Lyle-Pacelli girls earn respect, but fall to Goodhue
Published 11:58 pm Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Lyle-Pacelli’s Maggie Lewison dribbles the ball against Goodhue’s Ashlyn Stecklein in the first half Tuesday night in the Section 1A West Division semifinals in Rochester. — Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
ROCHESTER — The Lyle-Pacelli girls basketball team made the statement it was looking to make, but it still had its season come to an end in a 70-62 loss to No. 2 Goodhue in the Section 1A West Division semifinals in Mayo Civic Auditorium Tuesday.
Lyle-Pacelli’s Sarah Holtz shoots against Goodhue’s Shelby Hinsch during the first half of their Section 1A West Division semifinal matchup Tuesday night in Rochester.
The No. 3 seeded Athletics, who have a roster that is mostly made up of underclassmen and middle schoolers, hung with the Wildcats (23-5 overall) until the very end of the contest.
“We don’t get the respect in the southern Minnesota basketball circles that we think we deserve,” LP assistant coach Justin Morris said. “We believe we earned some respect tonight and everyone comes back next year. We believe that makes us a candidate to go to state next year.”
Goodhue used a 10-0 run to open the second half and as it let 46-31, but LP (23-4 overall) didn’t show any signs of panic as it responded with a 17-7 run to get within 53-48 with 7:05 left. LP had chance to get within two, but Courtney Walter missed a 3-pointer with six minutes left.
“We showed a tremendous amount of resilience and toughness tonight in an environment that we’re not used to,” Morris said. “The kids showed a lot of character.”
LP freshman Sarah Holtz led the comeback as she scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half. Holtz was able to consistently get to the rack by driving past Goodhue.
“We just needed to relax,” Holtz said. “They’re a really good team and we tried our best, but it just didn’t happen. I think going into this game everybody was saying we didn’t have a chance and people didn’t believe in us. After tonight people are gonna know who we are.”
The first half was close throughout as LP led 24-21 after a score by Holtz, but the Wildcats held a 36-31 lead at the break.
LP junior Maggie Lewison had one of her better games of the season as she finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think we played real well. We played as a team and I was real proud,” Lewison said. “I’m really excited for next year. We’re all gonna put in a lot of time in the offseason and I feel like we can go to state next year. We have a lot of potential.”
LP junior Ann Rysavy finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals.
Lyle-Pacelli’s Courtney Walter splits Grand Meadow’s Meredith Watson (33) and Mikayla Tipcke (1) during the first half in the Section 1A West Division semifinals Tuesday night in Rochester.
The Athletics will return their entire roster next season and with four middle schoolers on the team, including seventh grader Brooke Walter, who posted 10 points Tuesday, the chance for growth is strong.
“We’re gonna come back as a united front and we’re gonna come back ten times better next year,” Holtz said. “I think we’re really gonna shock people next year.”
Goodhue 36 34 — 70
LP 31 31 — 62
LP scoring: Sarah Holtz, 20; Maggie Lewison, 12; Ann Rysavy, 12; Brooke Walter, 10; Courtney Walter, 6; Madison Trucknmiller, 2; free throws: 80 percent (8-for-10); rebounds: 32 (Lewison, 10); turnovers: 19