Plainview-Elgin-Millville sophomore center Hayley Dessner walked off the court at halftime, her face beet red. She was exhausted after a frantically paced opening half against run-and-gun Roseau.
It became more excruciating in the second half. The only difference: Dessner was able to exit the floor with a huge smile.
Dessner scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the No. 1-rated Bulldogs past Roseau 87-78 in the Class 2A semifinals. They are making their first state tournament appearance as a combined program with Elgin-Millville, the Class 1A state champion in 2005.
“It was very exhausting,” Dessner said. “We run the ball a lot, but we had to hustle back and play defense, too.”
Her back-to-back baskets 19 seconds apart with less than two minutes remaining stretched a four-point Bulldogs lead to eight. She had five points, one rebound and an assist in the final 1:43.
“I had to come back after halftime and do a little bit more,” Dessner said. She had nine points on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor and three rebounds at halftime. “Usually, I get a couple of more breaks, but the team needed me tonight.”
The Borowicz sisters — junior Kiley, freshman Kacie and seventh-grader Katie — teamed up for 31 first-half points for the No. 6-rated Rams (28-4). Kiley finished with a game-high 35 while Kacie wound up with 23.
Make it three.
Plainview-Elgin-Millville became the third school from Section 1 -- joining Goodhue in Class 1A and Winona in Class 3A -- to reach the championship.
The No. 1-rated Bulldogs outlasted Roseau 87-78 in a frantically-paced Class 2A semifinal Friday evening at Williams Arena. They will meet the winner of New London-Spicer (24-6) and Sauk Centre (30-1) for the title Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Bulldogs (30-1) escaped with a 37-35 halftime lead in spite of their top two scorers, senior guard Sarah Hart and junior center Emmaline Polson, being foul-prone. They combined for 17 points, but only played 22 minutes. Hart had three fouls and Polson two at the intermission.
The Borowicz sisters – junior Kiley, freshman Kacie and seventh grader Katie – teamed up for 31 of the Rams’ 35 first-half points. Kiley finished with a game-high 35 while Kacie wound up with 23.
Hart fouled out with 14 points with 3:45 remaining while Polson finished with 12. Sophomore center Hayley Dessner had a team-high 23 points while senior forward Chloe Holtz added 20 to make up for their struggling standouts.