MVL charges to victory

By DAVE CLARK

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Sometimes games are won by not being stubborn.

Minnesota Valley Lutheran girls basketball coach Dave Biedenbender entered Thursday night's Section 2-1A, North Sub-section semifinal game against the Cedar Mountain Cougars thinking his team would have to play man-to-man defense in order to win.

After the Cougars hung tough with the Chargers in the early going, Biedenbender switched to a 2-3 zone defense, and the Chargers cruised the rest of the game, winning 67-41 and heading for the next level of tournament play next Monday night at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.

"They were penetrating our man-to-man," said Biedenbender. "As soon as we switched to the 2-3 zone, the game changed. We didn't give them any open shots. Defense was the key. This was all about defensive intensity."

The Cougars gave MVL all they could handle in the first quarter, tying the game at 5-5 on a trey by Krystal Kerkhoff, and edging to a 9-5 lead on a Kelly Mace steal and layup plus a wide open layup from Kerkhoff.

The turning point for MVL came late in the quarter. Danielle Kramer nailed a 3-pointer to knot the score at 13-13, but after a Cougar hoop by Mace, the Chargers scored six points in the final minute on three straight Cedar Mountain turnovers for a 19-15 lead.

MVL extinguished any light that was at the end of the Cougars' tunnel in the second quarter. The Chargers resorted to their old friends -- running game, rebounding, and defense -- to outscore the Cougars 16-6. MVL's Gretta Nelson scored seven points in a row, including a trey, that moved the Chargers lead to 27-17. The hoop that probably wrapped up the Chargers efforts for the night was a duece by Leah Morgan that came after three offensive rebounds.

After taking a 35-23 lead into the half, the Chargers continued to delight the predominately MVL crowd at Martin Luther College with six straight points from Jessica Merseth on two jumpers and a layup. The Chargers scored the last seven points of the quarter, taking a 50-30 lead into the final stanza.

Becky Bruns added four points for the Chargers in the last eight minutes on two steals, Merseth had four on jumpers, and Morgan contributed four on free throws and a steal en route to the 67-41 win.

"They really worked hard to shut down Merseth," said Biedenbender. "But Nelson, Morgan, and Julie Dzwonkowski really stepped up and got some shots. We received more scoring balance out of them tonight. We got points from people we didn't get in the past."

Merseth led all scorers with 18 points, with Morgan adding 11 and Erin Czer contrubuting eight. Cedar Mountain was led by Kerkhoff's 15 and Mace's 11.

Merseth also had six steals and nine rebounds, with Nelson adding four steals and Morgan with three. Czer also had six boards with Morgan and Angie Unke each with five. MVL outrebounded Cedar Mountain 43-20 as a team.

MVL now plays at Gustavus at 8 p.m. on Monday night against the winner of Thursday's game between Sleepy Eye St. Mary's and McLeod West.