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Whitehead helps pace MCW’s Section 2A win over MLAC

Marissa Whitehead

TRIMONT — Emily Anderson snapped the nets in the first half and teammate Marissa Whitehead kept Martin County West ahead in the second.

Anderson and Whitehead combined to score 29 points for the No. 2-seeded Mavericks in a 55-43 Section 2A, South Sub-Section quarterfinal basketball win over the No. 7-seeded Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey Wolverines on Wednesday night in Trimont.

Anderson hit 5 of 5 shots in the first half, including four 3-pointers, to score 14 of her game-high 16 points before the break, while Whitehead converted 4 of 7 shots and 3 of 4 free throws after the intermission for 11 of her 13 points.

With the win, the Mavericks (13-5) move on to play host to No. 3-seeded St. Clair at 7 p.m. Friday in Trimont. The Cyclones needed two overtimes to overcome No. 6-seeded Nicollet/ Loyola 67-62 in their quarterfinal matchup.

The teams went back-and-forth to reach a 16-15 Maverick lead with 9:45 left before the break, then the Mavericks stormed ahead.

Anderson assisted Liv Borchardt for a high-post jumper, then Kari Matejka assisted Anderson for her third 3, all from the right wing.

Anderson connected on her fourth trey from nearly the same spot, this time off an assist from Whitehead, to put the Mavericks ahead 24-17. Whitehead then dished out another of her co-game-high four assists to Katie Lange, who connected on a high-post jumper off the glass.

Brooke Naas ended the Wolverines’ nearly four-minute scoreless run when she scored on a putback attempt.

The Mavericks connected on their next five shots before the break, including two 3s from Matejka, to take a 38-27 lead into the break.

“We came out and did a very nice job,” MCW head coach Roger Taylor said. “We were patient on offense and shot very well. We didn’t rebound very well. … A lot of the points we gave up in the first half were on second-chance opportunities. … We shot well, that was big, and we defended well.

“Second half, we came out a little tight. … They (Wolverines), got a lot of rebounds and loose balls, but our girls held tight. I’m very proud of our girls stepping up and Marissa (Whitehead) played big down the stretch.”

The Wolverines scored the only points of the first three minutes of the second half on three free throws, then Whitehead cut into the post and used an Emily Dunlop assist for the first field goal after the break at the 14:12 mark.

Kate Janzen answered with a pull-up jumper from the free throw line for the Wolverines’ first field goal of the second half seconds later.

Neither team scored for the next three minutes, then the Wolverines started to come back.

Naas hit consecutive shots, then Anika Fast scored two of her team-high 15 points off an assist from Jaci Tollefson.

Fast then turned a steal into a putback 2-pointer to bring the Wolverines within 42-41.

Then Whitehead hit the gas.

Anderson stole a pass then dished the ball to Whitehead sprinting down the court for a fastbreak layup, before Whitehead poked away a steal and turned it into two more points.

Whitehead then used an assist from Anderson for a pull-up shot from the free throw line for her third consecutive Maverick bucket, extending the lead to 48-41 with 3:30 left.

Whitehead connected on 3 of 4 free throws in the final 1:10, while Emily Anderson and Matejka each hit two of two attempts to secure the Maverick victory.

Whitehead complemented her game-controlling second-half offense with a team-high seven rebounds, four steals and four assists. Emily Anderson scored a game-high 16 points to complement five rebounds, while Dunlop brought down five boards and dished out three assists.

Matejka contributed eight points and four assists to the Maverick effort, while Thea Anderson had eight points, four boards and three assists.

Fast contributed a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards, while poking away four steals for the Wolverines, while Janzen scored 11 points and brought down eight boards, complementing three steals.

MLAC 27-16–43

MCW 38-17–55

MCW (55)

E. Anderson 5-6 2-2 16, Whitehead 5-14 3-4 13, Matejka 2-5 2-2 8, T. Anderson 3-5 2-2 8, Lange 2-2 0-0 4, Borchardt 2-4 0-0 4, Larson 1-1 0-0 2, Dunlop 0-2 0-0 0, Reyes 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 20-41 9-10 55.

MLAC (43)

Fast 6-21 2-4 15, Naas 4-19 3-4 11, Tollefson 2-6 2-2 7, Janzen 3-4 0-0 6, Lindschied 1-2 0-0 2, Green 0-0 2-2 2, Osland 0-3 0-0 0, Friesen 0-3 0-0 0, Schroeder 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-59 9-12 43.

3-pointers: Martin County West 6-13 (E. Anderson 4); Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey 2-22. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: MCW 26 (Whitehead 7, Dunlop and E. Anderson 5 each); MLAC 36 (Fast 12, Naas 8). Assists: MCW 17 (Whitehead and Matejka 4 each, T. Anderson 3); MLAC 4 (Tollefson 3). Steals: MCW 13 (Whitehead 4, Dunlop and Lange 3 each); MLAC 13 (Fast 4, Naas 3).

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