Sleepy Eye falls to Lyle/Pacelli in finals

Fett’s 30-point, 16-rebound game too much for Indians to handle

LOCAL SPORTS
MAR 18, 2018

TRAVIS ROSENAU
Sports Writer
trosenau@nujournal.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The Sleepy Eye girls’ basketball team saw a historic season come to a close on Saturday after falling to Lyle/Pacelli 57-33 in the Class A state title game at Target Center.

The Indians (28-5), unseeded in the state tournament, took down two of the top three seeds in Ada-Borup/Norman County West and Mountain Iron-Buhl on Thursday and Friday respectively. But they couldn’t stop the top-seeded Athletics (32-1) on Saturday.

Despite finishing with a second-place trophy, Sleepy Eye still made program history just getting to the finals. Sleepy Eye senior guard Madi Heiderscheidt said that although it was hard coming up short of her goal of a state title, she was more sad that her career with the Indians came to a close on Saturday.

Brianna Polesky, also a senior for the Indians, agreed with Heiderscheidt. But Polesky added that she was still proud of how far the team got, considering they were unseeded.

“Second place doesn’t hurt,” Polesky said. “We came out and we battled the whole week and we weren’t supposed to do what we did. It’s unbelievable. Second place is great, but it’s really hard when you put in all that time and effort. And it always has to come to an end, but I’m proud of what we did, so that’s what matters.”

Mya Ibberson scored the first two buckets of the game for Sleepy Eye on a 3 and a basket inside.

The Indians had a tough time hanging onto the ball early in the first half, however, turning it over seven times in the first seven minutes. That allowed Olivia Christianson to give Lyle/Pacelli a 12-7 lead on a layup with 11:51 to go in the first half.

Minutes later, Heiderscheidt knocked down a 3 to bring the Indians within 2, 17-15. Trailing by 8, Sarah Ibarra gave the Indians a much needed boost with a 3 to make the score 24-19 with less than three minutes to go before the half.

The Athletics led 31-22 at halftime, though, led by their 6-5 center Kristi Fett, who dominated the paint with 17 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone.

Lyle/Pacelli continued its strong run in the second half, opening things up with an 11-0 run to lead 41-22. Polesky stopped the scoring drought for the Indians on a short-range jumper with 13:57 left to play.

Things never got easier for Sleepy Eye after that, though, as Fett continued to dominate on the boards and in the post. She ended up with 30 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

“She’s a handful, absolutely,” Sleepy Eye coach Ryan Hulke said of Fett. “We really had one girl that I felt that could guard her the way that we wanted to, that was Mya [Ibberson]. Unfortunately, she got in foul trouble doing so, and then that’s tough for us. We tried some zone a few times, and I almost felt it was easier for them to get the ball to her in her seals. So we wanted to keep pressure on the guards. But even when she misses, she’s just right there.”

The Indians were led by Heiderscheidt with 8 points and four steals, while Polesky and Ibarra each added 7 points. Polesky also had five rebounds, while McKenzie Cselovszki added 6 points and seven boards.

Sleepy Eye shot 23.9 percent from the floor, while the Athletics shot 52.6 percent.

2018 Class A Minnesota State

Girls’ Basketball All-Tournament team

Presented by Wells Fargo and the Minnesota State High School League

Kora Kritzberger, F, Ada-Borup/Norman County West

Mary Burke, F, Mountain Iron-Buhl

Lydia Sussner, C, Minneota

Abby Hennen, G, Minneota

Madi Heiderscheidt, G, Sleepy Eye

Sarah Ibarra, G, Sleepy Eye

Brianna Polesky, G, Sleepy Eye

Olivia Christianson, F, Lyle/Pacelli

Kristi Fett, C, Lyle/Pacelli

Brooke Walter, G, Lyle/Pacelli