Vikings top MACCRAY; face LQPV in 3A-N final

A balanced scoring attack that saw four players reach double figures allowed Minneota to knock off MACCRAY 56-46 in the Section 3A-North semifinals Tuesday night in Montevideo.
Grace Hennen led the Vikings with 14 points. Ireland Stassen notched 11 points, 13 rebounds and four steals. Kenadi Arndt had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Dakoda Hennen also had 10 points.
The Vikings (19-8) advance to play top-seeded Lac qui Parle Valley at 6 p.m. Friday at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.Southwest Minnesota Christian and Edgerton play for the South half championship at 8 p.m. The winner will play for the 3A title on March 10.
Locked in an 18-18 tie with 3:40 remaining in the first half, Minneota went on a 8-2 run to close out the first half with a 26-20 lead
Emma Thein had 11 points and 17 rebounds for MACCRAY. Brielle Janssen and Annie Bourne added 10 points apiece. Ella Kienitz finished with eight points. Janssen also had five steals.
Minneota 56, MACCRAY 46
MACCRAY................................20 26 - 46
Minneota..................................26 30 - 56

Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): MACCRAY 16-for-61, 26 percent; Minneota 21-for-44, 48 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): MACCRAY 7-for-27, 26 percent; Minneota 3-for-9, 33 percent ... Free-throw shooting: MACCRAY 7-for-8, 88 percent; Minneota 11-for-16, 69 percent ... Rebounds: MACCRAY 25, Minneota 28

MACCRAY Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Brielle Janssen 10, Ella Kienitz 8, Sydney Thein 5, Annie Bourne 10, Emma Thein 13, Alexis Noble 0 ... 3-pointers: Kienitz 2, Bourne 2, Janssen 1, S.Thein 1, E.Thein 1 ... Rebound leaders: E.Thein 17, S.Thein 3, Bourne 3 ... Assist leaders: not available .... Steal leaders: Janssen 5, S.Thein 3

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 5-10 0-0 10, Emma Bottelberghe 1-1 0-0 2, Dakoda Hennen 4-10 1-2 10, Grace Hennen 4-6 6-7 14, Kiersyn Hulzebos 2-5 0-1 4, Megan Krog 0-0 0-0 0, Faith Myhre 2-4 0-0 5, Ireland Stassen 3-8 4-6 11 ... 3-pointers: Stassen 1, D.Hennen 1, Myhre 1 ... Rebounds: Stassen 13, Arndt 9, Myhre 2, G.Hennen 1, D.Hennen 1, Hulzebos 1, Krog 1 ... Assists: Stassen 3, G.Hennen 2, Arndt 1, D.Hennen 1 ... Steals: Stassen 4, D.Hennen 3, Hulzebos 2, G.Hennen 1, Myhre 1Minneota 49, Canby 38
(Result Saturday, Feb. 25)

Senior forward Ireland Stassen scored the 1,000th point of her career (see separate Page 1 story) and finished with a game-high 22 points as No. 2-seeded Minneota opened the sub-section playoffs by beating Canby for the third time this season. Despite not being seeded No. 1 in the sub-section as they have been accustomed to in recent years, the Vikings (18-8) are using it as motivation.
"We see it as an opportunity," said junior guard Grace Hennen, who had 12 points and two steals against the Lancers. "There's no pressure on us and we're not risking anything. We just need to keep working hard and we feel things will work out."
Stassen needed 21 points entering the game to reach the 1,000-point mark and scored 15 points in the first half as teammates were looking to help her reach the milestone. The 1,000th point came on a layup on the right side of the basket with 8:02 remaining in the game. giving the Vikings a 43-30 lead at the time. The game was stopped briefly as teammates congratulated her and the public address announcer informed the crowd of the achievement.
Minneota shot a robust 47 percent from the field despite connecting on only ` of 13 from three-point range.
"We knew Ireland needed 21 points and we were hoping she would get it today," said Minneota coach Al Panka. "We forced the ball to her on a few possessions, but once she got it we went back to playing our normal game. We need to do a little better at the three-point line. We had open looks, but they just weren't falling. Otherwise, I thought we took good shots when we had them and hustled after loose balls."
Kenadi Arndt had six points and six rebounds for the Vikings. Faith Myhre hit the team's lone three-pointer.
Canby was led by Kortney Leppke with 11 points and Brynn Kockelman with 10. The Lancers also shot well from the field, hitting 44 percent of their shots.
The Vikings advance to take on No. 3 MACCRAY in the 3A-North semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
"We have to stay aggressive, push the ball when we can and keep taking good shots," said Grace Hennen, when asked how they can go deeper into the playoffs.

MINNEOTA 49, CANBY 38
Canby.....................................................18 20 - 38
Minneota................................................29 20 - 49

Team Statistics
Field-goal shooting (good-attempt-pct.): Canby 16-for-38, 44 percent; Minneota 22-for-47, 47 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Canby 2-for-7, 29 percent; Minneota 1-for-13, 8 percent ... Free-throw shooting: Canby 4-for-5, 80 percent; Minneota 4-for-7, 57 percent ... Rebounds: Canby 16, Minneota 20

Canby Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Lacie DeVos 2-4 1-1 5, Ashlee Ann Frazeur 4-10 0-0 8, Brynn Kockelman 3-8 2-2 10, Kortney Leppke 5-6 1-2 11, Braelyn Merritt 2-6 0-0 4, Paige Nelson 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Noyes 0-0 0-0 0 ... 3-pointers: Kockelman 2 ... Rebound leaders: Leppke 5, Merritt 3 ... Assist leaders: not available .... Steal leader: Merritt 4

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fg-att, ft-att, pts): Kenadi Arndt 3-3 0-0 6, Emma Bottelberghe 1-2 0-0 2, Dakoda Hennen 0-2 0-0 0, Grace Hennen 5-12 2-4 12, Kiersyn Hulzebos 1-4 0-0 2, Megan Krog 1-1 0-0 2, Faith Myhre 1-3 0-0 3, Ireland Stassen 10-20 2-3 22 ... 3-pointers: Myhre 1 ... Rebounds: Arndt 6, Stassen 4, Bottelberghe 3, D.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 2, Krog 2, Myhre 1 ... Assists: Arndt 1, Bottelberghe 1, Myhre 1, Stassen 1 .... Steals: D.Hennen 5, Stassen 4, G.Hennen 2, Hulzebos 2, Arndt 1, Krog 1, Myhre 1
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Section 3A-North
FIRST ROUND FEB. 23
Dawson-Boyd 55, Lakeview 51

QUARTERFINALS FEB. 25
(At Montevideo)
Lac qui Parle Valley 54, Dawson-Boyd 20
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 57, Yellow Medicine East 51
MACCRAY vs. Wabasso, 2:30 p.m.
Minneota 49, Canby 38

SEMIFINALS FEB. 28
(At Montevideo)
Lac qui Parle Valley 56, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 38
Minneota 56, MACCRAY 46
FINALS March 3
(At SMSU, Marshall)
LQPV vs. Minneota, 6 p.m.

Section 3A-South
FIRST ROUND FEB. 23
Murray County Central 52, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 37

QUARTERFINALS FEB. 25
(At Worthington)
SW MN Christian 71, Murray County Central 30
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 53, Hills-Beaver Creek 39
Edgerton 64, Red Rock Central 23
Westbrook-Walnut Grove 46, Adrian/Ellsworth 29

SEMIFINALS FEB. 28
(At Worthington)
Southwest MN Christians vs. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton
Edgerton vs. Westbrook-Walnut Grove

FINALS March 3
(At SMSU, Marshall)
SW MN Christian vs. Edgerton, 8 p.m.

Section 3A
CHAMPIONSHIP MARCH 10
(At SMSU, Marshall)
North winner vs. South winner, 8 p.m.