Third time’s a charm
No. 3 Tigers upset top-seeded Waseca in championship game to advance to Class AAA tournament
Trending
ST. PETER -- On paper, the Section 2AAA Championship matchup between Marshall and Waseca may have looked like David vs. Goliath, but not to the Tigers. To them, it was just another game.
After falling to the top-seeded Bluejays twice in the regular season, No. 3-seeded Marshall decided to change some things up going into its title bout. One of them they switched in the second half, something Marshall coach Dan Westby said they weren't planning on.
"One of the things we weren't planning on doing coming into the game was playing man-to-man and we switched to man in the second half and I think our kids really adjusted well," Westby said. "We were able to keep them from getting to the basket and I think that made a big difference in the second half; we felt like in the first half, they were able to get in the lane too much and by switching to man we limited that."
Fighting tooth and nail with Waseca, the Tigers stayed right in the mix in the first half, not allowing the Bluejays to create any sort of momentum. In the second half, it was about playing with heart, grit and determination and Marshall used all three to the fullest extent, as the Tigers upset Waseca 53-44 and punch their ticket to the state tournament for the 12th time in program history and first since 2016.
Sophomore guard Jordyn Hilgemann said they knew it wasn't going to be easy, especially against a one-loss team like Waseca, but they were able to stick together and turn their dream into a reality.
"Coming in, we knew it was going to be a battle and we knew that we had to be ready to go," Hilgemann said. "We wanted it, we really did, we came out from the beginning and we played as a team and I think that helped us the whole way through."
Battling all the way
Despite trailing by five to start the second half, the Tigers had plenty of energy coming out of the halftime gates. Marshall quickly got the momentum it needed in the opening minutes of the second frame, as a pair of 3-pointers from Hilgemann gave Marshall the lead at 30-27 before another triple from Erica Jones pushed the Tigers' advantage to 33-29 with 12:40 left.
While Marshall's offense started to heat up, its defensive performance continued to shine through, as the tenacious Tigers held the Bluejays to just four points throughout the first eight minutes of the second half.
"The first eight minutes of the second half, I think they scored four points, and again, that goes back to our defensive effort," Westby said. "That's when we were able to take that lead; unfortunately, Lenei (Estrada) got her fourth foul with about 11 and a half minutes left, but our kids didn't back down at all at that point."
A Waseca basket with 8:40 left would make it a two-point game again, but Jones quickly answered with another 3-pointer to push it to 36-31, before Marshall took its first double-digit lead of the night thanks to a pair of Hilgemann layups with 5:45 to go.
In need of a spark, the Bluejays found it around the perimeter, connecting on three 3-pointers to climb to within seven with under a minute remaining. But just as they did all throughout the second half, the Tigers found a way to respond, beating the Bluejays full-court press and sealing their state tournament hopes at the free-throw line.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Jones was extremely proud of her team for fighting and battling all game and using that motivation to keep their season alive.
"I think we just came in with a good game plan and we knew that it's hard to beat another team three times. We knew Waseca was a good team and weren't going to back down without a fight and props to them, they battled all game, Jones said. "This was just a fun game to watch on all sides. I'm just really proud of this team, we knew that we could get it done and that if we didn't have that motivation it wouldn't have happened, but we did and we were able to get it done."
Tight, gritty play
The back-and-forth play between the two teams was immediately seen from the start, as a layup from Lenei Estrada tied things up at 5-5 before Waseca took a 16-8 lead midway through the first half. Despite not being able to get into a consistent rhythm on offense, the Tigers kept themselves within striking distance thanks to a solid defensive performance.
The Bluejays would take a double-digit advantage at 18-8 with six minutes left, but a pair of banked-in 3-pointers from Kaia Sueker and Hilgemann brought the Tigers right back to within four with 4:30 to go. That would be the start of a fiery 3-point display from either side to close the half, as another three by Hilgemann cut the deficit to just two at 19-17 before a pair of triples from Waseca gave the Bluejays a 10-point lead again at 27-17. Marshall wouldn't go away there, however, ending the first half on a 5-0 run - including a 3-pointer from Jones in the closing seconds - to bring the Tigers to within five at the break, setting the stage for the second-half comeback.
Hilgemann led the way for the Tigers with 24 points while Jones added 12 and Emily Meier had seven. Paige Andries led in rebounds with five while Hilgemann led in assists with six. As a team, Marshall shot 16 of 33 from the field (48 percent), including 10 of 19 from behind the 3-point line (53 percent).
Hilgemann said their key on offense, especially in the second half, was their ability to find the open teammate on the kickout and be able to step up and knock down the shot.
"Just dribbling it in and kicking it out," Hilgemann said. "They collapsed a lot, and once we started hitting a couple of shots, they all started going in."
Defensively, Marshall held Waseca to just 34 percent shooting from the field (18 of 53), including just 7 of 24 from beyond the arc (29 percent). Jones said their communication level was at an all-time high and it took a team effort to shut the Bluejays down on offense.
"I think defense was solely a team effort," Jones said. "We worked together and knew their personnel very well and we were able to work together, make switches, communicate and that held them."
Marshall (21-7) will await its state tournament opponent this weekend. Going into the tournament, Westby said he's looking forward to having this experience at state with such a young group.
"One of the things we talk about as coaches before this tournament started was every additional game this group gets is just a bonus because we're playing a number of younger kids," Westby said. "This is just great experience for them."
Jones added she's looking forward to having one more week with her teammates.
"I'm just looking forward to another week with these girls," Jones said. "I would give anything for them and just the ability to spend another week together is just amazing."
No. 3 Marshall 53, No. 1 Waseca 44
Marshall 22 31 - 53
Waseca 27 17 - 44
SCORING: Marshall (Hilgemann 8-14, 3-6 24; Jones 4-4, 0-0 12; Meier 2-6, 3-4 7; Sueker 1-2, 0-0 3; Estrada 1-5, 1-3 3; Wendorff 0-1, 3-4 3; Andries 0-1, 1-4 1).
REBOUNDS: Marshall 19 (Andries 5; Hilgemann 4; Estrada, Jones 3).
ASSISTS: Marshall 10 (Hilgemann 6; Sueker 2; Estrada, Andries 1).
STEALS: Marshall 5 (Andries, Meier, Hilgemann, Wendorff, Jones 1).
BLOCKS: Marshall none.