Wagner shines as NRHEG girls take third at state

HERE COME THE PANTHERS — Carlie Wagner (3) leads the fast break against Braham. Trailing for NRHEG were Hannah Lundberg (21), Katie Cole (14) and Anna Schlaak. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

An undefeated regular season. A trip to the state tournament. Two wins and two individual awards at state. Oh, and two state records.

Last November, they were merely dreams for the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva girls’ basketball team.

Last week, they came to fruition.

In a four-day odyssey that began Wednesday at Target Center in Minneapolis and ended in dramatic fashion Saturday at Concordia University in St. Paul, the Panthers experienced elation, deflation and a record-setting final frenzy while finishing third in the state in Class AA.

The Panthers, rated No. 2 in the state in the final Associated Press Class AA poll, finished with the best record in school history, 32-1. The only blemish came Friday night at Target Center in a semifinal loss to Sauk Centre, which went on to fall 46-40 to No. 1 ranked Providence Academy in the championship game.

The Panthers opened the tournament with a stunning 75-45 victory over defending state champion Braham as sophomore Carlie Wagner scored 43 points.

After their Friday loss, the Panthers were determined to finish on a positive note.

“We really wanted to end the season with a win,” said Wagner. “We wanted to come back with a strong effort.”

And they did, led by Wagner, who broke state tournament records for most points in game, 48, and most points in a tournament, 112, as the Panthers throttled Pequot Lakes 71-59 in the third-place game.

Wagner and senior teammate Anna Schlaak were named to the all-tournament team.

NRHEG 75, Braham 45

Most of the talk surrounding the 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 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 and 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: 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.

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.

Sauk Centre 56, NRHEG 39

The NRHEG finally met their biggest nemesis of the season.

It was themselves.

They picked a bad time for perhaps their poorest performance of the season.

The loss brought an end to the Panthers’ 31-game winning streak.

So what went wrong for the Panthers?

“What went wrong was when they went to a triangle-and-two (defense) and went man-to-man on Carlie and Jade,” said coach John Schultz. “Others had trouble hitting their shots. Sauk Centre just kept on scoring. We got what we wanted for shots. They just wouldn’t fall.”

That’s for sure.

The Panthers shot 23.3 percent from two-point range (14-for-60) and just 14.8 percent on threes (4-for-27). They were outrebounded 41-38 and turned the ball over 16 times. It was a very rough, physical game in which not many fouls were called. Sauk Centre’s height advantage was evident.

The Mainstreeters (27-4) scored the first four points of the game and never trailed. NRHEG played catch-up all night and at times did it well. They just couldn’t quite climb the hill.

Sauk Center was up 24-12 with two minutes left in the first half, but the Panthers cut it to 24-20 at halftime on baskets by Carlie Wagner, Raelin Schue and Maddie Wagner.

The start of the second half was brutal for the Panthers, who didn’t score until 11 minutes remaining. By then it was 38-22. The closest the Panthers would get was 42-30 with 7:15 remaining.

The Panthers faced a Division I recruit for the second game in a row and this one fared better than Braham’s Rebekah Dahlman. Kaly Peschel, a 6-1 senior who signed with Iowa, had 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks to lead a well-coached Sauk Centre crew.

Individually for NRHEG: Carlie Wagner 21 points, three rebounds, two steals, one block; Jade Schultz six points, four rebounds, one assist; Maddie Wagner five points, two rebounds; Schue four points, three rebounds; Tori Raimann three points, one rebound; Anna Schlaak nine rebounds, three blocks, one steal, one assist; Hannah Lundberg eight rebounds; Katie Cole one rebound, one block.

NRHEG 71, Pequot Lakes 59

The Panthers returned to form at Concordia’s Gangelhoff Center, where Schlaak will play college volleyball this fall.

But Wagner stole the show.

She scored 28 points in the first half as the Panthers took a 40-25 lead. The second half was more of the same, with Pequot Lakes staging a mini-comeback to pull within 65-56 with 2:20 remaining.

Then Wagner took over and the drama ensued.

With fans on their feet, she broke the record on a free throw with 7.9 seconds remaining.

Her three-game total of 112 points was also an all-time tournament record.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you witnessed history today,” said PA announcer Dick Janckowski, voice of the Gophers. “You witnessed history.”

Wagner smiled as NRHEG fans chanted, “Carlie! Carlie! Carlie!”

Wagner made 20 of 34 shots from the floor and seven of 10 free throws, finishing with 48 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and three assists.

Others: Schlaak 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals; Jade Schultz five points, three rebounds, two steals; Maddie Wagner three points, one rebound; Lundberg two points, four rebounds; Schue two points, four rebounds; Cole two points, one rebound; Raimann five rebounds, one steal; Marnie Wagner two rebounds.

It was the Panthers’ first trip to state since 2004, when they finished fourth under coach Mindy Sparby, who was at Concordia to present the Panthers’ medals and trophy on behalf of the Minnesota State High School League.

All in all, it was an experience the Panthers hope to repeat.

“It makes you more hungry,” said Wagner. “We had so much fun. We definitely want to get back here.”

And the future looks bright, with the Panthers graduating only three seniors in Schlaak, Raimann and Krueger. Cole, Schue and Crabtree are juniors. Wagner, Jade Schultz, Lundberg and Paige Overgaard are sophomores. Maddie and Marnie Wagner, Carlie’s twin sisters, are seventh-graders.