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December 21, 1999
MVL stops HoundsBy BOB VARMETTE Journal Sports Writer NEW ULM -- Now you would think a 24-point win would've made a nice Christmas present for just about any coach. Not so for Minnesota Valley Lutheran coach John Barenz, less than thrilled after the Chargers' 62-38 thumping of the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds Monday night in Tomahawk Conference girls basketball. "I felt that we were in slow motion the whole game," Barenz said. "We didn't play to our ability. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the win, but overall we didn't do the kind of things we talked about doing." It's hard to imagine what those things might be. Except for a 6-for-15 (40.0 percent) performance from the free throw line, MVL (4-1, 4-0) did pretty much whatever it wanted. The Chargers owned the boards, outrebounding Cathedral (2-4, 1-4) 44-28, including 10 offensive rebounds. The Chargers also owned the inside. MVL's twin towers of junior Sarah Gronholz and freshman Jessica Merseth combined for 21 points and 14 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 Gronholz had 14 points -- all inside -- and blocked six shots in addition to intimidating several others. And she never got herself into foul trouble -- a big difference in her game from last season. "It was pretty awesome, it really feels good," Gronholz said. "I've learned to control myself. I see how the refs are calling the game and I play from there." Still, Barenz was cautious. "Sarah, Jessica inside, and certainly Leah, got some real nice looks," Barenz said. "(But) I thought they took us out of things we wanted to do. Their hustle, their scrappiness kept us from doing things." Gronholz came up big for MVL in the quarter, scoring six points as the Chargers ran away from the Greyhounds. Up by 10 at the start of the second half, MVL went on a 10-0 run with all five field goals coming inside. "I really don't know what to say," Cathedral coach Mary Dengerud said. " "We just did not play very well. We had too many turnovers, too many mistakes." Those mistakes included 29 turnovers and 27 team fouls. The Greyhounds were also victimized by terrible shooting. Cathedral shot 14-for-50 (28 percent) from the field and put only one player in double figures -- senior Laura Hazuka had 10 points for the Greyhounds. MVL, on the other hand, was as hot from the field in the second half as it was cold outside. The Chargers were 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) in the final two quarters and shot 47.1 percent for the night. "We do have the two big posts," Gronholz said. "We get our wings to keep throwing the ball inside and the outside will open up, too, and they'll get their shots." Leah Morgan led the Chargers with a game-high 15 points, hitting 5-for-9 from the field. The Chargers were clearly the team to beat, even if they were in slow motion. After the first 3:12, MVL was only 6-4, despite five turnovers from Cathedral. But by the end of the first quarter, Gronholz had the Chargers up 16-8, having set the tone for the Chargers' defensively with three blocked shots. The Greyhounds reluctantly ventured inside the paint the final three quarters and watched as the Chargers pulled away. "With Bethany (Bauer) gone, everyone was not sure how we were going to do," Gronholz said. "But we have a lot of confidence, we plan to go far this year." In the junior varsity game, MVL won, 33-27. CATHEDRAL 8 12 10 8--38 MVL 16 14 20 12--62 NEW ULM CATHEDRAL (38): N. Haala 0-4 0-0 0, S. Beranek 1-5 4-5 6, Hodapp 0-1 0-0 0, Boettger 4-10 1-4 9, A. Haala 0-3 0-0 0, Wolfe 3-8 3-3 9, Franta 0-1 0-0 0, Miheve 1-4 0-2 2, Hazuka 4-11 2-2 10, Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Genelin 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 14-50 10-16 38. MINNESOTA VALLEY LUTHERAN (62): Nelson 1-1 5-10 7, Grams 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan 5-9 5-8 15, Madson 1-1 0-0 2, Czer 5-11 0-4 10, Gronholz 6-14 2-7 14, Dzwonkowski 1-2 0-0 2, Merseth 3-10 1-2 7, Enter 1-2 1-2 3, Doehling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 14-33 62. 3-Point Goals--Cathedral 0-4 (S. Beranek 0-1, Wolfe 0-1, Genelin 0-2), MVL 0-1 (Czer 0-1). Fouled out--Miheve. Total Fouls--Cathedral 27, MVL 15. Rebounds--Cathedral 28 (Hazuka 8), MVL 44 (Merseth 9). Turnovers--Cathedral 29, MVL 27.
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