WILLMAR - State title dreams held by the Ridgewater Lady Warriors were dashed on Saturday night, but Sunday was a new day.
"We didn't want the season to end today," said sophomore forward Katie Johnson.
The Lady Warriors outscored Rochester 37-15 in the second half to swat the Yellowjackets 65-49 for the third-place trophy at the MCCC women's basketball tournament.
The win propels Ridgewater into the two-team Region 13A playoff this coming weekend against Minneapolis. The Marauders will host the one-game match to decide which team will advance to the NJCAA Division III tournament.
Minneapolis and Ridgewater tied for the Southern Division title both at 8-2. Itasca, which whipped Minneapolis 79-74 in the championship game, had tipped Ridgewater 61-56 in the semifinals.
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"Itasca was a win we could have had," said Johnson of the semifinal loss. "But they were scrappy going after every lose ball. They got some key rebounds at the end and made the big shots."
The Lady Warriors still looked off their game on Sunday afternoon trailing Rochester 34-28 at halftime.
"It was tough to bounce back," said Ridgewater sophomore guard Jenny Cunningham. "Coach (Carrie Ogdahl) told us at halftime to pass the ball, have fun and quit being so crabby. So we pulled together and played a great half defensively."
Ridgewater's returning all-MCCC center Terra Billiet average 21 points and 12.3 rebounds in the three games to head the all-tournament team.
Ridgewater 65, Rochester 49
Cunningham triggered the defensive pressure with most of her eight steals in the second half, two leading to uncontested layups as Ridgewater caught and quickly passes the Yellowjackets (17-12).
Billiet scored 16 points and stabbed 11 rebounds and Sarah Primus had a big game also with 14 points and six rebounds. Six-foot Rebekah Fitzgerald, also returning all-MCCC first team, supplied 19 points and 10 rebounds for Rochester.
"It's hard to come back after a loss," said Ridgewater point guard Kayla Karnes. "Mentally and physically you're more tired. But in the second half, stopped trying to do things on our own and started working together."
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Rochester (17-12) 34 15 - 49
Ridgewater (19-7) 28 37 - 65
ITASCA - 16-43 FG (4-16 3 pt); 13-17 FT; 39 rebounds; 21 fouls ... Scoring: Chelsea Jajowka 2-5 0-1 6, Megan Linbo 3-4 0-0 6, Rachel Tews 0-4 4-4 4, Jenna Maggert 1-4 0-0 3, Jessi O'Leary 1-5 0-0 2, Rebekah Fitzgerald 5-11 9-12 19, Brittany Gladis 4-8 0--0 9 ... 3-point shots: Jajowka 2-5, Maggert 1-2, Gladis 1-4 ... Rebound leader: Fitzgerald 10, Gladis 9 ... Assist leader: Maggert 4 ... Steal leader: Fitzgerald 2, O'Leary 2 ... Blocked shots: Fitzgerald 3
RIDGEWATER - 24-64 FG (2-9 3 pt); 15-26 FT; 36 rebounds; 16 fouls ... Scoring: Kayla Karnes 2-7 0-0 5, Jenny Cunningham 2-5 3-6 7, Jamie Munson 2-8 3-4 8, Melissa Sterkel 2-2 2-4 6, Sarah Primus 5-9 4-5 14, Amy Ballard 1-2 0-0 2, Katie Johnson 2-12 3-5 7, Terra Billiet 8-17 0-2 16 ... 3-point shots: Karnes 1-3, Munson 1-3 ... Rebound leader: Billiet 11, Primus 6, Johnson 5, Cunningham 3 ... Assist leader: Karnes 4, Cunningham 4, Munson 3 ... Steal leader: Cunningham 8, Johnson 3, Munson 2, Sterkel 2
Result Saturday
Itasca 61, Ridgewater 56
The game was back and forth for the first 35 minutes. But with six minutes and leading 52-46, the Lady Warriors' offensive engine slipped into neutral against the Vikings' zone. Itasca outscored the home team 15-4 the rest of the way.
Ridgewater shot poorly (0-for-14 on three-pointers), except for Billiet who was 12-of-16 from the field on the way to 29 points plus 12 rebounds.
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The five starters scored all but two of Itasca's points led by center Kari Virkus with 19 and wing Tarah Geisler at 18.
Itasca College (22-5) 24 37 - 61
Ridgewater (18-7) 22 34 - 56
ITASCA COLLEGE - 24-55 FG (1-3 3 pt); 12-20 FT; 39 rebounds; 15 fouls ... Scoring: Chelsea Geisler 1-5 0-0 2, Cary Zimmer 5-7 0-0 10, Joslin Geisler 4-10 2-3 10, Tarah Geisler 5-13 7-10 18, Amy Fiala 1-3 0-2 2, Kari Virkus 8-17 3-5 19 ... 3-point shots: T. Geisler 1-3 ... Rebound leader: Virkus 9, T. Geisler 6 ... Assist leader: J. Geisler 6 ... Steal leader: T. Geisler 5 ... Blocked shots: Virkus 2
RIDGEWATER - 22-60 FG (0-14 3 pt); 12-16; 35 rebounds; 17 fouls ... Scoring: Kayla Karnes 1-9 1-2 3, Jenny Cunningham 3-9 2-2 8, Ashley Olson 0-2 0-0 0, Jamie Munson 2-10 2-2 6, Melissa Sterkel 0-1 0-0 0, Sarah Primus 1-4 0-0 2, Amy Ballard 1-2 0-0 2, Katie Johnson 2-7 2-4 6, Terra Billiet 12-16 5-6 29 ... 3-point shots: none ... Rebound leader: Billiet 9, Cunningham 4, Munson 5, Primus 4, Katie Johnson 4 ... Assist leader: Karnes 5, Cunningham 3, Munson 2 ... Steal leader: Karnes 3, Johnson 2 ... Blocked shots: Billiet 2
