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February 22, 2000
Nicollet edges HoundsBy JIM BASTIAN Journal Sports Writer NICOLLET -- Nicollet's Joslyn Hornung had only one point Monday night, but it was a big one. The senior's free throw with 13 seconds left in the game broke a 51-51 tie, and Cathedral guard Jackie Wolfe's potential game-winning shot bounced off the rim to let the Raiders escape with a 52-51 nonconference victory. Krista Kettner led Nicollet (18-3) with a game-high 16 points, with sophomore Chalsey Truebenbach adding 13. Laura Hazuka led Cathedral (12-9) with 14 points. "We really did play well," said Hounds' head coach Mary Dengerud. "I told the girls these are the kind of games that we will be playing in tournament. We have not been in many games where the game has been up and down. We played it right at the end; I told them to take it to the hole and they did. The shot just did not fall." But when the game began, it appeared that Nicollet was going to run away and hide as the Raiders came out and raced to a 9-2 lead with 3:18 left in that period before Dengerud called a time-out. "Offensively, we were not clicking (five turnovers and just two shots)," said Dengerud. "We were in the wrong spots; we were hesitant a lot of the times to attack whatever defenses that they threw at us, and I told them that they had to play with confidence." They did, holding the Raiders scoreless the final four minutes and 42 seconds and running off 12 straight points. Two Hazuka free throws and baskets by Natalia Haala, Wolfe on a rebound, Hazuka and Cathy Boettger on an inbounds play saw Cathedral with a 12-9 lead at the first break. "We were in the right spots at the right time," said Raider head coach Kevin Christenson about that early lead. "But we knew that they would come back; to their credit, they came back." Cathedral would extend that lead to 15-11 before Sarah Brown sank a free throw. The Hounds then used a Boettger drive to ignite a 7-0 run, ending when Tessa Hodapp buried two free throws for a 22-12 lead. Natasha Aldrich's three-point play to close out the second quarter cut the lead at halftime to 22-15. Truebenbach's jumper to start the third quarter was a sign of things to come as she took the game over, outscoring Cathedral by herself 10-2 to lift Nicollet to a 25-24 lead with 5:49 remaining. "She has really come on lately for us," said Christenson. "She has played hard all year and now is starting to finish. The last few games she has put up some numbers." Suzy Beranek's trey at the buzzer of the close of the third quarter gave Cathedral a 39-37 lead before the Hounds dropped behind 47-41. But Boettger sparked a comeback, hitting five of the next eight Cathedral points, ending when Kristin Beranek hit on a drive for a 49-47 lead. "She (Boettger) has been working on keeping herself in the game; she played hard even with her four fouls in the fourth quarter," Dengerud said. The Raiders tied the game at 49-49 before Kristin Beranek hit a bucket. Two free throws by Kettner knotted the game at 51-51, setting the stage for Hornung. The Hound B-squad lost 50-30. Liesl Genelin led CHS with 15 while Alison Brandt tossed in 12 for the Raiders. CATHEDRAL 12 10 17 12--51 NICOLLET 9 6 22 15--52 CATHEDRAL (51): Hazuka 14, Boettger 11, K. Beranek 7, N. Haala 7, Wolfe 5, Hodapp 4, S. Beranek 3. NICOLLET (52): Kettner 16, Truebenbach 13, Peters 6, Brown 6, Koppendrayer 4, Wright 3, Aldrich 3, Hornung 1.
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