Tigers topple Greyhounds

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Beating a team three times in the same season is one of the toughest things to do.

The New Ulm Cathedral Greyhound girls basketball team had captured wins of 15 and 11 points over the Springfield Tigers during the regular season.

And when the Greyhounds took a commanding 29-18 lead early in the fourth quarter on two Catherine Miheve free throws, it appeared that Cathedral was headed to a Section 2A North semi-final game Thursday at Martin Luther College.

The Tigers will meet seventh-seeded Sleepy Eye Public, who upset second-seeded BLH 47-44 at 7:45 Thursday at the Martin Luther College gym.

But Kim Weedman's basket following Miheve's free throws sparked a 20-8 run by the sixth-seeded Tigers upset third-seeded Greyhounds 40-37 Monday night.

Weedman led Springfield (8-15) with 18 points, and Christa Reiner added 12.

Nikki Fischer led Cathedral, who end its season with a 13-11 record, with 14 points.

"This is a tournament game -- everybody is close," said Cathedral coach Mary Dengerud "This is a close sub-section. It is wide open."

Cathedral would hold a slim 17-16 lead at halftime before increasing that lead to a seemingly comfortable 27-18 as they outscored Springfield 10-2. Cathedral scored the first seven points of the quarter on a Toni Hall free throw, an Angela Long bucket off a Tiger turnover and a Catherine Miheve hoop off of a steal by Long.

Fischer followed that with a steal -- the fifth Tiger turnover of the quarter -- for a 24-16 lead before Weedman stopped the run with a basket off a baseline drive at the 2:15 mark.

Cathedral then scored the next five points to assume that 11 point lead before the Tigers and Weedman took over.

"We knew that we had to step up and play better defense," the 5-foot 9 senior said. "We needed to box-out better, get our rebounds and staying solid defensively. We did not play that well in the third quarter."

Hall's basket gave the Greyhounds a 31-20 lead at the 6:50 mark but that would be the last Cathedral points until Fischer hit a jumper at the 5:25 mark.

By then, the Tigers had sliced that 11-point lead into a slim 31-26 margin.

A Weedman three-point play, Krystal Schwanke's free throw and two more charity shots by Weedman put the Tigers back into the game.

Two baskets from Reiner and a lay-up courtesy of Weedman cut the lead to 33-32.

Katie Beranek's jumper for Cathedral was countered by a 6-0 run by Springfield that saw them take a 36-35 lead. It was the first time they led since holding a a 16-13 lead midway through the second quarter.

Springfield coach Paul Arnoldi credited the press -- which forced seven turnovers in the fourth quarter -- as one of the keys to the comeback. "We put Krystal Schwanke on the ball," he said. "I think that she created a lot of things for us. And on offense, I told our kids to be more aggressive and go to the basket. We were not making any shots earlier (one of nine in the third quarter) and I felt that we had to go to the basket and get some layups."

Reiner's basket gave them that 36-35 lead with 50 seconds left in the game. They increased that to a 38-35 lead before Long hit a bucket for the Greyhounds with 25 seconds left in the game.

Two Weedman free throws moved that lead to 40-37 before Fischer's off-balance three-point shot fell short as the game ended.

"Kim is our go-to player," Arnoldi said. "She can score and we were trying to get the ball to her. It worked well in the fourth quarter."

"We knew that a third win against us was going to be a tough one to get," Weedman said. "We were totally ready to play tonight."

SPRINGFIELD 9 7 2 22 -- 40

CATHEDRAL 8 9 10 10 -- 37

SPRINGFIELD (40): Weedman 18, Reiner 12, Stark 3, Guttum 2, Feser 2, Meine 2, Schwanke 1.

CATHEDRAL (37): Fischer 14, Hall 6, K. Beranek 6, Miheve 6, Long 5.