Girls Basketball: Goodhue advances to subsection finals

It took some work but the Goodhue girls basketball team wore out Cleveland in the second half of a 66-39 victory Monday during Section 1A playoffs at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.

Senior Erica Tipcke led the top-seeded Wildcats with 21 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Mikayla Miller scored 16 points to go along with three steals and sophomore Kali Ryan had 11 points, two assists, three rebounds and two steals.

“It took a little bit,” Goodhue head coach Josh Wieme said. “(Cleveland) played pretty well. They were hitting some tough shots in the first half.”

Cleveland stayed with the Wildcats out of the gate and trailed just 17-14 with 8 minutes, 41 seconds left in the opening half but Goodhue’s offense pushed the lead back to 22-14 two minutes later. Miller paced the Wildcats with 13 points before halftime.

“Offensively, things were very good,” Wieme said. “But we would force things sometimes … they’re still improving, they’re not a finished product by any means.”

In the final minutes of the first half, it was the Wildcats’ defense that started an 11-3 run to go into halftime leading 31-22. Goodhue sped Cleveland up and forced 22 turnovers in the game.

“We finally got a push,” Wieme said. “Eventually our ‘D’ got to them.”

In the second half, the Wildcats had little trouble with Cleveland, shooting 45 percent in the game and extending the lead to 20 points midway through the half.

Goodhue will face second-seeded Bethlehem Academy Friday at the Mayo Civic Auditorium. The game starts at 8 p.m.

Tags: girls basketball, sports, prep, goodhue