West Central Area, MACCRAY to play for Class 1A girls basketball 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,” Goodhue coach Josh Wieme said. “Kendyl [Lodermeier] said it. ... [The Knights] were always in position.”

Those Knights benefited 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.

The Wolverines trailed by nine points in the second half but closed the gap with two three-pointers by Sam Hultgren and one by Ella Hultgren — plus a couple of free throws from junior forward and Minnesota State Mankato commit Brielle Janssen — to tie it 46-46 with 7:36 to play.

MACCRAY (25-5) took the lead about a minute later on a steal and fast-break layup by Janssen. The Knights trailed 58-56 and had possession with under a minute left, but Janssen grabbed her second steal of the game. She made one of her 11 free throws with 16.5 seconds remaining to make it a three-point lead.

“It was going to be a battle all game,” SESM coach Bruce Woitas said. “… [MACCRAY] hit some big shots in the second half. … As a coach, there’s obviously a possession we’d like to have back. Like that last second before, I should’ve probably taken a timeout. … Had an opportunity to tie it up, just didn’t pan out today.”

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

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

“Throughout the playoffs, they’ve hit a lot of big shots,” coach Shaun Condon said. “And throughout the entire year. That’s kind of usually how it works. Brielle draws a lot of attention. Brielle eventually makes the right play, and these girls hit shots. And when you put them in the corner, I just call them Walker and Texas Ranger because they’re shooters.”

Sam Hultgren (aka Texas Ranger) explained her approach: