Chargers take charge in conference

By BENJAMIN TOMCZAK

Journal Sports Writers

NEW ULM -- Jessica Merseth, Minnesota Valley Lutheran's most recent addition to the 1,000 point club, scored 26 points and pulled down 21 rebounds as the Chargers knocked off their Tomahawk Conference rivals, the Wabasso Rabbits, 63-55 Tuesday.

The Chargers (12-3, 11-0 Tomahawk) were forced to come from behind to knock off the Rabbits (10-4, 8-2), the number two team in the Conference. Merseth was a big part of that comeback effort. She already had a double-double in the first half, with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and in the fourth quarter alone she scored 10 and pulled down seven boards. Nine of her rebounds on the night were off the offensive glass, three of them put-backs of missed free throws.

"That was the difference in the game," Rabbits coach Neil Dolan said. "Merseth owned those offensive put-backs. She's a great player."

MVL coach Dave Biedenbender added to the praise, "The rebounds especially are important. We always know we're going to get some points out of her, but her rebounding effort was just awesome tonight."

Despite her performance, Merseth was only willing to credit her teammates.

"Tonight was a total team effort. We played a lot as a team. We worked the ball around. We got rebounds as a team. We won as a team."

And there's truth to that statement.

With her team behind 9-2 in the first quarter and struggling from the field, MVL senior Julie Dzwonkowski hit a 17-foot jumper to end a 7-0 Rabbit run. Dzwonkowski also hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to give MVL it's first lead 12-11.

In the second half it was Leah Morgan and Danielle Kramer who lit the fire under the Chargers. Down 36-28, the two guards hit big 3's, Morgan's a looping rainbow swish and Kramer's a line-drive. Kramer followed it up with a 17-foot bank shot from a near impossible angle. Morgan finished with 11 points and seven assists, while Kramer scored 10.

Those baskets started a 14-6 run that ended when Merseth got the first of her free throw putbacks and followed it up with two free throws off one of her five steals.

"We needed a game like this," Biedenbender said. "Basically we ripped this one away from them, because they're a tough team."

Merseth and Morgan were two of the biggest keys. Merseth was banging around the boards and cleaning up shop, while Morgan picked her moments and hit clutch shot after clutch shot.

"She turned it up a notch there for a while and really started to play," Biebenbender said. "I think Leah's just a good, solid player. She knows when we need it. She sensed we needed a pick-me-up."

That sixth sense couldn't have come at a better time. The Chargers struggled from the floor in the second quarter and shot below 30 percent for the half.

Meanwhile the Rabbits were hitting nearly 50 percent of their shots in the first half, including their first four of the game, to take a 32-28 lead into the break.

The hot hand for the Rabbits was Jessica Van Loy. The sophomore was 6 of 7 from the floor in the first half, totaling 12 points to go with six steals. She finished with 19 points and 10 steals, along with five rebounds.

The second half was like a reverse negative, as the Chargers went 13 of 22 from the field (59 percent) and the Rabbits sunk to 10 of 32 (31 percent).

"That's the way games go sometimes," Biebendender said. "In the second half we hit some shots that maybe weren't even the greatest shot selection and they just went in."

And Wabasso still led with about 5:30 to go.

The Rabbits started the fourth quarter, down 44-42, with two three-point plays, one by Van Loy and the other by Tara Trost to build a 51-48 lead. Trost finished with nine points and ended up fouling out.

Foul trouble hurt the Rabbits. In addition to Trost fouling out, Van Loy and Colette LeGare each had three fouls by halftime, Katie Schumacher got into trouble in the third quarter and Ashley Prokosch, the team's top rebounder, picked up her fourth midway through the fourth. Prokosch finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The troubles forced Wabasso to adapt and improvise and go away from its usual high-pressure 1-2-1 defense. The loss of Trost also was key.

"In games like this you can't replace that experience and that leadership up top," Dolan commented. "This is no excuse, it's where we've got to strengthen ourselves."

In the end the Rabbits were just overcome. MVL hit 5 of 6 from the floor in the fourth, got five more from free throws and their defense held the Rabbits scoreless from 5:56 until 1:31.

"They came out and defended the perimeter well," Dolan said. "And some of our shots were not good shots. If they were in the lane they were contested."

Biedenbender now has a couple of days to revel in this big win before the Chargers face Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Friday.

"This was a huge win for us," Biedenbender said. "We've been looking to this for the last couple of weeks."

MVL also won the junior varsity game 51-26.