SAUK CENTRE -- In a solid defensive effort, New London-Spicer upended Sauk Centre 40-26 to capture its first West Central North Conference title on Tuesday.
The teams entered the game with identical records, 14-1 in the conference and 23-1 overall.
New London-Spicer had not won a West Central North Conference title in its three previous years in the loop; each time losing out to Albany. But the Wildcats are no stranger to titles, having won the previous 15 straight West Central South titles before the switch four years ago.
NLS will now take on South champion Minnewaska Thursday at 8 p.m. in Glenwood in the inter-conference championship.
The Wildcats led Sauk Centre 19-12 at halftime.
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Kali Peschel had all three of Sauk Centre's field goals in the opening half.
"We really struggled in the first half," said Sauk Centre coach Scott Bergman. "We couldn't get anyone (other than Peschel) to knock down an open shot as a result of their great defense. Typically, we've got some kids that can knock down shots."
Peschel led all scorers with 15 points.
The Wildcats got balanced scoring, as usual. Justine Dammermann led eight players in scoring with nine points. Abbey Knisely had eight points and three blocked shots. Karli Wendlandt added six points and eight rebounds.
NLS 40, Sauk Centre 26
NL-Spicer (15-1, 24-1) 19 21 -- 40
Sauk Centre (14-2, 23-2) 12 14 -- 26
NEW LONDON-SPICER - 16-39 FG (3-12 3-pt); 5-12 FT; 31 rebounds; 16 fouls ... Scoring: Justine Dammermann 9, Abbey Knisely 8, Karli Wendlandt 6, Cassie Ziemer 5, Taylor Thompsen 4, Kelsey Cors 3, Michele Hanson 3, Brianna Jacobson 2 ... 3-point shots: Dammermann 2, Cors 1 ... Rebound leaders: Wendlandt 8, Jacobson 6, Ziemer 5 ... Assist leaders: Dammermann 4, Ziemer 4 ... Steal leaders: Thompsen 3, Wendlandt 3 ... Blocks: Knisely 3
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SAUK CENTRE - 8-36 FG (3-11 3-pt); 7-13 FT; 20 rebounds; 16 fouls ... Scoring: Kali Peschel 15, Maren Greenwaldt 4, Megan Rieland 2, Courtney Nelson 2, Chelsea Donnay 2, Savannah Weller 1 ... 3-point shots: Peschel 2, Greenwaldt 1 ... Rebound leaders: Weller 5 ... Assist leaders: none ... Steal leaders: Greenwaldt 4
