MANKATO WEST 59, ROCHESTER JM 58 OT
Mankato West edged out host Rochester JM 59-58 in overtime in a key Big 9 match up Thursday night. The Scarlets put up a furious rally in the last 3:30 of regulation after trailing 46-38. They scored eleven unanswered points to take a 49-46 lead with 30 seconds left. Leading the charge was junior guard Briana Stoltzman with a triple from the right wing to start it off. JM was in the bonus, but was not able to convert their front end. MW’s Claire Hemstock, scored on an old fashioned &1 after a missed shot (46-44 JM). Both Stoltzman and Hemstock ended up with 18 points apiece for the Scarlets. With 2:50 left JM called time. They went to a delay type mode with the idea of drawing fouls and making free throws. Instead a three was attempted. It missed and Emily Fitterer put MW up with another triple from the right wing. JM turned it over their third straight empty possession. This time it was the Scarlets’ turn to misfire from the free throw line missing a front end with 1:09 left. But JM, by now in the double bonus, was still struggling at the free throw line as they clanked two. With 47.4 ticks to go in regulation the Scarlets worked the ball, drew the d on penetration inside and Hemstock scored on a dump pass for a 49-46 advantage. JM called time with 28.4 seconds left. With Katie Hurt and Lilly Meister being blanketed, the Rockets forced an extra four minutes when Alexa Motley hit a three from the left corner with ten seconds left. West had a crack at finishing in regulation but was unable to convert. JM had one last chance too with 1.1 seconds but couldn’t get a shot off.
JM won the tap but turned it over on their first possession in OT. The Rockets had nine more turnovers than MW for the night. The Scarlets drew first blood when Fitterer scored on the left block. Motley responded with a jumper from the free throw line. MW had three chances to score and did on the third crack on a put back by Holly Wiste. The odd split occurred on the next JM possession when Tori Gateno struck from behind the arc on the left wing. MW tried the same shot, but missed. JM grabbed the d board, but Malani Schoper stripped the ball and converted the lay up (lead change #2). The Rocket proved resilient with Hurt driving the lane and converting (lead change #3). Hemstock was left alone and Stoltzman recognized it for lead change #4. Meister gave the home town faithful a reason to celebrate with a left baseline jumper (lead change #5). MW got the ball back with a time out at 7.4. JM extended their d. MW had five touches before Hemstock was again left uncontested on the left side. She scored the game winner as time expired for the final dramatic lead change in overtime (#6). West got a chance to rectify and convert their missed chance at the end of regulation.
The first half was relatively sleepy by comparison to the last 22 minutes of drama. JM had a 21-19 lead at the break.
Rebounding, on the offensive glass was key. MW grabbed 46.2% of their misses. Five of the last 21 MW points came on second chances. The MW pp100 on the last 12 possessions was an eye popping 175.0. JM, who shot very well and only missed 16 total shots all night from the floor rebounded 30% of their misses.
Neither team was sparkling from the charity stripe. MW was under 50%. JM under 60%. But it was free throws in crunch time that really told the tale. JM was 0/3 the last four minutes of regulation. Turnovers also loomed large with MW scoring four straight points (and taking a 31-29 lead) forcing a JM time out at the 13:53 mark in the second half.
MW moves to 8-2 on the year, with a five game winning streak. They have two losses in the Big 9 to Austin and Red Wing. JM is now 7-5 with a 1-4 mark in their last five games. They too have losses to Austin and RW in the Big 9.
| MANKATO WEST | ROCHESTER JM | |
| POINTS | 59 | 58 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 32/18 | 27/6 |
| TURNOVERS | 12 | 21 |
| 2FGA/% | 46/50.00 | 21/61.90 |
| 3FGA/% | 17/17.64 | 16/50.00 |
| FTA/% | 9/44.44 | 14/57.14 |
| PP100 | 96.7 | 95.1 |
| TOP SCORER | Two with 18 | Lilly Meister 17 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Briana Stoltzman, 18 points, 128.6 pp100 and 33 score in the 31 Club. Stoltzman, after MW trailed 46-38, ignited the rally with a 3, had 3 d stops, and 1 distribution.