Staff photo by Ali Selvey Springfield's Marissa Pabst competes against Granada-Huntley East Chain/Martin Luther/Truman in the Section 2A, South Subsection final Monday at Gustavus Adolphus University in St. Peter. Go to war.
ST. PETER — After a strong start in the second half, third-seeded Springfield defeated top-seeded Granada Huntley East in the South Subsection Section 2A women's basketball final at Gustavus Adolphus College on Monday. Defeated Chain/Martin Luther/Truman. .
“We kept telling them we were a No. 3 seed and probably shouldn’t be here.” Springfield head coach Mike Kelly said. “But if we keep playing tough, we just have to play loose and get some breaks to get things going our way. The kids believed in that. There were some great plays.
“We got a quick break from them…Marissa [Pabst] The second half was tough. We told her at halftime, “You need to score, they don't have anyone to stop you.'' And she took that to heart and played tougher in the second half. ”
Springfield (17-11) will play Section 2A, North Subsection champion Buffalo Lake vs. Hector vs. Stewart on Friday at the Taylor Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato, with the winner advancing to the state tournament.
Pabst led the Tigers with 22 points, five rebounds and five steals. Every time there was a big play for Springfield, Pabst seemed to be right in the middle of it.
Staff photo by Ali Selvey Springfield's Brooklyn Sturm faces Granada-Huntley East Chain/Martin Luther/Truman in the Section 2A, South Subsection final Monday at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. He takes a shot in the paint in the final.
“That’s really what motivates the team.” Pabst said. “When I'm surrounded by a team, they bring me up. When I airball a shot, they put me back in position and I got back on track. He's also my coach. He really supports us and always encourages us, and so do my teammates. I really love this team and everything they do for me. is.”
Pabst said the win as an underdog cemented the team's confidence.
“That means it's stronger than we thought.” she said. “We came to this situation and got the job done. It was just like that. It made everything a lot better. We believe in ourselves and we believe we can do a lot. I If we set our minds to it, anything is possible.”
For Springfield, Emma Hauger had 21 points and Brooklyn Sturm had 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Olivia Mattson led the Jaguars with 18 points, and Reyna Bueck added 14 points.
Springfield started the game with a driving layup by Pabst, giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead. Springfield hung on for a few minutes, but GHEC/ML/T took the lead on a shot in the paint by Rondyn Bowers to take an 11-10 lead. The score remained close throughout the remainder of the first half, with the lead changing hands several times. In the end, GHEC/ML/T took the lead and ended the first half with a 28-27 lead.
Springfield went on a tear to start the second half, scoring eight points, including six from Pabst, without scoring.
“Everyone was moving and we were just attacking whoever was available.” Kelly said. “It wasn't anything special or anything. The kids stayed confident and didn't get upset and that made a huge difference in playoff time. They were in control, didn't get beat up and scored. I was able to do that.”
The Jaguars made several pushes throughout the first half to retake the lead, but each time Springfield players came up with big plays. GHEC/ML/T's Madisen Lewis made a layup to cut the lead to 40-37, and Sturm hit a 3-pointer off a screen to keep the lead at six points.
With the Jaguars pushing the ball up the court at 51-47, Sturm made a steal, made an athletic save to keep the ball inbounds, flipped the ball to his right and hit a running back Pabst for a transition layup. Then, with less than two minutes left and GHEC/ML/T up 57-51 in transition, Pabst ran in for a big block and stole the inbounds pass to steal the ball.
In the end, Springfield made 3 of 4 free throws in the bonus and won the game.
