Moving on: Lyle-Pacelli girls lock down on Heritage Christian

By Rocky Hulne
Published 3:42 pm Thursday, March 15, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 1 seeded Lyle-Pacelli girls basketball team opened up with a strong defensive effort as it knocked off Heritage Christian Academy of Maple Grove 59-43 in the Minnesota Class A State Girls Basketball Tournament quarterfinals in Williams Arena Thursday.

The Athletics (30-1 overall) held HCA to 28 percent shooting and 14 turnovers in the win. HCA junior Taylie Scott, a 2,000-point career scorer, scored 24 points on 17 shots, but the Athletics were able to contain the rest of the team.

“[Scott] got a lot of points and she’s a really good player,” LP senior Brooke Walter said. “We had to talk a lot and help out a lot on her.”

LP led the game from wire-to-wire, but it led just 20-17 late in the first half before it scored seven straight to go up 27-17. That run was capped by an Abby Bollingberg three-pointer. HCA (19-11 overall) got back within 29-23, but Kristi Fett scored on a post move and Kendal Truckenmiller hit a three-pointer right before halftime to give LP a 34-23 lead at the break.

“I think there were some nerves early,” LP head coach Justin Morris said. “In the first half we were a little discombobulated. You never know what to expect when you’re playing in Williams Arena with the different sight lines and the raised floor. We were trying to get our feel a little bit. We talked about being patient and getting what we wanted. Somebody was going to get a great shot.”

LP sophomore Olivia Christianson was a little blown away by the ambiance of Williams Arena early on. She missed five of her first six field goals, but made five of her six shots in the second half to finish with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.

“I think the nerves got to us early,” Christianson said. “Once you get past the nerves, you’ve got to push through that and I know my coaches and teammates believe in me. After you make one, you just keep going.”

Fett finished with her usual dominant performance in the paint as she racked up 25 points and 18 rebounds.

“I thought they were a very good team,” Fett said. “They were very physical and they know how to get low. Our spacing was a lot better in the second half and we started making shots to pull them off me.”

LP will now take on Minneota in the Minnesota Class A semifinals in Target Center in Minneapolis at noon Thursday. The Vikings beat Menahga 74-69 in the quarterfinals.

LP 34 25 – 59

HCA 23 20 – 43

LP scoring: Kristi Fett, 25; Olivia Christianson, 14; Abby Bollingberg, 8; Kendal Truckenmiller, 6; Lucy Nelson, 3; Brooke Walter, 3; field goals: 46 percent (23-for-50); three-pointers: 50 percent (4-for-8); free throws: 56.3 percent (9-for-16); rebounds: 34 (Fett, 18); turnovers: 11