ROCHESTER JOHN MARSHALL 68, MANKATO WEST 59
Rochester John Marshall picked up a key road win in the Big 9
conference race, and their finishing kick left host #9AAA Mankato West in the dust 68-59. Both teams lost games last week. In the Rochester tournament JM was knocked off the unbeaten rung by Rosemount. This was the Scarlets’ second loss this week to a team with Marshall in the name. On Monday they lost to section 2AAA rival Marshall in a make up game from the Southwest MN State tournament/event. Both teams had something to prove and wanted to get back on track.
Conference games tend to have more meaning, and the Big 9 has at least five teams, perhaps even six, that are in the hunt for the crown. The early portion of this game indicated that separation was going to be minimal. Two minutes into the game MW led 10-4. The Rockets called time out, rectified the turnover situation against the full court pressure, and then went on their own 15-2 run to lead 19-12. And there was still nine minutes left in the half. MW evened it up at 24 after Ashley Gustavson’s 3. JM’s Tori Gateno answered with her own 3 and then Gustavson returned the favor with her second 3 tying the score at 27. It was even at half at 33.
The neck and neck race continued into the second half with ties at 35 and 37. JM momentarily had a 41-38 lead, but soon it was knotted at 43 and 45. Holly Wiste put the Scarlets up 3 with her 3. But the fickle finger of fate turned on the Scarlets. A lane violation on a made free throw took a point off the board. Then it looked like fate was going to bestow good fortunes when Gustavson grabbed the miss and JM’s Taylor Fautsch fouled her, which ended Fautsch’s night. There were still six and a half minutes remaining. The Rockets were ready with 6-2 senior Achol Rehan who tied with Jessie Ruden for game high scoring honors with 16 points. 30 seconds prior to that MW possession, Lilly Meister launched the Rockets into a finishing 23-11 kick with a pair of free throws. The 6-0 freshman would score nine of the next 13 JM points to send them into orbit (58-50). JM would score in 13 of their last 16 possessions as they started fueling the ride. JM scored five points on second chance opportunities down the stretch. The Rockets also made 11 free throws in the last eight minutes (they converted 18 for the night).
One glaring stat is the shot attempt locations underlying the differing game models: JM attempted 50% of their shots within six feet of the basket, MW 23%. MW preferred the 3 point arc with 41.5% of their attempts deep; while JM attempted 17% of their shots there.
JM is now 10-1, and 8-0 in the Big 9. They are in the driver’s seat since they own wins over the five other teams that possibly could be in the hunt. MW falls to 7-3 overall, and is 6-2 in the Big 9.
| ROCHESTER JM | MANKATO WEST | |
| POINTS | 68 | 59 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 45/17 | 39/19 |
| TURNOVERS | 18 | 16 |
| FTA/% | 24/75.0 | 20/60.0 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 45.8/20.0 | 42.10/18.51 |
| PP100 | 91.9 | 81.9 |
| TOP SCORER | Two with 16 | Holly Wiste 15 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Lilly Meister with 14 points, 127.3 pp100 and a 31 Club score of 29. She ignited the closing rally with nine of the first 13 JM points in that stretch.