Goodhue too quick, strong for Superlarks

Grand Meadow had a good idea what it was in for in the Section One, Class A West girls semifinals.

The Superlarks had not played Goodhue yet this season. But they were aware of the Wildcats' credentials. Goodhue is not only the top seed in Section 1A West, but the top-ranked team in the state.

Goodhue is 25-4 overall. That follows Monday night's easy 64-32 win over No. 4 seed Grand Meadow at Mayo Civic Auditorium.

"We knew that (Goodhue) played very tenacious defense, and that they are a disciplined, well-oiled machine," Grand Meadow coach Ryan Queensland said.

And his team's initial reaction to all that?

"There were definitely nerves," said Queensland, who has just three seniors on his roster. "Our team gets real young, real quick. Plus we hadn't been here (to the subsection semifinals) in a long time."

Neither team started the game looking well oiled.

"I don't know if it was rust or what, but we had some uncharacteristic turnovers," Goodhue coach Josh Wieme said. "Especially in the first half."

The Wildcats also didn't shoot as well are they are used to. They finished at just 37 percent from the field.

But with a swarming defense that had Grand Meadow in a constant scramble, and domination on the boards, it didn't need to be perfect.

"We are quick and we try to always want it more than the other team," said Goodhue sophomore standout Sydney Lodermeier, who finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Goodhue turned the ball over four times in the first six minutes, while Grand Meadow lost it six times in that span.

But the Wildcats made up for it by dominating the offensive glass. A pile of second and third shots led Goodhue – which also seemed to grab every loose ball all game – to a decisive 15-3 lead at the 9:48 mark of the first half.

Three-pointers also helped. Lodermeier and Maddy Miller each hit one early in the game.

After that ragged start, the turnovers just kept mounting for Grand Meadow, as it struggled against Goodhue's full-court trapping defense. The Larks ended the half with 15 giveaways. By then they were staring at a 29-12 deficit.

Lodermeier controlled the early part of the second half. She had six of her team's first eight points. By then Goodhue's lead had grown even more comfortable, at 37-17.

Grand Meadow — though it cut down on its turnovers after intermission — never was close to getting back in the game.

Maddy Miller finished with 14 points for Goodhue and Megan Ryan had nine.

Grand Meadow got 10 points from freshman guard Skylar Cotten.

Goodhue 64, Grand Meadow 32

GRAND MEADOW (32)

Annika Arndorfer 3 P, 1 3-PT; Brittanie Winfield 4 P; Jordyn Glynn 2 P; Kaitlyn Hilton 21 P; Rio Landers 6 P; Rylee Stickrod 2 P; Skylar Cotten 10 P, 3 3-PT.

GOODHUE (64)

Haley Lexvold 2 P; Megan Ryan 9 P, 3 3-PT; Maddy Miller 14 P, 1 3-PT; McKenzie Ryan 2 P; Emily Benrud 1 P; Michelle Hadler 2 P; Sydney Lodermeier 25 P, 1 3-PT; Taylor Larson 7 P, 1 3-PT; Keisha O'Reilly 2 P; Kaitlin Buck 2 P; Lexie Lodermeier 8 P.

Halftime:GOOD 29, GM 12.

Free throws:GM 3-4, GOOD 8-14.

Three-point goals:GM 4, GOOD 6.

Holtz, L/P defense buries Blossoms

Sarah Holtz had no idea how many points she had Monday night in Lyle/Pacelli's 54-27 Section One, Class A West girls basketball semifinal win over Blooming Prairie.

Holtz, the Athletics' dynamite do-everything player, doesn't care much about scoring.

But the speedy and agile 5-foot-11 senior forward has sure done a lot of it. She's now got over 2,000 points in her L/P career.

That after scoring 18 points in Monday's workmanlike win over No. 3 seed Blooming Prairie at Mayo Civic Auditorium. L/P is the No. 2 seed and the defending section champion.

"I had 18 points?" Holtz replied to a reporter when given the information.

"Oh," Holtz said, "I had no idea."

Rather than worry about stat sheets, Holtz has put everything into winning. And she's done a lot of that at L/P, including reaching the state semifinals a year ago. That, a few games after stunning Goodhue in the Section 1A West finals.

The Athletics will get a chance to pull off the latter again on Saturday at 11 a.m. when they meet the No. 1-ranked Wildcats for the second straight year. L/P is ranked fifth.

The winning, according to Holtz, hasn't come so much with L/P's offense, as its defense.

"Defense is the calling card of this program," said Holtz, whose team is 25-3. Blooming Prairie finished 15-11.

"I love that part of the game and all of the strategy that goes with it."

That defensive commitment showed up again Monday, with L/P hounding the Blossoms all game with a variety of pressure and trapping defenses.

"We were really able to turn (Blooming Prairie) over with our pressure," L/P coach Justin Morris said.

The Athletics did it enough to virtually have the win sealed by halftime. After getting the Blossoms to cough it up 12 times in the first half, L/P owned a comfy 27-9 lead.

It was also a first half where guard Courtney Walter went off. The senior helped L/P break away from an offensively troubled first six minutes by cranking things up from 3-point land.

Walter hit her first 3-pointer with 11:03 left in the opening stanza. She'd drill three more before the half was up, putting Blooming Prairie in a tough spot.

Walter finished with 15 points. L/P also got a nice game from 6-4 sophomore center Kristi Fett. After being held scoreless in the first half, Fett showed an excellent inside game and ended with 14 points.

Blooming Prairie was paced by Lauren Larkoski's eight points.

Lyle-Pacelli 54, Blooming Prairie 27

BLOOMING PRAIRIE (27)

Lauren Larkoski 8 P; Kylie Forystek 5 P; Kaci Gwilt 1 P; Hannah Ahrens 4 P; McKenna Hein 2 P; Marissa Larson 1 P; Kalyn Naatz 6 P.

LYLE-PACELLI (54)

Courtney Walter 14 P, 4 3-PT; Olivia Christianson 1 P; Bethany Strouf 2 P; Sarah Holtz 18 P; Abigail Bollingberg 4 P; Kristi Fett 14 P.

Halftime:LP 27, BP 9.

Free throws:BP 11-26, LP 12-21.

Three-point goals:BP 0, LP 4.