How hard is it to keep up with covering a team in the state tournament? I shouldn't be surprised, as I am a veteran of such ventures, albeit retired now.
Here I sit on Saturday morning, digesting information from BBE's state semis game on Friday, and their next game is coming up at 10 a.m. today (Saturday). The game will probably be done by the time I click on "publish." Hmmm, 10 a.m.: quite the atypical starting time.
I know full well the "rush" of being part of a state tournament climb and adventure. Oh my goodness, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat! I often think that roller coaster isn't even worth it. So consider the emotions at the end of the Friday semis: the BBE Jaguars were stopped. We saw tears post-game from the BBE coach, Kristina Anderson. The Yahoo News article also cited "moist eyes" for Jaguar players Abby Berge, Allison Dingmann and Harley Roering.
Berge said of the game's outcome, "it hurts." But here's the deal: For every team that feels crestfallen at the end of a state game, there is the burst of exhilaration felt by the winner! So let's feel good, frankly, about the feeling of accomplishment felt by the Friday victor, Mountain Iron-Buhl. Their tears were those of happiness.
Sadness in BBE country, for sure. Well let me offer some perspective: My MACA Tigers from out here in West Central Minnesota lost their very first game in the post-season. Zip it, it's done. "Turn out the lights, the party's over," as the late Don Meredith would have sung.
Congrats to the Jags, their coaches and fans: you had a great ride the whole way.
Mountain Iron-Buhl (MIB) had the top seed for state although I don't place a lot of stock in those positions. They had to come from behind to defeat the Jaguars. Final score: 61-57. This Class A showcase was played at the big-time floor of Williams Arena. MIB faces BOLD for No. 1 in state. BBE's third place game is against Hayfield at Concordia of St. Paul. Concordia University? That doesn't feel like "state" at all, sorry.
The MIB coach is Jeff Buffetta. The team is the "Rangers." Buffetta's team trailed 48-37 with 9:55 remaining. Oh my goodness, the Rangers got totally "in the zone" for a 14-0 run. The surging was led by Sage Ganyo and Jordan Zubich. Zubich is a University of North Carolina recruit. Ganyo ended the afternoon with 23 points, Zubich with 17. Zubich scored 14 points in the second half.
Was BBE's Roering 100 percent for the game? The senior guard had been out of action since Feb. 3 due to a second ACL injury to her left knee. "Roering was willing to grind it out despite a bad knee that she originally hurt playing off-season volleyball in May 202!," the Yahoo News article reported. Roering missed lots of practices. Well I don't know - seems to me BBE was hitting on all cylinders even without her on the court. But that's just an armchair fan's judgment. It's our prerogative, isn't it? When you lose, there's hindsight.
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| The Mountain Iron-Buhl GBB team (WDIO image) |
Roering has the first of two surgeries scheduled in April to repair the damage to her ACL. She didn't exactly look rusty on Friday as she scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers. I'm puzzled: Roering was asked why she didn't play in the quarter-final state game on Thursday. Her response: "They didn't need me." Well, let's all just file this away.
MIB took second in state in 2012 and 2017. In all they've had 12 state appearances in the past 13 seasons.
BBE enters the third place game with a 26-5 season record. Lots of highlights for press person Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley to share. I can just imagine how Randy is going to feel drained after today. I've been there.
Time for some stats to share here. BBE individual scoring: Abby Berge 18, Harley Roeering 12, Tiyana Schwinghammer 10, Brooklyn Fischer 9, Allison Dingmann 6, Adley Hagen 2. Roering with her four 3's led there, followed by Schwinghammer 2 and Fischer 1. Dingmann with her eight rebounds was tops. Schwinghammer's four assists set the pace. Berge's three steals gave spark. Dingmanmn, Berge and Schwinghammer each blocked a shot.
Zubich made two 3's for MIB. Ganyo and Anna Neyens each made one. Hali Savela led in rebounds with seven. Ganyo and Zubich each had four assists. Savela stole the ball five times.
MIB enters the title game with a 29-3 record.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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