Redwood Valley was making its first state tournament appearance in 35 years. Kenyon-Wanamingo made sure it didn’t last very long with a 64-31 victory in the Class 2A quarterfinals Wednesday at Mariucci Arena.

No. 2-rated Kenyon-Wanamingo (30-1) scored 15 of the first 18 points, and was in control from the outset against the overmatched Cardinals. The victory was its 21st consecutive of the season.

“We came into this game with a lot of confidence,” Knights senior forward Siri Sviggum said. Their only loss of the season came at the hands of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva in early January.

It showed from the opening tipoff. Redwood Valley (19-10) struggled to get quality shots against the Knights’ defense in the opening half, going 5-for-24 from the floor while falling behind by 27 points (39-12) at the intermission. The Cardinals shot the ball a little better in the second half, but the outcome had long been decided.

“Our defense carried us the whole game,” Sviggum said. “We shut them down.”

Sviggum led the Knights with a game-high 23 points. Junior forward Brittney Flom and senior guard Meg Clark chipped in with 14 and 11 points, respectively. The trio went 16-for-21 from the floor.

“We shot the ball really well,” Sviggum said. “We have really good shooters, and showed it tonight.”

RON HAGGSTROM


Photo gallery: Kenyon-Wanamingo 64, Redwood Valley 31