Kelliher-Northome shuts down Sacred Heart for their first trip to the State Girls Basketball tournament

The #2-ranked Kelliher-Northome Mustangs used phenomenal defense to shut down the #9-ranked Sacred Heart Eagles Girls Basketball team for a 66-45 victory in the Section 8A Championship game played at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls. It will be the first-ever trip to the state girls basketball tournament for Kelliher-Northome.

FIRST HALF –
Kelliher-Northome’s Kate Thayer started the scoring with the first four points, and the first several minutes were a defensive battle. Sacred Heart got on the board with a Finley Horken basket, followed by a basket from Lexi Lawrence to tie the game at 4-4. The Mustang’s Thayer answered with four more points for an 8-4 lead. The teams exchanged baskets, and Kelliher-Northome led 18-11 halfway through the half. Sacred Heart’s Lexi Lawrence made one free throw, and Bryn Stevens made a basket to bring the Eagles within an 18-14 deficit. It was at this point that the game was flipped as Kelliher-Northome went on a 14-0 run. The run was started with a three-pointer and a steal for a layup by Thayer. Kylee Binkley followed with four points, Ali Lundin added a basket, and Charli Hallstrom buried a three-pointer for a 32-14 lead with less than six minutes left in the half. The teams exchanged baskets in the final five minutes, and Kelliher-Northome took a 37-21 lead into halftime.
Sacred Heart committed 14 turnovers in the first half, which the Mustangs turned into points.

SECOND HALF –
Kelliher-Northome led 41-23 when Sacred Heart put an 8-0 run together with five points from Lawrence and an Izzy Cwikla three-pointer, and four minutes into the half to get within a 41-31 deficit. Kelliher-Northome answered with a Binkley basket, followed by a Thayer basket for a 45-31 lead. The Mustangs continued to battle and led 49-34 when Hallstrom and Lundin scored baskets for a 53-34 lead with eight minutes left in the game. Sacred Heart bounced back with baskets from Cwikla and Finley Horken to get within a 53-39 deficit. As they did all game, the Mustangs answered with baskets from Binkley and Hallstrom for a 57-39 lead. Sacred Heart’s Lexi Lawrence followed with three points from the free throw line over a 50-second span before Binkley had an outstanding effort for a three-point play. Sacred Heart’s Leah Sunby made a three-pointer with 2:16 left in the game, and nobody scored the rest of the way as the Kelliher-Northome Mustangs won the game 66-45.

Kelliher-Northome improves to 29-1 on the season and will make their first trip to the State Girls Basketball tournament next week. Sacred Heart’s season comes to an end with a 25-5 record, and they say goodbye to a pair of seniors: Izzy Cwikla and Mackenzie Gjerswold.