The third-ranked Rangers appeared to be caught off guard by Madison McKeever’s quickness. The sophomore guard easily sped through their press, and if she wasn’t scoring was finding forward Shelby Kaster in a half-court set.

The tandem combined for 25 first-half points as the ninth-rated Patriots (29-2) built an 11-point lead at the intermission, and then held off a furious charge by the Rangers (28-3) in a foul-plagued matchup. Kaster finished with 25 points and McKeever had 15.

“We came out, and went at them really hard,” McKeever said.

The Rangers were hampered by senior forward Allie Knuti’s foul trouble. She picked up three fouls in the first eight minutes, and they didn’t have anybody else to match up with Kaster inside.

“When they got in foul trouble it really opened up things for us,” Kaster said. “I think they underestimated us.”

Mya Buffetta led Mountain Iron-Buhl with 21 points. Four Rangers players fouled out; 50 fouls were called in the game

“I thought both teams had a lot of trouble with the constant whistles,” Kaster said.

RON HAGGSTROM

First Report

Third-ranked Mountain Iron-Buhl appeared to be caught off guard by the quickness of Win-E-Mac's Madison McKeever. The sophomore guard easily sped through their press, and if she wasn’t scoring was finding forward Shelby Kaster in a halfcourt set.

The tandem combined for 25 first-half points as as the ninth-rated Patriots (29-2) built an 11-point lead at the intermission, and then held off a furious charge by the Rangers (28-3) to win 73-62 in a foul-plagued Class 1A quarterfinal matchup at Mariucci Arena. Kaster finished with 25 points and McKeever had 15.

The Rangers were hampered by senior forward Allie Knuti’s foul trouble. She picked up three fouls in the first eight minutes, and they didn’t have anybody else to match up with Kaster inside.

Freshman guard Mya Buffetta led Mountain Iron-Buhl with 21 points. The Rangers had four players foul out. A total of 50 fouls were called on both teams.

RON HAGGSTROM


Photo gallery: Win-E-Mac 73, Mountain Iron-Buhl 62