WILLMAR -- Willmar's pressure on the perimeter kept Hawley off balance, which led the Cardinals to a 31-20 win in the championship game of the Midwest Wireless Wild-Card Tournament Friday.
Hawley (6-3), a deliberate methodical offensive team, couldn't move the ball around the perimeter to get open shots because of Willmar's suffocating defense.
"We wanted to pressure the guards up front so it's harder to pass on the sides," said Willmar senior guard Dana Guetter.
The Cardinals' defense forced 11 turnovers in the first half and held Hawley to just six points in the first half.
"We felt we couldn't sit in a zone. We needed to force the issue by getting in the passing lanes and getting them going more quickly than they're used to," said Willmar coach Brad Atchison. "I thought Dana played as well defensively as I've ever seen any guard play here. She's our defensive stopper."
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Offensively, the Cardinals found the outside touch they'd been lacking in Thursday's win against Watertown-Mayer. The Nuggets started the game daring Willmar to shoot the ball from behind the arc and the Cardinals responded with sophomore Megan Brown hitting two 3-pointers in 2½ minutes to give Willmar a 14-2 advantage.
"Early, they were giving us that perimeter shot," said Atchison. "(Megan Brown) hitting those two 3s early in the first half really open-ed things up inside."
Guetter hit another trey in to start the second half.
"Everybody seemed to be on today and we were hitting shots at critical times," she said.
Willmar won the tournament shorthanded, playing without three-year starter Andrea Brown (ankle) and top reserve Jamie Wilson, who injured her knee in Thursday's win.
"Our philosophy is 'no excuses.' When someone gets hurt, someone else has to step up and fill that void," said Atchison.
Laura Nielsen scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds to pace the Cardinals. Angie Jetvig had 10 points and five boards for the Nuggets.
Willmar 31, Hawley 20
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Hawley (6-3)...........................6 14 -- 20
Willmar (7-2).........................18 13 -- 31
HAWLEY - 9-24 FG (0-4 3 pt); 2-2 FT; 13 rebounds; 11 fouls ... Scoring: Sam Spaeth 4, Jessica Amann 2, Rachel Ulven 4, Angie Jetvig 10 ... 3-point shots: none ... Rebound leader: Jetvig 5 ... Assist leader: Kaitlyn Gottenborg 2 ... Steal leader: Breanna Schmidt 2
WILLMAR - 12-31 FG (3-11 3 pt); 4-7 FT; 22 rebounds; 9 fouls ... Scoring: Megan Brown 6, Dana Guetter 5, Briana Goldschmidt 4, Katie Holmgren 3, Lisa Nielsen 3, Laura Nielsen 11 ... 3-point shots: Brown 2, Guetter 1 ... Rebound leader: Laura Nielsen 8 ... Assist leader: Guetter 2, Brin Hanson 2, Goldschmidt 2 ... Steal leader: Holmgren 3 ... Blocks: Laura Nielsen 2, Holmgren 2
NEXT -- Willmar: Tuesday at Marshall
