NRHEG stuns Braham in state quarterfinals
TWO OF THE FINEST — Carlie Wagner of NRHEG (3) drives to the basket against Rebekah Dahlman of Braham (left) during the quarterfinals of the state girls' basketball tournament at Target Center in Minneapolis Wednesday night. Wagner scored a career-high 43 points as the Panthers won 75-45. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)
ON TO THE SEMIFINALS — NRHEG girls' basketball players display their jubilation near the end of Wednesday night's state tournament victory over defending state champion Braham at Target Center in Minneapolis. The Panthers' next game is Friday at 6 p.m. at Target Center.
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
Eleven busloads of NRHEG girls’ basketball fans went home happy from Minneapolis Wednesday night.
The Panthers’ dream season continued with a stunning 75-45 victory over defending Class AA state champion Braham in the quarterfinals of the state tournament at Target Center.
The Panthers, now 31-0, advanced to the semifinals against Sauk Centre Friday at 6 p.m. at Target Center. If they win, they’ll play for the state championship Saturday at 2 p.m. at Target Center. A Friday night loss would put the Panthers in the third-place game Saturday at noon at Concordia College. Braham finished 29-2.
Most of the talk surrounding the Panthers’ first-round game centered on Braham junior Rebekah Dahlman, who during the game became the state’s all-time leading scorer in girls’ basketball.
By the end of the night, she was congratulating Panther sophomore Carlie Wagner, who lit it up for a career-high 43 points, four shy of the single-game state tournament record.
“What a good player,” said Dahlman after the game. “I went up and talked to her, told her she has a bright future, that she’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”
The start of the game had Panther fans a bit worried. NRHEG could not find the basket, and turnovers led to an 8-0 lead for Braham. Then coach John Schultz called time out.
“All we talked about was defense,” said Schultz. “We wanted to make sure we got a hand in Dahlman’s face. After that she was blanketed. Our team is playing as good of defense as we ever have.”
And Wagner wasn’t bad offensively, scoring the Panthers’ first 13 points as they pulled into a 13-13 tie and took a 27-19 lead at halftime.
The Bombers’ final attempt in the first half seemed to sum up the night as Dahlman missed a three-pointer and slammed her hand on the court.
Wagner scored the Panthers’ first seven points in the second half as they pulled ahead 35-23. By the midway point it was 54-33. Both coaches cleared their benches in the final minutes.
Wagner finished with 43 points, six rebounds and three assists. Also for the Panthers: Anna Schlaak 16 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, one assist, one blocked shot; Jade Schultz seven points, nine rebounds, one assist; Raelin Schue four points, two rebounds; Katie Cole two points, five rebounds; Maddie Wagner two points, one rebound; Abby Crabtree one point.
NRHEG had a great fan following with a reported 11 buses and countless cars making the trip to Minneapolis. The Panthers had nearly twice as many fans as Braham at Target Center.
After the game, as the teams awaited the head coaches in the locker room, Braham assistant coach Nate Dahlman approached NRHEG assistant coach Grant Berg.
“It was an honor to play against your team,” said Dahlman. “Now go win the whole thing.”
Coach Schultz, when asked what happened as the Panthers blew out the defending state champions, simply pointed at Wagner.
“That happened,” he said.