ALEXANDRIA, MN(KDLM) – Intensity. Urgency. Poise. Three things that Lakers girls basketball head coach Rachel Johnson preached to her team as they prepared for the Section 8AAA Championship against the top-seeded Willmar Cardinals on Thursday night.
And Lakers needed all three as they rallied to win their first section title in 13 years, 46-43 on Thursday night.
“This is such a surreal moment,” Johnson told KDLM after the win. “We knew we could do it, but actually accomplishing it is just something else. I’m so proud of these girls, of this coaching staff, and the atmosphere that the fans bring.”
The Cardinals, who were 8-0 against section opponents, jumped out to an early 16-5 lead on the Lakers, fueled by a 13-0 run. The Cardinal led 21-9 with four and a half minutes left before Detroit Lakes went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to four points at the half, 21-17.
“That was a huge momentum swing,” said Johnson. “Going to halftime down four instead of 12 was a huge uptick. In the first sixteen minutes of the game, we got our butts handed to us. We made big adjustments at halftime and the girls came out and executed.”
An Ella Okeson three-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead of the second half at 24-23. But with 10 minutes left in the game, junior guard Abby Larson picked up her fourth foul and had to head to the bench.
“Abby has amazing mental toughness,” said Johnson. “She actually got sick on the bus on the way over here. So to overcome that, to tough it out, to play hard with four fouls…I’m so proud of her.”
Larson, who led the Lakers with 12 points, would come back into the game with six minutes left and the score tied at 36-36. After Willmar made a layup to take a 43-41 lead, Larson hit a big three to give the Lakers a one-point lead with 2:28 left in the game.
Willmar had their opportunities late in the game but couldn’t get shots to drop, missing six consecutive shots on their final five possessions to end the game.
Grace Gunderson made a free throw to give Detroit Lakes a three-point lead. 46-43, with 17 seconds left. Willmar’s three-point attempt as the clock expired was no good, and the Lakers won their first section championship in 13 years.
Junior Jacee Hauser came up big on both ends of the floor with nine points (three three-pointers) in the second half and seven blocks throughout the game.
“I knew I had to come out strong in the second half,” Hauser said after the game. “I knew I had to drown out all of the outer distractions. We all did a great job picking each other up in the second half.”
The Lakers will head to Minneapolis to play in the 2022 State Tournament at Joel Maturi Pavillion at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday. Seeding for the state tournament will be released this weekend.
SCORING
DL – 17 29 – 46
WILL – 21 22 – 43
DL – Larson 12, Hauser 9, Okeson 9, Daggett 7, Gunderson 5, E. Bettcher 4
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