Girls Basketball: Red Wing goes from fire to ice

The dagger didn’t arrive for Red Wing until there was 29 seconds remaining Friday against Lakeville South.

But it was the Cougars who held it as Grayson Schroeder buried a 3-pointer to give Lakeville South a 53-51 lead, just its third lead of the game.

“It shouldn’t have come down to that shot,” Red Wing head coach Dave Muelken said.

The Wingers lost control of the game in the second half against the Cougars and fell 55-51 at home.

“We didn’t’ take care of the ball and our mental toughness wasn’t very good,” Muelken said. “Just a poor game down the stretch on our part.”

Schroeder finished with 20 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead Lakeville South (3-3). Katie Quandt had 14 points, with just two coming in the second half.

The game started at a torrid pace as both teams scored in transition and from the 3-point line. Red Wing led 13-10 just 4 minutes, 38 seconds into the opening half.

Tesha Buck said her shot felt off in warm-ups for Red Wing (5-1), though it didn’t show in the game’s opening minutes. Buck knocked down her first four 3-pointers and finished the game with a team-high 18 points on six 3’s.

The Wingers continued to outrun the Cougars for open shots and led 38-23 with 2:22 left before halftime on a layup by McKenzie Muelken. Muelken had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Wingers.

Lakeville South fought back with a 6-0 run in the final minute, cutting the deficit to 38-29 at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Cougars went into a zone and slowed the game considerably. Red Wing pushed its lead back to 47-37 on a basket by Macy Kelly, who had 14 points and seven rebounds. But poor shot selection, rebounding and foul trouble took a toll.

Lakeville South controlled the offensive glass in the second half, using its size advantage to full effect. The Cougars finished with 16 offensive rebounds.

“If we can’t rebound, we won’t win,” Dave Muelken said. “Tonight, we didn’t rebound and we didn’t win. You won’t win a ballgame giving up 16 offensive rebounds.”

“You have to have a mentality that you want the ball,” Buck, who had nine rebounds, added. “It’s just a hustle play.”

Lakeville South continued to trim the lead and Schroeder hit a 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining to pull within 51-50.

Senior McKenna Schaffer fouled out on the previous play for the Wingers and Buck picked up her fifth foul on the ensuing offensive possession for Red Wing.

Schroeder hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 29 seconds left and Bree Meier made two free throws for the Cougars with 4.3 seconds left to seal the victory.

Friday’s win was Lakeville South’s third consecutive game against a ranked opponent. The Cougars lost their last two games to fifth-ranked (2A) Esko and top-ranked (4A) Hopkins.

The Wingers won’t have much time to recover as they host Minneapolis Roosevelt today at 2 p.m.

“It’s a good game to take it out on,” Buck said. “Being able to have a game right away to flush that game.”

Tags: girls basketball, red wing, sports, prep