Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Natalie Fischer (23) is helped up by teammates Morgan Mathiowetz (far left), Amelia Schwartz (left of Mathiowetz) and Brynne Ibberson (left of Fischer) after drawing a foul during the Class A Girls Basketball State Tournament semifinals against MACCRAY Friday at Williams Arena.

Photos and story by Ari Selvey

aselvey@nujournal.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Third-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ shot at the state title ended with a last-minute loss to MACCRAY on Friday as the Knights fell 60-56 to the Wolverines in the Class A Girls Basketball State Tournament semifinals at Williams Arena.

“It was going to be a battle all game,” St. Mary’s head coach Bruce Woitas said. “They hit some shots in the second half, I think we had a 5-point lead maybe. Some back and forth the entire time … Had an opportunity to still tie it up, but it didn’t pan out that way. A great game by both teams, the teams played hard and the kids left everything out on the floor. That’s what we ask this time of year. Just a well-played game by both teams, and it’s tough when someone has to lose one of those.”

Seventh-seeded MACCRAY is on somewhat of a Cinderella run this postseason, defeating Minneota in the section semifinals after eight straight state tournament appearances by Minneota and defeating Central Minnesota Christian, who was ranked in the top 10 at times this season, in the section finals. The Wolverines also defeated second-seeded Mayer Lutheran in the opening round of the state tournament before winning over St. Mary’s to advance to the state championship against West Central on Saturday.

Morgan Mathiowetz led the Knights with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Natalie Fischer had 12 points and two rebounds. Brynne Ibberson added 7 points, five assists, three steals and three blocks in just 20 minutes.

Brielle Janssen led the Wolverines with 16 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, while Emma Thein added 12 points and six rebounds.

MACCRAY struggled with turnovers early, but St. Mary’s shooters started cold, despite getting some open looks. The Knights were still able to take a 6-3 lead after a free-throw from Mathiowetz, but MACCRAY scored 7 unanswered, going up 8-6 on a 3-pointer from Callie Jaenisch and 10-6 on a bucket through a foul from Janssen. St. Mary’s responded with a 11-2 run as the shooters came back to form, with Schieffert and Fischer each hitting a shot from behind the arc, along with a deep 3-pointer from Mathiowetz.

The Wolverines cut the lead back to 17-12 with a 3-pointer from Sam Hultrgren, and what followed was a shooting showcase between Janssen and Mathiowetz. Janssen hit a contested 3-pointer as the shot clock went off, and Mathiowetz responded with a step-back 3-pointer. Janssen made another 3-pointer from several feet beyond the arc, and Mathiowetz made another step-back 3 early in the possession.

“Brielle’s a great player,” Mathiowetz said. “I’ve had the privilege of playing against her in AAU. We played for the same club for a while. Just going at it at the high school level at the biggest stage is a little bigger than an AAU practice. Just giving her credit, she’s a great player.”

Mathiowetz got one final 3-pointer to go up 28-23, then forced a turnover that led to a layup from Brynne Ibberson to take a 30-23 lead, the largest of the first half. MACCRAY was able to cut the lead back to 30-26 after a 3-pointer from Ella Hultgren to put the halftime score at 30-26, with Mathiowtez’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer going just long to close out the first period.

MACCRAY made an adjustment in the second half, limiting Mathiowetz’s 3-point attempts by guarding her closely well beyond the arc. Mathiowetz said that it was important to stay under control, no matter what a team throws at her defensively.

“Brielle’s a great player, and I’m sure she’s in that same boat a lot of the time,” Mathiowetz said. “I would just say staging composed throughout the game, that’s the biggest thing. When you get really worked up, it goes against you and against your favor. Staying composed and finding the shots you always take and trying not to force. It happens throughout the game, but just trusting your teammates and allowing them to take open shots and creating for other people.”

Ibberson started the second half with a 3-pointer to extend that lead out to 33-26, and the team traded buckets for several possessions, with MACCRAY calling a timeout down 39-33 with 12:17 to play. The Wolverines worked their way back to a 2-point deficit on a 3-pointer from Ella Hultgren, then tied the game at 46 on a 3-pointer from Sam Hultgren.

“They went on a run,” Mathiowetz said. “They tried to have an answer back, but we kind of went head to head each possession. Just knowing that there’s a lot of time left in the game, so anything can happen, so not getting so worked up about them getting a bucket and knowing we had to come down and stay aggressive and keep trying to be consistent on the offensive side of the ball.”

A baseline jumper from Amelia Schwartz gave St. Mary’s the lead once more, but MACCRAY took a 53-51 lead on a pair of free throws from Janssen. MACCRAY maintained a narrow advantage, with the teams going back and forth for several minutes. A full-court pass from Mathiowetz to Fischer in transition tied the game once more at 56 with 1:11 to play in the game. The Wolverines were in the double bonus, and Janssen made two free throws to take the lead once more.

St. Mary’s was unable to get a shot off on its next possession, turning it over late in the shot clock, and Janssen was able to work several seconds off the clock as she was being guarded by Mathiowetz, who was sitting at four fouls.

“You have to be a lot less aggressive when you have four fouls,” Mathiowetz said. “That changes my game, because I’m a pretty aggressive player and I like to go for a steal. Just dialing back and being smart knowing that I had four fouls. It does change the game for us and that’s my bad for getting four fouls in the first place. Just having that background of basketball and knowing what you have to do and just being smart.”

St. Mary’s finally got a foul off, and Janssen missed one of her free throws to make it a 59-56 game. Mathiowetz took one final shot, a deep 3-pointer, but the ball went just long once more, with Janssen hauling in the rebound to seal the game.

“My teammates trust me with the ball at the end of the game,” Mathiowetz said. “Knowing that I had to step up and take shots. I’ve had to take a lot of big shots in big games. I’m kind of used to it by now. But knowing that not every shot is going to go in, and next time I’m going to have to keep shooting it, otherwise I’m not giving my teammates by best game.”

St. Mary’s will now take on top-seeded Goodhue in the third-place game Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Gangelhoff Center. St. Mary’s has never played for a third-place state finish, as there was no consolation bracket in 2021 and the Knights lost in the first round in 2005 and 1999.

“We’re excited we get to play one more game,” Woitas said. “Our senior gets to play one more game in third place. We’re playing a very good Goodhue team. I would say they kind of got upset by West Central. West Central’s a very good team, but Goodhue was probably the favorite to win this again this year. We’ve got a tough battle ahead of us [Saturday] in that third-place game, but our kids will show up and play hard. We’re just happy we get that opportunity to play another game yet.”