Vikings succumb to top-ranked Mt. Iron-Buhl in state opener
After limiting standout junior forward Jordan Zubich to nine points in the first half because of early foul trouble, the Division I signee heated up in the second half and led top-ranked Mountain Iron-Buhl to a 65-50 win over Minneota in the Class A state quarterfinals Thursday morning at Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
Zubich, who signed an early National Letter of Intent with North Carolina, finished with 25 points, four below her season average, and the Rangers (28-3) advanced to the semifinals on Friday.
Minneota (21-9) was relegated to the consolation bracket where they took on Underwood Friday morning at Concordia University
The Rangers shot a torrid 55 percent (27 of 49) from the field, including 50 percent (7 of 14) from three-point land.
The Vikings took a 3-0 lead out of the gate with Faith Myhre scoring on an and-1 play after scoring on a putback. Moments later, Ireland Stassen then scored inside on a nifty feed from Kenadi Arndt to make it 5-0.
The Rangers went on a 12-2 run to grab a 12-7 advantage with 12:44 left in the first half.
MIB continued to increase its lead with Hali Savela leading the way with 11 first-half points. After she hit consecutive baskets with 3:40 left, the Rangers had their biggest lead of the game at 27-15.
"In the first half, we knew the energy was high because we had made it back to state playing a team we upset last year," said Stassen. "So, I think all the emotions were there for both sides and we came out wanting to win and ready to play."
After a timeout, the Vikings slowly chipped away at the deficit, outscoring MIB 9-0 to cut the Rangers' lead to 27-24. During that late run, Stassen had a layup and a pair of three throws, Kiersyn Hulzebos cashed two free throws, and Faith Myhre drained a three-pointer.
Beth Ganyo then sank a three-pointers just before the halftime horn to put the Rangers up 30-34 at halftime.
"We did a good job limiting their runs, and would get a few more scores after stops," said Minneota coach Al Panka. "We took care of the ball a little better in the first half, as well.
Stassen, one of the 25 finalists for Miss Minnesota Basketball as well as being named to the Class A All-State team, kept the Vikings in the game by scoring 12 of her team-high 18 points in the first half.y
"A little before halftime they had hit a big three to put them up by six and that was kind of a huge momentum shift," Stassen said. "We fought to the end and it might not have been the result we wanted, but at least we made them work for their win."
The Rangers regained control in the second half, quickly expanding their lead to double digits at 38-27 as Zubich, who scored 16 of her points in the second half, hit two free throws and a three-pointer.
"The second half started and we couldn't buy a bucket," said Panka.
Again, the Vikings refused to go away and went on a 7-0 run with Myhre sinking another three-points and, following a technical foul on Mountain-Iron Buhl, Grace Hennen scoring four points on two free throws and a layup to make the score 42-38.
That would be the closest the Vikings would get as Mt. Iron-Buhl shifted into high gear and went on a 19-4 run to put the game away.
"We got back into it with the technical foul they had and then we scored another basket in that possession, but went cold again," said Panka.
Stassen finished with a double-double with 11 rebounds to go with her 18 points. Myhre had 14 points and five rebounds. Grace Hennen and Kenadi Arndt had six points each and Dakoda Hennen had four points and four assists.
Savela finished with 19 points and Beth Ganyo had 16 points. Zubich, Savela and Ganyo combined for 60 of the team's 65 points.
Mountain Iron-Buhl 65, Minneota 50
(Quarterfinals March 16)
Mountain Iron-Buhl...............................................................30 35 - 65
Minneota.................................................................................24 26 - 50
Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): Mt. Iron-Buhl 27-for-49, 55 percent; Minneota 17-for-41, 42 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Mt. Iron-Buhl 7-for-14, 50 percent; Minneota 3-for-16, 19 percent ... Free-throw shooting: Mt. Iron-Buhl 4-for-14, 29 percent; Minneota 13-for-17, 77 percent ... Rebounds: Mt. Iron-Buhl 20, Minneota 30 ... Turnovers: Mt. Iron-Buhl 16, Minneota 24 ..... Fouls: Mt. Iron-Buhl 16, Minneota 14.
Mt. Iron-Buhl Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Gabby Lira 1-3 0-5 2, Sage Ganyo 7-14 0-1 16, Suzy Aubrey 0-1 0-0 0, Hali Savela 8-11 2-6 19, Jordan Zubich 10-14 2-2 25, Hannah Villebraun 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Luukkonen 0-0 0-0 0, Maddy Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Aniyah Thomas 1-3 0-0 3, Zoe Baliczak 0-0 0-0 0, Anna Neyens 0-3 0-0 0, Mya Gallus 0-0 0-0 0, Kate Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 ... 3-pointers: Zubich 3, Ganyo 2, Savela 1, Thomas 1 ... Rebounds: Savela 6, Lira 5, Ganyo 4, Aubrey 1, Zubich 1, Warwas 1, Luukkonen 1, Neyens 1 ... Assists: Ganyo 6, Lira 4, Savela 3, Zubich 2, Aubrey 1, Warwas 1 .... Steals: Zubich 5, Ganyo 3, Lira 2, Savela 2, Thomas 1, Neyen 1
Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 2-2 2-5 4, Dakoda Hennen 2-9 0-0 4, Grace Hennen 1-3 4-4 6, Ireland Stassen 7-14 4-4 18, Faith Myhre 5-10 1-1 14, Megan Krog 0-0 0-0 0, Neveah Hennen 0-0 0-0 0, Kiersyn Hulzebos 0-1 2-2 2, Emma Bottelberghe 0-1 0-0 0, Claire Rost 0-0 0-0 0, Hadli Krog 0-0 0-0 0, Dakota Pesch 0-0 0-1 0, Ella Johnson 0-0 0-0 0 ... 3-pointers: Myhre 3 ... Rebounds: Stassen 11, Arndt 5, Myhre 5, G.Hennen 3, D.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 1, Bottelberghe 1, H.Krog 2, Pesch 1 ... Assists: D.Hennen 4, Arndt 2, G.Hennen 2, Stassen 2, Hulzebos 2, Bottelberghe 1 ... Steals: Stassen 2, Hulzebos 2, Arndt 1, D.Hennen 1