Girls Basketball: Pine Island knocks off upset-minded Lake City

Pine Island’s Cede Finstuen stepped to the free-throw line with one second remaining in a tie game against Lake City Friday, and the Panthers went home with a 36-35 victory and the Hiawatha Valley League Blue Division title.

Finstuen sank her first free-throw and missed the second, finishing with a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers.

“We knew if we could keep their scoring in the 30s we could have a chance of winning,” Lake City head coach Candace Olstad said. “It’s fun to play that tough of a game, that tight of a game against a tough opponent right before heading into the subsection tournament.”

Taylor Koller contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (15-9, 6-6 HVL Blue), Madi Green had 11 points and Breanna Gates scored seven points. Bailey Cronin tallied five points and knocked down the only 3-pointer for Lake City in Friday’s regular season finale.

No other player scored more than six points for Pine Island (21-5, 10-2 HVL Blue) in the win.

Section 1AA seeding takes place Sunday and the first round of the Section 1AA West Subsection begins Thursday.

Tags: girls basketball, lake city, sports, prep