the Rotary Bracket championship game in the Rotary Holiday Classic tournament Wednesday night at Mayo Civic Center Auditorium.
"It just seemed like one of those games where the last team with the ball was going to win," said PEM head coach Jason Melbostad. "That's the reason we come to the Rotary, to play in games like this one."
It was the first loss for PEM (8-1) which is No. 1 ranked in Class AA.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mayo, 9-1 and ranked No. 6 in Class AAAA, turned around its fortunes after 2014 when the Spartans lost a 1-point game in overtime to Chaska in a Rotary bracket final.
"It was a really fun game," said Mayo senior center Anna Winter. "They were a great team to play, and (Sarah) Hart is a really great player."
Hart nearly delivered for PEM at the end of regulation when she banked in a three-pointer from half court in the closing seconds that would have given the Bulldogs a 50-49 win. But Melbostad had called for a timeout just before she launched the shot.
No bother; after the timeout, Hart drew a foul and calmly swished two free throws with 00.1 on the clock, tying the score at 49 and sending it to overtime.
"I was just trying to throw it up there," Hart said. "It would have been nice if if had counted."
It seemed as if Mayo was going to run away from PEM early, scoring the first seven points and then leading 17-7 when Korngable made her second three-pointer in the first six minutes.
But PEM clawed back to lead briefly before halftime, and it was tied at halftime. There were nine more ties in the second half, and the biggest lead by either team was 3 points.
Winter led Mayo with 21 points and Korngable scored 19. Mayo coach Rich Decker said three three-pointers in the second half by reserves Siennah Stamness, Hallie Olson and Grace Riley were "big". Mayo had a 6-3 edge in threes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hart finished with 23 points to lead three PEM players in double figures, and she impressed Decker.
"She's a great player and we really admire her; she has worked hard at it," the Mayo coach said. "You get on a big stage like this and she plays even better."
Winter said she likes the way Mayo has played through the first month of the season.
"I think we're still improving; we can still get better," she said. "It should be a fun second half of the season."
Mayo 56, P-E-M 55 OT
PLAINVIEW-ELGIN-MILLVILLE (55)
Chloe Holtz 6 P; Tessa Hubbard 2 P; Morgan Shindelar 10 P; Emmaline Polson 4 P; Sarah Hart 23 P, 3 3-PT; Hayley Dessner 10 P.
MAYO (56)
ADVERTISEMENT
Hallie Olson 3 P, 1 3-PT; Siennah Stamness 3 P, 1 3-PT; Olivia Korngable 19 P, 3 3-PT; Grace Riley 3 P, 1 3-PT; Courtney Hruska 4 P; Anna Winter 21 P.
Halftime:PEM 26, MAYO 26.
Free throws:PEM 2-5, MAYO 6-9.
Three-point goals:PEM 3, MAYO 6.
ROTARY BRACKET
Burnsville's Mitby reaches 1,000 points in win
Burnsville senior guard Hannah Mitby scored her 1,000th career point with her second basket and led the Blaze to a 68-56 win over Woodbury in the third-place game of the Rotary Bracket at Exhibit Hall.
Mitby finished with 18 points, and 6-foot-2 junior center Emma Fee scored 17 to power Burnsville.
ADVERTISEMENT
Burnsville (4-5) made 28-of-40 free throws and added to a four-point lead at halftime. Woodbury (6-3) also spent time at the line, making 22-of-28.
Woodbury, which has only one senior, was paced by junior guard Mary Reed and sophomore guard Rachel Hakes with 16 points each.
Burnsville 68, Woodbury 56
WOODBURY (56)
Cam Veenbaas 6 P; Rachel Hakes 16 P, 2 3-PT; Mary Reed 16 P, 2 3-PT; Ellie Kreibich 6 P; Lizzy Dodge 4 P; Runo Egi 8 P.
BURNSVILLE (68)
Zhane Thompson 4 P; Kristen Fredericks 2 P; Mikayla Woebke 16 P; Alayna Hamblin 2 P; Hannah Mitby 18 P; Sarah Gigstad 8 P; Emma Fee 17 P; Dakota Cox 1 P.
Halftime:BURN 26, WOOD 22.
ADVERTISEMENT
Free throws:WOOD 22-28, BURN 28-40.
Three-point goals:WOOD 4, BURN 0.
POST-BULLETIN BRACKET
Lakeville North shoots down Rockets
Lakeville North showed fancy passing and high-percentage shooting and shot down Rochester John Marshall 69-51 in the championship game of the Post-Bulletin Bracket on Wednesday night at Taylor Arena.
North poured in eight three-pointers in the first half, including a 23-footer by junior guard Temi Carda just before the halftime buzzer that put the Panthers up 40-24.
North (9-1), ranked No. 8 in Class AAAA, shot nearly 80 percent in the first half. The Panthers built a 23-point lead in the second half before the unranked Rockets went on a 12-0 run to cut it to 9. That was as close as JM (7-3) would get.
"You always hate to lose, but this game told us what we need to work on," said JM head coach Phil Schroeder. "We knew that they could shoot the ball, but we gave them too many open looks."
ADVERTISEMENT
Carda made four of L.N.'s 10 three-pointers and finished with 18 points. She had 20 against Goodhue on Tuesday. For JM, senior guard Jamie Ruden scored 26.
"I'm really not discouraged; we're still figuring things out," Schroeder said. "They do look like a team that's been playing together for a while, and I think we can get there, too."
Lakeville North 69, John Marshall 51
LAKEVILLE NORTH (69)
Temi Carda 18 P, 4 3-PT; Claire Blascziek 5 P, 1 3-PT; Caitlyn Peterson 7 P, 2 3-PT; Taylor Brown 11 P; Taylor Fosse 2 P; Jessica Montouri 4 P; Olivia Bruce 6 P, 2 3-PT; Sarah Krynski 9 P, 1 3-PT; Kiara James 2 P.
JOHN MARSHALL (51)
Kami Haider 2 P; Lexy Andersen 2 P; Rachael Ojeikhodion 3 P; Taylor Fautsch 2 P; Jamie Ruden 26 P; Nicole Fautsch 12 P, 1 3-PT.
Halftime:LN 40, JM 24.
Free throws:LN 11-12, JM 8-11.
Three-point goals:LN 10, JM 1.
Goodhue holds off Chaska for third
Goodhue, the only Class A team in the tournament, played strong defense and knocked off Chaska, a Class AAAA team, 46-42 in the third place game of the Post-Bulletin Bracket at Mayo Auditorium.
Goodhue (10-1) scored its four points at the free throw line in the closing minute and held off Chaska (2-8) in a game that was close throughout. The Wildcats had a 3-point lead at halftime.
Sophomore forward Sydney Lodermeier had a double-double for Goodhue with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Taylor Larson scored 11 and had six rebounds, including a key defensive board in the last minute.
Chaska had one player score in double figures, senior guard Emily Waletski with 13.
Goodhue 46, Chaska 42
CHASKA (42)
Megan Koosman 5 P, 1 3-PT; Joanell Leggett 9 P; Carly Goetz 2 P; Natalie Starr 2 P; Emily Waletski 13 P; Sarah Althaus 4 P, 1 3-PT; Kinsey Hegna 3 P, 1 3-PT; Lauren Mattson 2 P; Ali Groskreutz 2 P.
GOODHUE (46)
Haley Lexvold 5 R; Megan Ryan 3 P, 1 3-PT; Maddy Miller 4 P, 7 R; McKenzie Ryan 2 P; Emily Benrud 8 P, 5 R; Michelle Hadler 3 P; Sydney Lodermeier 14 P, 12 R, 1 3-PT; Taylor Larson 11 P, 6 R 4; 1 3-PT.
Halftime:GOOD 21, CHAS 18.
Free throws:CHAS 10-17, GOOD 17-33.
Three-point goals:CHAS 3, GOOD 3.
MAYO SPORTS MEDICINE BRACKET
Osseo holds off Waconia with free throws
Osseo utilized good free-throw shooting to keep Waconia at bay in a 73-64 win in the championship game of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Bracket on Wednesday afternoon at Taylor Arena.
Osseo converted 17-of-23 free throw attempts and outscored Waconia by 8 points at the line. Osseo (7-2) won both games in the tournament, after going 0-2 here last year.
Waconia (8-3) senior guard Madelin Dammann starred with 34 points, with 20 in the second half. She made five three-pointers and was 7-of-9 at the line. She scored 22 in Tuesday's win over Lourdes.
For Osseo, senior guard Kiara Russell scored 24 points with 16 in the second half. She was 5-of-5 at the line. Russell had 22 in the first game of the tournament against Kennedy.
Osseo 73, Waconia 64
WACONIA (64)
Madelin Dammann 34 P, 5 3-PT; Megan Kirsch 12 P; Allyson Fuller 12 P, 4 3-PT; Tatum Johnson 2 P; Hallie Koppi 4 P.
OSSEO (74)
Kiara Russell 24 P, 1 3-PT; Azaria Reed 17 P; Mina Porte 14 P; Mikayla Homola 2 P; Lolade Agunbiade 3 P, 1 3-PT; Meghan Lee 9 P, 1 3-PT; Kate Klein 4 P.
Halftime:OSS 37, WAC 29.
Free throws:WAC 9-11, OSS 17-23.
Three-point goals:WAC 9, OSS 3.
Kennedy gets first win at Lourdes' expense
Bloomington Kennedy dominated the second half and beat Rochester Lourdes 67-49 in the third place game of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Bracket on Wednesday at Taylor Arena.
It was the first win of the season for Kennedy (1-8), which had only a 2-point lead at halftime but then outscored Lourdes 34-18 in the second half in a battle of teams both nicknamed Eagles.
Lourdes (5-5) had trouble containing Kennedy 6-foot-1 senior center Lashayla Wright-Ponder who poured in 28 points, 18 in the second half. She had 20 on Tuesday against Osseo.
A pair of underclassmen led youthful Lourdes. Sophomore forward Winter Bergner scored 18, including all four of her team's three-pointers, and 6-foot junior center Megan Hobday scored a season-high 16 in her third game back from a knee injury.
Kennedy 67, Lourdes 49
BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY (67)
Tyrah Spencer 11 P, 1 3-PT; Imani Sa'eed-el 3 P, 1 3-PT; Amaya Graf 1 P; Lashayla Wright-Ponder 28 P, 1 3-PT; Honour Finley 11 P, 1 3-PT; Samantha Hustin 6 P, 1 3-PT; Alyssa Bryan-Jeffries 7 P.
LOURDES (49)
Madison Berg 6 P; Katie Helt 4 P; Eleanor Plager 1 P; Wynter Bergner 18 P, 4 3-PT; Megan Hobday 16 P; Josie Hansen 4 P.
Halftime:BK 33, LOU 31.
Free throws:BK 10-15, LOU 9-18.
Three-point goals:BK 5, LOU 4.
HEY! ORIGINAL STORYTELLING
Adams scores 31 in Como Park win
Senior guard Andrayah Adams poured in 31 points and led Como Park to a convincing win over Farmington in the championship of the Hey! Original Storytelling Bracket.
Adams made 15-of-18 free throws and two three-pointers, following up her 27-point game in the first round Tuesday against Chanhassen. Como Park (5-4) built on a 5-point lead at halftime.
The two teams combined for 60 free throws, with Como Park outscoring Farmington 25-16 at the line.
Farmington (3-4) was paced by sophomore guard Sydney Blandin and eighth-grade guard Molly Mogensen with 12 points each.
Como Park 74, Farmington 52
FARMINGTON (52)
Morgan Mach 2 P; Ellie Clayton 12 P, 2 3-PT; Tarah DeCroock 6 P, 1 3-PT; Alyssa Wagner 4 P; Molly Mogensen 12 P, 1 3-PT; Sydney Blandin 12 P; Ashley Steffes 2 P; Madalyn Allison 2 P.
COMO PARK (74)
Asiza Shepherd 8 P; Raiyne Adams 2 P; Autumn Tucker 3 P, 1 3-PT; Andrayah Adams 31 P, 2 3-PT; Aazhra'rae Jackson 4 P; Rebekah Hausman 4 P; Elaina Jones 4 P; Makayla Van Nett 18 P, 4 3-PT.
Halftime:CP 34, FARM 29.
Free throws:FARM 16-24, CP 25-36.
Three-point goals:FARM 4, CP 7.
Lindsey scores 24 as Century wins in OT
Kiara Lindsey and Alyssa Lewis made four straight free throws in the last minute of overtime and Century escaped with a 63-59 win over Chanhassen in a third-place game at Exhibit Hall.
Century (7-3) had a 14-point lead at halftime. The Panthers finished with a decisive 17-5 scoring edge at the free throw line.
Lindsey, a sophomore forward, finished with 24 points and stepped up when the Panthers' senior center Kendall Kupfer left the early in the second half with a sprained ankle. She finished with 10 points.
Lewis added 14 points for Century, which was able to keep Chanhassen (0-9) winless. The Storm got 21 points each from junior forward Jessica Bren and senior guard Nikki Lucas.
Century 63, Chanhassen 59 OT
CHANHASSEN (59)
Ryan Kinsella 2 P; Tori Tollefson 2 P; Nikki Lucas 21 P, 1 3-PT; Anne Murphy 4 P; Sidney Brastad 2 P; Kate O'Brien 3 P, 1 3-PT; Jessica Bren 21 P; Alexi Wall 4 P.
CENTURY (63)
Alyssa Lewis 14 P, 3 3-PT; Kristin Fleissner 4 P; Mariah Nadolny 1 P; Ellie Luinenburg 7 P; Kiara Lindsey 24 P; Samantha Jorgenson 3 P; Kendall Kupfer 10 P.
Halftime:CENT 30, CHAN 16.
Free throws:CHAN 5-14, CENT 17-26.
Three-point goals:CHAN 2, CENT 3.
