6A SUBSECTION FINALS
Postseason possessions seem to dwindle down as the games become more important. The average team possession count is about 66 for the year. Pace of play and valuing the ball is extremely important when a trip to the Target Center (or Williams Arena) is on the line. In game one the pace was slightly under average at 61. The second game was even lower at 45. This is one reason the scores are somewhat lower than you would expect in January or even late February. Touch counts go up as well. The teams that ruled 7+ touches won today. If you notice three teams had over 20 possessions of 7+ touches. Only AB/NCW had 20 possessions of 3 touches or less.
| Team | 3 or less | 7 or more |
| Ada-Borup/NCW | 8/24 | 8/21 |
| Pelican Rapids | 4/16 | 5/16 |
| Underwood | 2/10 | 14/20 |
| Parkers Prairie | 3/8 | 11/25 |
NORTH: ADA-BORUP/NORMAN COUNTY WEST 56, PELICAN RAPIDS 44
AB/NCW used their ferocious defense to force 23 Viking turnovers on their win to the 6A North title. The problem was the Cougars didn’t convert as many transition opportunities as they would have liked. After missing their first shot, PR turned the ball over the next four times they had it. AB/NCW missed their first two chances for lay ups. Besides the ABC-D (Ada-Borup Cougars Defense), the black and red controlled the offensive glass. AB/NCW had ten second chance opportunities and PR only five. Comparing the two rebound totals may be deceiving. AB/NCW won 32-28, but they won 78% of the defensive battles, and 38% on the offensive side. In second chance points it wasn’t close at 10-2. AB/NCW broke free from a ten all tie with nine unanswered points on four straight possessions to go up 19-10. Part of the reason for that run was the fact PR’s Adriana Torres was in foul trouble and on the pine. Part of the reason for the run was AB/NCW’s Mariah McKeever scored four of her game high 23 points (her number). Torres help pull PR back in the contest with a 3 at the half time buzzer (25-20). AB/NCW went on another run in the second half out to 39-28 with 7 minutes remaining. PR got within five at 3:30 left (45-40), but they never could get the key stop. The Cougars scored on two straight possessions and the lead was back to nine with 2:42 left. Then it was a matter of delay game, fouls and free throws.
There are no NCW players on the AB/NCW team. There are NCW players on other sports sponsored by AB.
This is Pelican Rapids first year down in A. They were previously residing in 8AA.
AB/NCW Didn’t take the floor until 14 minutes remained in warm up.
The reason for this trip was AB/NCW who was #110 on the list, the highest team I had not charted today.
The battle of the bands was intense here. Hardly a word could be spoken that could be understood in the pregame despite being five inches from the receiver’s ear. Forget about talking on the phone in that environment.
AB/NCW is 26-2 on the year; PR finishes 18-10.
Between games Madison McKeever, former Win-E-Mac player and currently at South Dakota sat down for a visit. McKeever raced up after her Summit Championship game (won by SD State).
SOUTH: UNDERWOOD 51, PARKERS PRAIRIE 47
Three was the number in this contest. Three on a match is hard to do. #4 seed Underwood picked up their second straight upset, this time it was #3 seed Parkers Prairie. The Panthers had beat the Rockets twice during the course of the year in the Little 8 conference. A big part in this win came from behind the arc. Three straight times at the start of the game Underwood’s Sydney Hovland found the bottom of the net and the Rockets zoomed to an 11-1 lead. That lead melted away because Underwood got into foul trouble and PP started finding the bottom of the net. Veronica Schwartz was the catalyst for the Panthers. She too hit a 3 at the buzzer bringing PP to within two (23-21). Schwartz scored the last seven PP points, all on the last three possessions. Another 3 by Megan Benzinger gave PP their biggest lead of the night (28-25) early in the second half. Two straight scores by Kayla Rocholl and Brenna Tinjum put Underwood back on top, this time to stay. PP had foul troubles of their own as Faith Alberts had to spend time on the bench. The game was somewhat elastic with Underwood pushing out to a five point lead only to see PP close the gap to one. The last time it was that narrow came after a 3 (what else) by Alberts (48-47) with 45.9 seconds left. Underwood’s final points were free throws. PP, trailing by two, missed a three and Underwood cashed in at the line.
The prime differential in this game came at the 3 line. Underwood was extremely efficient going 50% (6/12). They weren’t bad inside at 65% (11/17). PP attempted 32 3s (68% of their total field goal attempts).
PP was 168 on the list. Underwood was 216.
Former Gopher Sari Noga is an assistant for PP.
Underwood moves to the 6A championship Friday with a 20-7 mark. PP wraps up the year at 25-3.
| Team | PP100 | scorer | Distributor | D stops |
| Ada-Borup/NCW | 91.8 | Mariah McKeever 23 | Olivia Winfrey 9 | Kora Kritzberger |
| Pelican Rapids | 72.1 | Greta Tollefson 16 | Kaylie Isaman 7 | Greta Tollefson 7 |
| Underwood | 113.3 | Sydney Hovland 20 | Brenna Tinjum 8 | Brenna Tinjum 8 |
| Parkers Prairie | 100.0 | Veronica Schwartz 21 | Hali Moske 5 | Hali Moske 6 |
TRENCH PLAYER:
GAME 1: 5-7 junior guard Mariah McKeever of AB/NCW
GAME 2: 5-10 senior forward Sydney Hovland of Underwood