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March 15, 2000
Chargers upsetKenyon in 1AquarterfinalBy PAUL DUNLAP Journal Sports Editor MANKATO -- The Minnesota Valley Lutheran girls basketball team had better be used to playing on raised floors. After the Chargers' gutsy 42-37 overtime win over Kenyon-Wanamingo in State Class A quarterfinal action Tuesday, the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena -- and its historic floor -- awaits. "First, I'd like to say congratulations to coach (Steven) Alger and the players of Kenyon-Wanamingo," MVL coach John Barenz said. "They have a great team, and in some respects right now I don't even know how we stopped them. "We came out, I thought, ready to play, and we had a good gameplan coming in. We made a few tweaks here and there to get us through to the end of the game -- what a great performance from our girls, just outstanding." The Chargers took advantage of poor Kenyon-Wanamingo shooting in the beginning as Sarah Gronholz, Leah Morgan, and Jessica Merseth hit baskets in a 6-0 run for a 10-3 MVL lead. The score would be 11-5 at the end of one, but Gronholz, MVL's 6-foot junior post, was already saddled with a pair of fouls. She got her third with 5:06 left in the first half, but Merseth, as she did all game, picked up the slack. She scored five of MVL's nine points in the quarter as the Chargers survived two Kasi Quam 3-pointers for a 20-14 halftime lead. "I was concerned about (not taking advantage), but I wasn't convinced that (K-W) was a good shooting team," Barenz said. "When I scouted them I wasn't convinced at all; that's why we played a little bit of zone." The Knights were going to get hot sooner or later, and they came out bombing in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Megan Wieme pulled Kenyon within a point, and Quam's third trey knotted the game at 22 with 5:52 left in the period. Molly Kissner's bucket gave the Knights their first lead of the game since 1-0 at 26-24, but they would not hit another 3-pointer the rest of the way. "We just took our man-to-man and put it inside the arc, tried to front real well," Barenz commented. "When they got hot, we took our man and we went outside the arc. That (adjustment) seemed to stem the tide, and turn the tide in our favor." A Wieme jumper would give the Knights their largest lead of the game, at 30-25, before Gronholz heated up with six points in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back buckets by Merseth and Gronholz knotted the game at 33, and Gronholz's jumper would tie the game again at 35. Kenyon would stall for the final two minutes of regulation, but a staunch Charger defense didn't allow a shot until Quam's prayer in the final seconds bounced off. "Our defense won the game for us," Barenz said. "There's no question about that." The Knights would shoot themselves in the foot from the free-throw line in the extra session, making just 2 of 11 opportunities. Gronholz had fouled out with 3:20 left on a questionable blocking call, but Merseth came up with a number of huge boards against a bigger Amanda Haugen as MVL slowly began to take control. "Jessica really loves the big game, I think," Barenz said of his freshman post. "She's not affected by all of the people or the enormity of the game -- she loves playing it as well as she can. I wasn't worried at all because in the huddle she's a real team leader, and she did the kinds of things, like rebounding, that got us through." Another hero in the overtime was junior forward Erin Czer, who missed some breakaway layups during regulation but came through with two big ones in the overtime. Her second gave the Chargers a 42-36 edge in the final minute. "She made some important layups in the overtime, that's true," Barenz said, "but Erin's value to us is not so much offense, although that helps. Her defense is what keeps us going; she's as scrappy as any player in the state, and we put her on the opponent's best player. We did that tonight, and I thought she kept Kissner (seven points, seven rebounds) in check." Otto Arena exploded in a sea of blue and white as the final seconds ticked off, and the Chargers are now off to the semifinals. MVL, now 22-5 on the season, will face the Ogilvie at 1 p.m. Friday at Williams Arena. Merseth finished with game highs in points (15) and rebounds (11) to lead the Charger effort. Gronholz, despite foul trouble, ended with 10 points and seven boards, and Czer added nine points and eight rebounds. Quam hit for 13 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Kenyon-Wanamingo. Haugen had 10 points and six rebounds. NOTE: Before MVL's section championship win over Nicollet this past Friday, Barenz was named the Section 2A Coach of the Year by his peers. He was reluctant to talk about the honor. "I think good players make good coaches," he said, "and I give the credit to our players. They have played very, very, very well, and in that regard it's been an honor, and a lot of fun, to have the opportunity to coach this team. No matter what happens in the next two games, I know these girls ... we're going to hate to see this season end." KENYON-WANAMINGO 5 9 14 7 2--37 MVL 11 9 5 10 7--42 KENYON-WANAMINGO (37): Quam 13, Haugen 10, Kissner 7, Wieme 5, Gillen 2. MVL (42): Merseth 15, Gronholz 10, Czer 9, Madson 5, Morgan 2, Enter 1.
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