Girls basketball roundup: Willmar Cardinals step up to down Rocori Spartans

Mar. 2—WILLMAR — With freshman starter Brielle Ogdahl ruled out hours before tipoff with an ankle sprain, fourth-seeded Willmar needed some of its players to step up against fifth-seeded Rocori in the Section 8AAA quarterfinals.

Leading the charge was freshman guard Telilie Lange. She helped pace the Cardinals to a 57-53 victory against a scrappy Spartans team on Thursday night at the Big Red Gym.

"I'm just super proud of this team for how hard they've been working, going through injuries — a lot of them are banged up. Tonight they pushed through it," Willmar head coach Brendan Hedtke said. "We haven't been the most physical team at times throughout the year and to show up against one of the most physical teams in the section and do what we did tonight, I'm just really proud of them — the whole team."

Lange added, "This was a big win. ... It was just really fun."

Lange, a 5-foot-6 guard, notched a double-double with a season-high of 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also led the team with four assists and three steals.

"Telilie just works her tail off. She is in the right spots and she does everything — guarding Rocori's best player, rebounding for us and knocking down threes, going up in transition — she's just fantastic," Hedtke said. "She's a great leader for our team as a ninth-grader."

Tasked at filling in for Ogdahl in the starting lineup, Cardinals freshman Lyza Gustafson scored 12 points, adding six rebounds and a block.

Willmar eighth-grader Maddison Molacek, who joined the varsity roster a few weeks ago, joined forces with Gustafson in helping fill Ogdahl's void.

"Lyza dominated inside offensively — made some tough shots — and played great defense," Hedtke said. "Maddison was not outmatched physically. She did a great job defensively and she filled a role we needed tonight.

"I am really proud of those two for stepping up in Brielle's absence. That's a big void to fill. Brielle's a helluva player and they did a great job."

Willmar plays at No. 1 Alexandria in the Section 8AAA semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday. Ogdahl's status for Saturday is uncertain.

"We're going to have to go out there with a lot of energy like we had tonight," Gustafson said. "We're just going to have to give it our best game, our best shot and go out there with everything we got."

Lange added, "We can do it. We can push through. We are good enough."

Rocori (6-22) 21 32 — 53

Willmar (11-16) 31 26 — 57

ROCORI — Stats not available

WILLMAR — Scoring: Maycee Gustafson 1, Telilie Lange 18, Madison Norsten 2, Allie Rosendahl 6, Zoe Schroeder 5, Deshawna Hodges 3, Kenedee Salonek 8, Lyza Gustafson 12, Maddison Molacek 2 ... 3-point shots: Lange 3, Rosendahl 1, Schroeder 1, Hodges 1, Salonek 1 ... Rebound leaders: Lange 10, L. Gustafson 6 ... Assist leader: Lange 4 ... Steal leader: Lange 3 ... Block leaders: Schroeder 1, L. Gustafson 1, Molacek 1

Top-seeded New London-Spicer needed a huge rally against second-seed Montevideo to secure the victory at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.

"It's a big, big, big one for us, no doubt about it," NLS head coach Mike Dreier said.

Montevideo, the defending Section 3AA champion, led 18-13 at halftime. NLS shot 4-for-27 in the first half.

Dreier cited the play of Ellary Peterson inside as a huge factor in beating the Thunder Hawks. Peterson had 10 rebounds against Montevideo's much taller lineup, led by 6-foot-3 Avery Koenen, a North Dakota State recruit.

"She (Peterson) battled their big kids really, really well," Dreier said. "We wouldn't have had the success we did without her."

Key to the second-half comeback was the efforts of the Wildcats at the free-throw line. Sisters Avery and Dakota Rich went 11-for-12 from the foul line down the stretch with the game on the line.

"Laney (Hanson) hit some big shots and Jaden (Coahran) did, too," Dreier said. "Last year, they beat us by 14 both times and we're both basically the same teams as last year.

"We feel great about this. They led most of the game here."

NLS plays Luverne in the Section 3AA final at 5 p.m. Friday, March 10, at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Luverne beat Fairmont 54-33. At stake is a berth in the state tournament.

Montevideo (22-4) 18 19 — 37

NLS (27-1) 13 30 — 43

MONTEVIDEO — Scoring: Tenley Epema 6, Avery Koenen 24, Kiera Foley 5, Hailey Dirksen 2 ... 3-point shots: Epema 2, Koenen 2, Foley 1 ... Rebound leader: n/a ... Assist leader: n/a ... Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

NLS — Scoring: Jaden Coahran 8, Avery Rich 12, Dakota Rich 15, Delaney Hanson 8 ... 3-point shots: Coahran 2, A. Rich 1, D. Rich 3, Hanson 2 ... Rebound leaders: Ellary Peterson 10, Coahran 5, Hanson 5, Ava Carlson 5, A. Rich 3 ... Assist leaders: A. Rich 3, Coahran 3... Steal leaders: A. Rich 2, Coahran 2, Peterson 2, D. Rich 2 ... Block leaders: Coahran 2, Hanson 1

Third-seeded BOLD took down second-seeded Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart behind Lainey Braulick's 19-point performance at Arlington.

Mari Ryberg and Kenzie Visser dominated the boards for the Warriors. Both had 16 rebounds. Ryberg added 13 points and Visser had five.

BOLD plays Mayer Lutheran in the Section 2A semifinals at 7:45 p.m. Monday at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. Mayer Lutheran beat Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 71-52 on Thursday.

BOLD (22-5) 30 26 — 56

BLHS (25-2) 22 25 — 47

BOLD — Scoring: Lainey Braulick 19, Mari Ryberg 13, Lily Dean 13, Anna Moorse 6, Kenzie Visser 5 ... 3-point shots: Braulick 4, Moorse 1, Dean 3 ... Rebound leaders: Mari Ryberg 16, Kenzie Visser 16 ... Assist leader: three players with 2 ... Steal leader: Braulick 5 ... Block leader: Ryberg 2

BLHS — Scoring: Kristi Kottke 10, Lily Hubin 12, Allison Milbrandt 10, Rachel Kottke 9, Ellaina Bergstrom 3, Jamie Novotny 3 ... 3-point shots: K. Kottke 2, Milbrandt 2, Hubin 1, Bergstrom 1 ... Rebound leader: n/a ... Assist leader: n/a ... Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

Top-seeded Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa had 10 players score as it cruised past eighth-seeded Bertha Hewitt in Belgrade.

BBE plays Pine River-Backus/Sebeka winner in the Section 5A-West semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday at Wadena.

Tiyana Schwinghammer had 23 points, five rebounds and three steals to lead BBE. Brooklyn Fischer added 17 points and five rebounds for the Jaguars.

Bertha-Hewitt (8-20) 15 15 — 30

BBE (22-4) 54 26 — 80

BERTHA-HEWITT — Stats not available

BBE — Scoring: Anna Jaeger 4, Bree Thieschafer 4, Brooklyn Fischer 17, Tiyana Schwinghammer 23, Grace Jackson 2, Allison Dingmann 13, Ella Halvorson 4, Adley Hagen 6, Abby Berge 5, Ava Deters 2 ... 3-point shots: Schwinghammer 1, Dingmann 1 ... Rebound leader: Thieschafer 6, Hagen 6, Fischer 5, Schwinghammer 5 ... Assist leaders: Jaeger 3, Berge 3 ... Steal leaders: Thieschafer 3, Schwinghammer 3, Hagen 3, Berge 3 ... Block leaders: Schwinghammer 1, Dingmann 1

Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg dominated Ortonville behind four double-digit scorers at Kerkhoven.

Acelynn Hacker led the Fighting Saints in scoring with 20 points, adding seven steals. Josie Gjerde had 18 and Madelynn Luft added 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight steals and five blocks.

KMS plays Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in the Section 6A-South semifinals at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at Glenwood. Wheaton/Herman-Norcoss beat Brandon-Evansville, 64-49.

Ortonville (1-26) 16 16 — 32

KMS (21-6) 29 42 — 71

ORTONVILLE — Stats not available

KMS — Scoring: Acelynn Hacker 20, Josie Gjerde 18, Madelynn Luft 12, Mamie Luft 12, Emily Zurn 5, Sophia Oerter 2, Lilly Ronholdt 2 ... 3-point shots: Gjerde 4, Madelynn Luft 2, Hacker 1 ... Rebound leader: Madelynn Luft 11 ... Assist leader: Hacker 4 ... Steal leaders: Madelynn Luft 8, Hacker 7 ... Block leader: Madelynn Luft 5