Girls basketball: Goodhue outlasts Lyle-Pacelli in Section 1A title game
Published 8:08 pm Thursday, March 7, 2019
- Lyle-Pacelli’s Olivia Christianson doubles over as time winds down in the Section 1A championship Thursday night in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
ROCHESTER — The No. 4 seeded Lyle-Pacelli girls basketball team finally ran out of gas.
The defending Minnesota Class A State champs had at 12-game winning streak and its season come to an end when their offense hit the wall in a 42-33 loss to No. 2-seeded Goodhue Thursday in the Section 1A title game in Mayo Civic Center.
LP (23-5 overall) was within 21-20 after Olivia Christianson hit a jump shot with 13:30 left in the game, but the Wildcats (24-6 overall) put together a 15-1 run over the next seven minutes as they clamped down on defense.
LP forced 21 turnovers, but it also committed 26 turnovers of its own.
Lyle-Pacelli’s Lucy Nelson turns to shoot against Goodhue in the second half Thursday night in the Section 1A championship in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“We played a great game, defensively. Our turnovers killed us tonight,” LP head coach Anna Meyer said. “It’s unfortunate, but Goodhue has a great defense and they apply a lot of pressure. They just took it to us.”
LP senior Abby Bollingberg had a big impact on the game as she tallied six points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals, but she said Goodhue’s defensive pressure was just too much to handle.
“Their defense was definitely one of the best defenses I’ve ever played against,” Bollingberg said. “They pressured up front and we couldn’t get past them. We turned the ball over so many times.”
After trailing 11-3 in the first half, the Athletics got back in the game by putting together a 9-2 run over an eight minute stretch. Abby Bollingberg hit a three-pointer to bring LP within 13-10 and Kayla Christopherson hit two free throws to cut Goodhue’s lead to 13-12 with 1:04 left in the half.
Lyle-Pacelli’s Rachel Nelsen shoots under the pressure of Goodhue’s Lexie Lodermeier during the second half of the Section 1A championship Thursday in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
LP committed seven turnovers in the game’s first seven minutes as the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead to get things started.
The Athletics had graduated a bulk of their playmakers from last year’s state championship team and the squad had a new head coach in Meyer. But that didn’t stop LP from sharing the SEC title with Grand Meadow, and putting together a big postseason run.
“From the beginning of the season, you never would’ve guessed we would’ve gotten here,” Bollingberg said. “We came really far and it was a real accomplishment to get here, but it’s a bummer that it came to an end.”
Meyer said the team’s success is a testament to their hard work.
“This team is 23-5 because they worked their tails off this year,” Meyer said. “They all worked hard and we had a lot of players step up. Rachel Nelsen had a great game for us tonight.”
Lucy Nelson paced LP with 11 points and Kate Opsahl had 16 points for Goodhue, which will play in its third Minnesota Class A State Tournament in a span of four years.
Lyle-Pacelli’s Kayla Christopherson looks to pass from the arc against Goodhue in the first half of the Section 1A championship Thursday in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
LP 12 21 — 33
Goodhue 15 27 — 42
LP scoring: Lucy Nelson, 11; Abby Bollingberg, 6; Olivia Christianson, 6; Rachel Nelsen, 4; free throws: 77 percent (10-for-13); rebounds: 23 (Christianson, 4); turnovers: 26