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Mar. 11—MINNEAPOLIS — There was a touch of nerves for the Stewarville girls basketball team to begin its game with No. 8 seed Willmar in the Class 3A state tournament quarterfinals.
But the nerves didn't last long for the top-seeded Tigers as the teams clashed at the University of Minnesota's Maturi Pavilion on Wednesday morning.
What never waned was Stewartville's hounding defense. That, above all, took it to what turned into an easy win, 73-54.
As high scoring as its offense has been this season, defense, more than anything, has been its calling card.
"That defense has really been our M.O. for, say, the last three years," said Stewartville coach Tanner Teige, whose team is at state for the fourth straight year. "You're going to win a lot of games when you hold teams to 55 points or less. Today we held them to 54."
The implications of stellar defense are not lost on the Stewartville players. Defense is always at the front of their minds, no matter how things are going on the offensive end.
"Yeah, I think defense is really important," Stewartville forward Jayci Rath said. "We have five girls on the court at all times who can score. So, if I'm not hitting my shots or whatever, I can always take pride in my defense."
It was a defense that gave Willmar all kinds of problems on Wednesday. The Tigers forced the Cardinals into 10 turnovers in the first half and 23 for the game. And those turnovers loosened the Tigers up.
They were having trouble hitting perimeter shots for the first 10 minutes of the game. But they still managed to score and build a 35-26 halftime lead. It was the steals that were so often turned into layups that kept the Tigers' confidence up and eventually led to them loosening enough to start bagging 3-pointers, too.
Stewartville star guard Audrey Shindelar was one of those players who started off coming up short on her long shots, only to heat up with time and go 4-for-8 from 3-point distance and finish with 26 points.
"We just had to get a feel for the game, and in the second half we came out ready to go," Shindelar said.
What started off as a reasonably competitive game turned as soon as the second half began. Stewartville went on an immediate 11-0 scoring run, getting inside scoring from Addison Ruffridge, a 3-pointer from Shindelar, and a pair of free throws and an inside bucket from Rath.
Willmar was essentially out of the game from that point on.
Rath heated up to finish with 15 points. Sophomore guards Danika Shindelar and Leah Hebl scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
But again, it was Stewartville's defense that flummoxed the Cardinals most. That never stopped.
"They pressure the ball really well," Willmar junior forward Maddison Molacek said. "They end up trapping you in the corner and then we'd throw the ball away."
Teige, who recognized his team's early nerves, appreciated how his Tigers evolved as the game wore on. He said the edginess was mostly a product of their youth. Stewartville starts three seniors, but after that it is sophomores and freshmen who get the bulk of the playing time.
"We are a young team," Teige said. "We had to get in the flow a little bit. But after that, we came out and executed the way we talked about and were able to play our style of game. We like to play with some tempo and trust that everyone is going to make the right reads."
It's a style and an effectiveness that has the Tigers on a 27-game winning streak and playing as the No. 1 seed in this tournament.
The 28-1 Tigers will play in the state semifinals on Thursday, when they will face No. 4 seed Cretin-Derham Hall at noon at Williams Arena.
Stewartville box score
Continue reading...
But the nerves didn't last long for the top-seeded Tigers as the teams clashed at the University of Minnesota's Maturi Pavilion on Wednesday morning.
What never waned was Stewartville's hounding defense. That, above all, took it to what turned into an easy win, 73-54.
As high scoring as its offense has been this season, defense, more than anything, has been its calling card.
"That defense has really been our M.O. for, say, the last three years," said Stewartville coach Tanner Teige, whose team is at state for the fourth straight year. "You're going to win a lot of games when you hold teams to 55 points or less. Today we held them to 54."
The implications of stellar defense are not lost on the Stewartville players. Defense is always at the front of their minds, no matter how things are going on the offensive end.
"Yeah, I think defense is really important," Stewartville forward Jayci Rath said. "We have five girls on the court at all times who can score. So, if I'm not hitting my shots or whatever, I can always take pride in my defense."
It was a defense that gave Willmar all kinds of problems on Wednesday. The Tigers forced the Cardinals into 10 turnovers in the first half and 23 for the game. And those turnovers loosened the Tigers up.
They were having trouble hitting perimeter shots for the first 10 minutes of the game. But they still managed to score and build a 35-26 halftime lead. It was the steals that were so often turned into layups that kept the Tigers' confidence up and eventually led to them loosening enough to start bagging 3-pointers, too.
Stewartville star guard Audrey Shindelar was one of those players who started off coming up short on her long shots, only to heat up with time and go 4-for-8 from 3-point distance and finish with 26 points.
"We just had to get a feel for the game, and in the second half we came out ready to go," Shindelar said.
What started off as a reasonably competitive game turned as soon as the second half began. Stewartville went on an immediate 11-0 scoring run, getting inside scoring from Addison Ruffridge, a 3-pointer from Shindelar, and a pair of free throws and an inside bucket from Rath.
Willmar was essentially out of the game from that point on.
Rath heated up to finish with 15 points. Sophomore guards Danika Shindelar and Leah Hebl scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
But again, it was Stewartville's defense that flummoxed the Cardinals most. That never stopped.
"They pressure the ball really well," Willmar junior forward Maddison Molacek said. "They end up trapping you in the corner and then we'd throw the ball away."
Teige, who recognized his team's early nerves, appreciated how his Tigers evolved as the game wore on. He said the edginess was mostly a product of their youth. Stewartville starts three seniors, but after that it is sophomores and freshmen who get the bulk of the playing time.
"We are a young team," Teige said. "We had to get in the flow a little bit. But after that, we came out and executed the way we talked about and were able to play our style of game. We like to play with some tempo and trust that everyone is going to make the right reads."
It's a style and an effectiveness that has the Tigers on a 27-game winning streak and playing as the No. 1 seed in this tournament.
The 28-1 Tigers will play in the state semifinals on Thursday, when they will face No. 4 seed Cretin-Derham Hall at noon at Williams Arena.
Stewartville box score
Continue reading...
