MORRIS -- Hancock's second-half rally came up short as Parkers Prairie held off the Owls for a 43-42 victory in the Section 6A-South girls basketball championship game Tuesday.
Hancock (22-4) trailed 22-15 at halftime and was in a 38-32 hole with about six minutes left. The Owls went on a 7-1 run -- helped by Illissa Koehl's four points -- to tie the game with four minutes left.
Parkers Prairie (25-2), the No. 5-ranked team in Class A, took a 42-39 lead with a three-pointer from Micaela Noga, but Hancock answered with a basket from Kendra Schmidgall one minute later and a free throw from Bree Holleman with 1:46 left.
"We went inside to Kendra Schmidgall quite a bit," said Hancock coach Jodi Holleman, who celebrated her birthday Tuesday. "They really didn't have an answer for her."
Then the Owls milked the clock with the game tied to about eight seconds left, when Parkers Prairie got the ball back after a loose ball went out of bounds.
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"We were holding the ball for a last-second shot," Jodi Holleman noted.
Noga drove into the lane on the inbounds, picked up a foul and made 1-of-2 shots to give the Panthers a one-point lead with less than two seconds left.
Hancock's last-second attempt didn't get close to the rim.
Parkers Prairie, which beat the Owls 67-59 in this same gym Feb. 13, had a balanced scoring attack with Sari Noga, a University of Minnesota recruit, Micaela Noga and Madison Dorn scoring 12 points each.
Schmidgall paced Hancock with 19 points and six rebounds. Koehl added 11. Holleman, the area's career girls scoring leader, was held to seven points, but contributed four rebounds and five assists.
Parkers Prairie 43, Hancock 42
Hancock (22-4) 15 27 -- 42
Parkers Prairie (25-2) 22 21 -- 43
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HANCOCK - 14-35 FG (4-11 3-pt); 10-13 FT; 22 rebounds; 16 fouls ... Scoring: Kendra Schmidgall 19, Illissa Koehl 11, Bree Holleman 7, Lindsie Cunnigham 3, Aria Walstad 2 ... 3-point shots: Holleman 1, Schmidgall 1, Koehl 2 ... Rebound leader: Schmidgall 6 ... Assist leaders: Holleman 5 ... Steal leaders: Schmidgall 2
PARKERS PRAIRIE - 10 FG (6 3-pt); 12-17 FT; rebounds not available; 14 fouls ... Scoring: Micaela Noga 12, Kaylee Dorn 2, Sari Noga 12, Madison Dorn 12, Jazmyn Dorn 5 ... 3-point shots: M.Dorn 3, M.Noga 2, S.Noga 1 ... Rebound leaders: S.Noga 5 ... Assist leaders: S.Noga 3 ... Steal leaders: not available
