Pine City's girls basketball team was in Milaca last night for the 1st round of section 6AA playoffs.
These two teams had played just one week ago in Milaca for a regular season battle. But this game had a lot more on the line. The winner would advance and play on Saturday and the loser would see their season come to and end.
The game started slow for both sides as it seemed like they were trying to play through nerves. But once the first bucket had fallen you could see each team gain some confidence. The lead would trade hands multiple times, but the game stood at a stalemate. Milaca would soon get in rhythm and take a 15-8 lead. The Dragons were able to close the gap before half but the Wolves still lead 15-12.
At the start of the 2nd half it looked as if we were in for a shootout. Both teams came out white hot. But Milaca was able to cool the Dragons and started to pull away. The Wolves had built up a 47-27 lead late in the 2nd half. Pine City wasn't going to go away easy. They fought back and grabbed a couple of steals and sliced the Wolves lead in half. The Dragons had forced momentum their way and looked like they were on the comeback train. But Milaca derailed that train as they went on an 8-2 run to end the game. The Wolves won 55-39.
With the win Milaca moves on to Saturday and will play against Albany at St. John's University at 1pm.
For Pine City the postseason comes to an end much earlier than they hoped they finish the season 18-9.
Congratulations to both teams!
Scoring
Pine City
Karly Jusczak 13
Kloey Lind 11
Maddie Berlund and Brooke Boland 6
Summer Thieman 3
Milaca
Maggie Westling 18
Macy Mach 12
Ashley Juetten 7
Lydia Cramlet 6
Hailey Bauer and Ashley Droogsma 5
Paige Narr 2
