The last stopped Stillman Valley from being first.
And also showed why the last is first.
Genoa-Kingston proved its No. 1 seed in its own Class 2A regional isn’t a fluke when it denied the Cardinals a share of the Big Northern West title with a 53-51 upset Friday.
“This means a lot. This is one of the best feelings we’ve had in a long time,” said Molly Meier, who scored 19 points to lead the Cogs (12-13, but last in the BNC West at 2-8). “We know we’re a good team; we just have a tough conference. This shows that we deserve that No. 1 spot.”
The loss left the Cardinals (13-9, 6-4) in tears after an up-and-down 24 hours. Stillman seemed out of the conference race until Oregon snapped a five-game losing streak with an upset of Lutheran on Thursday. But the Cardinals couldn’t cash in on that reprieve, not even with point guard Val McKnight scoring 20 of her 25 points in the second half Friday.
“I tried my hardest for my team and my coach,” McKnight said. “It was about time we tried to win conference.”
McKnight kept driving into crowds of Cogs, throwing her body at the basket, and made 8 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes.
“That’s how she is all the time,” Stillman coach Heather Alderks said. “She’ll do anything she can to win.”
The Cogs — who have now won three in a row after losing seven of their previous eight — wiped out a 34-25 deficit with a 17-2 run, featuring a 3-pointer and two other three-point plays by Meier. Mariah Sartorious, a 6-foot junior center, added 16 points as Genoa-Kingston dominated inside. But the Cogs missed 19 free throws (out of 34) to keep Stillman alive.
McKnight’s 3-pointer for the lead and runner in the lane to tie both bounced off the front rim in the final 10 seconds. The Cogs missed two free throws with 6.1 seconds left, giving Stillman one last shot. Cassie Glendenning drove the length of the floor but had a short baseline jumper blocked in a crowd at the buzzer.
“It was a clean block,” Alderks said.
After the game, Glendenning texted Lutheran guard Dawn Martin that the Cardinals had lost, which gave Lutheran (20-6, 7-3) its first title since joining the Big Northern six years ago.
“My entire team was standing together when the text came,” Lutheran coach Joni Carlson said in a phone interview. “I knew as soon as I heard it that Stillman lost. I’m so proud of the kids. They did it all themselves — with a little help from others.”
Lutheran won the title outright by beating Byron 51-40. Heather Baier scored 13 points, Laura Rushing 12, Martin 11 and Callie Rezin 10.
“We had such a whirlwind of emotions after Thursday’s loss,” Martin said, “and a whole different set of emotions after tonight. It’s funny how one game can change everything.”
Or not. Stillman plans to keep chasing a title when regionals start Monday. The Cardinals are seeded second behind Lutheran in the Byron Regional.
“We wanted conference badly,” McKnight said, “but what we’re really looking forward to is regionals. Postseason is the best part of the game.”
- Matt Trowbridge, rrstar.com
