Kenadi Arndt, left, goes up for a shot against Hayfield on Friday at Williams Arena. McKenna Yost (20) of Minneota drives to the hoop against Hayfield on Friday. Grace Hennen (2) looks for an open teammate in the semifinals against Hayfield. Natalee Rolbiecki drains a three-pointer against Hayfield in the semifinals Friday.

Minneota sinks Hayfield in semis

Rolbiecki scores final 19 Minneota points, finishes with career-high 29 in win

Natalee Rolbiecki scored the final 19 of Minneota's points in the second half to lead the Vikings to a 53-45 triumph over previously unbeaten Hayfield in the Class A semifinals Friday at Williams Arena.
The senior forward sank 12 of 20 shots and finished with a career-high 29 points, to go along with four rebounds and two assists. She had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the state opener.
"It was motivation for us knowing they hadn't lost a game this year," said Rolbiecki after the game. "The defense wasn't doubling down low on me, so I was able to get open and my teammates kept getting me the ball."
Unseeded Minneota (28-4) will play No. 3 Hancock in Saturday's championship game at noon at Williams Arena.
Mayer Lutheran and Hayfield will play for third place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Concordia University. Nevis and Mt. Iron-Buhl meet for the consolation championship at 9 a.m. Saturday at Concordia University.
The Vikings rallied from an 11-points deficit in the quarterfinals to win in overtime. In this game, they trailed most of the first half, including another 11-point hole at 26-15.
"We never gave up when we got behind," said junior forward Ireland Stassen. "We stayed aggressive and played our game."
Minneota had 11 turnovers in the first half before cleaning things up in the second half, turning the ball over only twice over the final 18 minutes.
"We had way too many turnovers in that first half," said Johnston. "We talked about protecting the ball and getting in position for rebounds at halftime. The girls did a lot better protecting the ball in the second half."
Hayfield made four 3-pointers in the first half as compared to only three field goal and a season-low 17 points in the second half by the Vikings' stifling pressure defense.
Minneota (both team's nickname is Vikings) dominated the boards by a 38-24 margin, often leading to several offensive putbacks. Ireland Stassen pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and Jeren Rost had seven.
Hayfield took its last lead at 37-36 on a free throw from Chelsea Christopherson. Rolbiecki then took over. Her three-point play with 9:21 left in the game gave Minneota the lead for good.
Rolbiecki then hit consecutive triples to for a 47-42 lead.
Hayfield tried to rally back, but lost both Watson and Aine Stasko, their top two scorers, to fouls two seconds apart at 1:37 and 1:35.
McKenna Chick then drained a late three-pointer to cut the Vikings' lead to 49-45, but Rolbiecki then scored inside with 1:03 to go, made a steal on Hayfield's ensuing possession, and then capped the scoring with two free throws with 21 seconds left.
McKenzie Tolk had eight points for Minneota, six coming in the first half. Ireland Stassen finished with seven points, four assists and two steals to go along with her 11 rebounds in a solid all-around game. Rost had three points and three assists.

(Minneota 53, Hayfield 45)
Hayfield..................................................................................28 17 - 45
Minneota..................................................................................28 25 - 53

Team Statistics
Field goal shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Hayfield 13-for-37, 35.1 percent. Minneota 20-for-49, 40.8 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Hayfield 6-for-18 33.3 percent. Minneota 5-for-18, 27.8 percent ... Rebounds: Hayfield 24, Minneota 38 ... Turnovers: Hayfield 12, Minneota 13.

Hayfield Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): McKenna Chick 1-2 0-0 3, Kristen Watson 4-12 0-0 9, Chelsea Christopherson 1-6 4-7 7, Aine Stasko 3-10 4-5 11, Natalie Beaver 4-7 3-5 13, Josanne Tempel 0-0 2-2 2, Ava Carney 0-0 0-0 0, Sidney Risius 0-0 0-0 0 ... 3-pointers: Beaver 2-for-3, Chick 1-for-2, Watson 1-for-3, Christopherson 1-for-4, Stasko 1-for-6 ... Rebounds: Beaver 8, Christopherson 6, Watson 4, Stasko 4, Carney 1 ... Assists: Watson 2, Christopherson 2, Chick 1, Stasko 1 ... Steals: Beaver 3, Watson 2, Stasko 2, Christopherson 1, Tempel 1, Carney 1 ... Blocked shots: Watson 1, Christopherson 1.

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Natalee Rolbiecki 12-20 3-3 29, Jeren Rost 1-4 0-2 3, McKenzie Tolk 2-2 4-5 8, McKenna Yost 1-8 0-0 2, Ireland Stassen 3-7 0-2 7, Grace Hennen 0-0 1-2 1, Kennedi Jurrens 1-2 0-0 3, Kenadi Arndt 0-5 0-0 0, Dakoda Hennen 0-1 0-0 0, Faith Myhre 0-0 0-0 0 ... Blocked shots: Rolbiecki 1, Yost 1, Rost 1, Jurrens 1 ... 3-pointers: Rolbiecki 2-for-6, Rost 1-for-2, Stassen 1-for-2, Jurrens 1-for-2, D.Hennen 0-for-1, Arndt 0-for-1, Yost 0-for-4 ... Rebounds: Stassen 11, Rost 7, Rolbiecki 4, Arndt 4, Yost 3, Jurrens 1, Tolk 1 ... Assists: Stassen 4, Rost 3, Yost 2, Tolk 1, G.Hennen 1, D.Hennen 1 ... Steals: Rolbiecki 2, Yost 2, Stassen 2, Tolk 1, G.Hennen 1, Arndt 1.

Ireland Stassen, right, fires up a shot against Hayfield on Friday in the semifinals. Mascot photo by Meagan Tolk

Contact Us

The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492