West Central Area, MACCRAY to play for Class 1A state championship

At the end of the regular season, No. 1 seed Goodhue looked primed to defend the Class 1A state title. In its semifinal matchup Friday, West Central Area brought the Wildcats to a halt.

The Knights, the fourth seed in the 1A bracket, claimed a 58-50 victory and moved on to the program’s first title game.

“We were the underdogs, we knew that,” West Central head coach Becca Holland said. “We had nothing to lose and these guys came out and worked their hearts out. Nothing could stop them today.”

Both teams pushed the tempo in the first half, but Goodhue’s scoring troubles started early. Lola Christianson carried her team through a slow-starting first half and was responsible for most of her team’s points. She ended the game with 13 points.

West Central played a solid defensive game, but shooting woes had Goodhue trailing from start to finish. The Wildcats shot 19-for-61 from the field and 2-for-14 on three-pointers, tough numbers when West Central was shooting 45% from the field. The Knights’ 24 turnovers couldn’t open a door for the Wildcats.

“We’ve got a number of capable shooters on our team, so for all of them to struggle is pretty rare,” said Goodhue coach Josh Wieme. “Kendyl [Lodermeier] said it. ... [The Knights) were always in position.”

Those Knights benefitted from deep production. Mya Foslien, Macy Grosz, Jayden Styba and Addison Staples were all in double digits by the final buzzer, with Staples and Grosz also ending with double-digit rebounds.

Seventh-seed MACCRAY pulled off another upset in the Class 1A bracket, this time a comeback victory over No. 3 seed Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Friday in the semifinals.

The Wolverines trailed by no more than nine points late in the first half and in the second half, closed the gap with a trio of three-pointers — plus a couple of free throws from junior forward and Minnesota State Mankato commit Brielle Janssen — to tie the game 46-46 with 7:36 to play.

MACCRAY took the lead about a minute later on a steal and fast-break layup from Janssen. The Knights trailed 58-56 and had possession with under a minute left, but Janssen grabbed her second steal of the game. She sunk one of her 11 free throws with 16.5 seconds remaining to make it a three-point lead.

Janssen finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and six assists.

For the Knights (30-3), sophomore guard Morgan Mathiowetz finished the game with a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds.