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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.
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A TIME TO SHINE — With NRHEG fans on their feet, Carlie Wagner (3) attempts a shot in the final minutes of Saturday’s third-place game. Below, Wagner breaks the record on a free throw. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The man at the microphone was unmistakable: Dick Janckowski, voice of the Minnesota Gophers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you witnessed history here today,” he boomed. “You witnessed history.”
After joking about Carlie Wagner signing autographs later in the day, Janckowski had his photo taken with Wagner and, before he left the building, indeed did have Wagner sign the scorebook.
It was that kind of day for Wagner and the NRHEG girls’ basketball team.
The Panthers’ sophomore star broke two state records — 48 points in a single game and a three-game total of 112 — as NRHEG finished its season on a winning note, 73-59 over Pequot Lakes in the third-place game of the state tournament Saturday at Concordia University in St. Paul.
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By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG Panthers finally met their biggest nemesis of the season.
It was themselves.
The Panthers picked a bad time for perhaps their poorest performance of the season Friday night in a 56-39 loss to Sauk Centre in the semifinals of the state girls’ basketball tournament at Target Center.
The loss brought an end to the Panthers’ 31-game winning streak and dropped them into the third-place game Saturday at noon at Concordia College in St. Paul.
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.