Merseth reaches 1,000, Chargers thump Tigers

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Jessica Merseth joined the 1,000-point club Tuesday night. The 6-foot post for the Minnesota Valley Lutheran Chargers scored inside with just eight-10ths of a second left in the Chargers' 55-34 win over the Springfield Tigers in Tomahawk Conference girls basketball.

Merseth, who came into the game needing 16 points for 1,000 in her career, recorded her 16th and 17th points of the night as she was fouled. Merseth missed the free throw, but now has 1,001 points, becoming only the ninth player in MVL history with at least 1,000 points.

"It's nice to be able to say, 'Now it's over with. Now, let's get on with something else,'" Merseth said.

Merseth joins her brother Tim Merseth in the MVL 1,000-point club. Tim Merseth finished his career with the Chargers in 1990 with 1,640 points.

Merseth was 6-for-14 from the field and hit only five of her 10 free throws during the game. She scored four points in the first quarter, two in the second, six in the third and five in the final eight minutes.

Merseth appeared to have had her last chance with one minute in the game when she missed the front end of a 1-and-1 after being fouled while getting an offensive rebound.

"We said, 'Nah, it's not going to happen tonight.'" MVL coach Dave Biedenbender said. "That's about as dramatic as it could happen with just eight-10ths of a second left on the clock. We were really excited about it."

With the game out of reach of the Tigers (7-3, 6-2 Tomahawk), Biedenbender conceded it was important to the Chargers to get Merseth to the plateau. MVL (7-3, 6-0), which had 22 turnovers in the game, committed 14 in the second half -- many on attempted entry passes to Merseth, who was frequently double-teamed.

While the Chargers made it one of their goals to get Merseth her 1,000th point, there was no doubt she earned her final two points of the game. The Tigers had her doubled front and back when she took the entry pass and slid toward the lane, launching the shot with two players attempting to stop her.

"She's a great player," Springfield coach Paul Arnoldi said. "She's only a junior and she gets better every year."

While Merseth's milestone was a priority for the Chargers, so was getting the win.

"Our first goal was to beat Springfield because that's what we wanted to do ever since last year, ever since they knocked us out of the sections," Merseth said. "That was our first goal. Once we figured we were going to do that ... then we decided it would be even nicer if I got my 1,000th point playing Springfield."

The victory avenged a 37-point defeat to the Tigers in the Section 2-1A title game last season. It also keeps MVL unbeaten in the Tomahawk

"We made this game a goal after we lost the section final to them last year," Biedenbender said. "We knew this was a game on our schedule that we really wanted to go after. I'd didn't have to say much to the girls before the game tonight."

Springfield scored inside with junior post Taryn Runck on the first possession of the game. Both teams were scoreless for about 1 1/2 minutes before MVL went on a 9-0 run.

Merseth had three points in the run and senior guard Leah Morgan, who finished with 13 points, scored on a three-point play. By the end of the first quarter, the Chargers had extended their lead to 17-3.

The Tigers were just 1-for-12 from the field in the first quarter and committed six turnovers.

Things didn't get much better for Springfield in the second quarter. The Tigers committed another six turnovers and were 5-for-18 from the field.

For the game, the Tigers had 20 turnovers and shot just 25.4 percent from the field in the game. Senior guard Brittany Feser was the only Tiger in double figures with 13 points.

"They were the more aggressive team, in all phases," Arnoldi said. "Defensively, I thought they played a real good game. We just didn't have an answer for their defensive pressure and their intensity."

The Tigers struggled inside against Merseth and the Chargers' other post -- 6-foot-2 junior Angie Unke, who grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Unke was also a force offensively, especially in the first quarter; she helped MVL run away from the Tigers, scoring eight of her 12 points in the game on 4-for-5 shooting from the field.

"Their defense really shut down the inside," Arnoldi said. "We were forced to shoot jump shots and just didn't make enough of them."

Said Biedenbender: "It was a goal of ours to stop Runck inside. Playing the 2-3 zone I think helped. That way we could keep her contained on the bottom and we always knew where she was down there. The girls just played with intensity, and that's what did it tonight."

Springfield will travel to Sleepy Eye High Friday. MVL will host Buffalo Lake-Hector Friday.

In the junior varsity game, MVL downed Springfield 47-29.