Saturday night the Lady Bulldogs strolled down Highway 55 to face the Eagles. Eden Valley-Watkins came into the game with an 11-4 record and were undefeated in their conference (8-0). They have been led by their sophomore guards, Katie Huschle and Mandy Pearson. Saturday would be a continuance of this pattern.
Paynesville jumped out to a 14-8 lead about six minutes into the game. Senior Amber Michaelis would spark the Lady Bulldogs with six points in the first quarter. As the horn sounded in the first, Paynesville held a 16-11 lead.
The offense would reappear in the second quarter behind post players, Carin Frenchick and Tanya Lieser. The two juniors accounted for 12 of the 19 second quarter points. Three beautiful passes from Michaelis allowed for the inside game to be successful. The halftime lead was 35-29.
In the third quarter Tanya Lieser led the charge as she netted 10 points. Paynesville would only have 11 shot attempts from the field and free-throw line combined, but they made the most of them as they were successful on 10 of the 11 shots taken.
The Lady Bulldogs headed into the fourth clinging to a 50-46 lead over the Eagles. Going into the fourth quarter, Paynesville was shooting 63 percent from the field (22 out of 35). Hoops would be much more difficult in the fourth as Paynesville’s only basket would be a three-pointer from Michaelis.
Having the ball with less than ten seconds in regulation and a tie ball game, Paynesville was unable to get a shot off. The Eagles would gain possession and have a shot partially blocked with three seconds left.
Overtime would be controlled by EV-W’s Mandy Pearson. The point guard would get two steals and six points in the extra frame. Paynesville once again had a chance to win the game. Misfortune would resurface as Paynesville would turn the ball over in their last possession.
Paynesville : 16 19 15 7 4 - 61
EV-W: 11 18 17 11 7 - 64
St. Cloud Cathedral
Friday night was “girl’s youth basketball night” as future Lady Bulldogs cheered the girls on from directly behind the bench. Their energy was needed as Paynesville clashed with the defending conference champions.
Having lost by 13 earlier this year, it was time for the Lady Bulldogs to seek revenge. Junior Carin Frenchick set the tone with an early five points. The inside game of Paynesville would be tested as Cathedral started three girls at least 5’11”. Cathedral would find foul trouble early in the game, but Paynesville did not capitalize and they went into the lockerroom trailing 29-25.
The Lady Bulldogs’ shooting in the third quarter was terrible as only three of the 13 shots would fall. Paynesville had six open looks from the three-point line, but only one would drop.
Down by seven at the start of the last quarter, the Lady Bulldogs mounted a strong comeback. Sparked by junior Cindy Lang’s three-pointer, Paynesville would close in with two points.
Cathedral’s lead would climb to four, but Tanya Lieser responded with a three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to only a single point. Forced to foul, Cathedral went to the line and made one out of two.
Down by two and the ball, the Lady Bulldogs planned a screen and roll on the right side. Cathedral would trap Michaelis on the baseline, and force a turnover.
Cathedral would turn the ball back over to Paynesville with two seconds left. Michaelis threw a three-quarter court pass that sailed over everyone as the clock ran out.
Carin Frenchick would post a season high 12 rebounds in the losing effort.
Cathedral: 17 12 10 9 - 48
Paynesville: 15 10 7 14 - 46