Photo by Sam Thiel Minneota’s Lydia Sussner puts up a shot over a couple of Lac qui Parle Valley defenders during their Section 3A semifinal game on Friday at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 57-41 to reach the section title game next week.

MARSHALL – The Minneota girls basketball team knew things weren’t going to come easy against a familiar opponent in Lac qui Parle Valley, especially with a spot in the section championship game on the line.

The top-seeded Vikings and No. 2 seeded Eagles kept things close in the first half, but Minneota was able to overcome a back-and-forth battle by locking down LQPV in the second half, as the Vikings took out the Eagles 57-41 to earn the Section 3A North Championship Friday night at Southwest Minnesota State University and cement their spot in the section title game.

Minneota coach Chad Johnston credited LQPV for fighting back each time his team started to pull away and felt his group was able to handle the pressure down the stretch.

“A couple of times we pulled away from them a little bit and they would just keep clawing back in and that was credit to what they were doing. It got late in the game where at the four-to-five-minute mark it was close and they turned up the heat and we looked like we had never been in that situation and honestly we haven’t, so it was good to see that type of pressure situation,” Johnston said. “We handled it well, probably more from the free-throw line and we’ve got some things to work on late in the game in that situation but when we needed free throws, we hit our free throws and that was key.”

The Vikings were able to race out of the gates in the opening minutes, as Minneota took an 11-3 lead before a Lydia Sussner layup extended the Vikings’ advantage to 18-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Eagles wouldn’t go away without a fight, though, using a pair of baskets to cut the deficit to 20-13 a couple of minutes later.

LQPV continued to attack the basket with quick passes in transition as well as attacking Minneota in the post and getting the Vikings into foul trouble early. Johnston said that’s when they need their role players to step up and felt their bench did a nice job of making that transition a smooth one.

“That’s just when kids off the bench have got to step up and we feel comfortable with Natalee Rolbiecki and Abby Rost and Jeren Rost, those girls just have to step up in big games like this,” Johnston said. “I thought Natalee did a nice job of doing multiple things and Abby did a nice job of playing defense when we had to go that way. That’s what the girls need to do, just step up in those situations and need to make plays for us.”

Despite the quick fouling stretch, Minneota was able to weather the storm and maintain at least a five-point lead throughout the majority of the half. But in the closing minutes of the first frame, the Eagles drew even closer, as a 3-pointer cut the deficit to just four before a layup on the ensuing possession made it a two-point game at 28-26 with 1:15 to go. Minneota would counter with a Sussner layup, and the Vikings went into the locker rooms with a slim 30-26 advantage.

Both teams looked to gain the momentum right away to start the second half, but points would be traded before Minneota created a little separation with a couple of key baskets, including a layup from Abby Hennen that put the Vikings up double digits at 41-30 with 11:37 left.

Despite the increasing deficit, the Eagles refused to go away, connecting on a 3-pointer before adding a 4-0 run to make it just a six-point game at 47-41 with 6:35 left.

That’s when Minneota decided to set the tone to their pace and got a huge 3-pointer from Lizzy Gillingham as a result, extending the Vikings lead to 50-41 with 3:15 to go. Still very much in the mix, LQPV made multiple trips into the paint but just couldn’t quite find the bottom of the basket.

Minneota would continue to wind the clock down and earn trips to the free-throw line and capitalize from the charity stripe en route to the 57-41 victory and sealing its spot in the section title game.

Johnston said it was huge for them to consistently knock down their free throws when they needed to, something they’ve been struggling with throughout the season.

“Our free throws have been a nemesis all year, and I think we were 18 of 21 and we needed that in big games like this,” Johnston said.

Sussner and Abby Hennen led the way for the Vikings with 18 points each while Morgan Hennen added 12 points. Sussner led in rebounds with eight while Gillingham added four assists.

Abby Hennen said their key on offense was just getting back to the fundamentals and playing their style, especially in the opening minutes of the second half.

“Coach Johnston just told us at halftime to go back to what we’ve been doing and run the plays right and do the fundamentals,” she said. “Once he said that, we started hitting some shots so that helped us on offense.”

While the offense started to find a groove in the second frame, it was really the constant defensive presence from the Vikings that helped shift the tide of the game in a crucial stretch. Minneota was able to limit LQPV to just 15 second-half points – including keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard for the final 6:35 – to earn the win.

“Towards the end of the game, we just needed them to not shoot threes,” Abby Hennen said. “The coaches told us to step out on any screens and switch them and if anything, let them get a layup because you can catch up a lot quicker when you’re hitting threes instead of making layups. We did a really good job and everyone did their role.”

Minneota will now play in the Section 3A championship game against Southwest Minnesota Christian next Friday at 8 p.m. at SMSU. The Eagles defeated the No. 1 seed in the South, Hills-Beaver Creek, 58-46. Minneota also defeated SWC 75-49 on Feb. 16.

Johnston said they know they’re going to have to be ready from the start after facing the Eagles in the title game last season before winning 82-74.

“We’ve seen Southwest Christian already once and had a great game and second half against them, but we saw that last year where we beat them by 30 in the regular season and had a section final game come down to eight so we know that we’ve got to show up,” Johnston said. “Hopefully the weather co-operates and we get four days to practice and just make sure we’re ready to go.”