Sauk Centre freshman guard Tori Peschel watched older sister Kali play in the 2012 championship game and now gets a chance of her own.

The Mainstreeters defeated Watertown-Mayer 58-41 in the second Class 2A semifinal Friday to book their third title game appearance in six seasons. Peschel led the way with game-highs in scoring (20 points) and rebounds (13).

“To be there is a great opportunity and I’m excited,” Peschel said.

She embodied the ability of No. 2 seed Sauk Centre (31-1) to adapt. When her first shot, a three-point attempt, didn’t fall, Peschel began driving to the basket.

Conversely, as Watertown-Mayer saw standout forward Monika Czinano double- and triple-teamed, the Royals’ offense struggled to find a Plan B. Czinano, a 6-2 junior forward who made a verbal commitment to Iowa, scored just six points and No. 3 seed Watertown-Mayer (27-4) shot only 23 percent from the field.

“Sauk did a nice job defending us and making sure our inside-out game didn’t really come through,” Czinano said.

Sauk Centre coach Scott Bergman credited Alyssa Kohorst, a 5-8 senior forward, for “blocking [Czinano] out the whole game” and holding her to just one offensive rebound.

Little salvation was found on the perimeter. Watertown-Mayer was 3-for-20 from the three-point arc.

“They forced us to rush our shots,” Royals’ coach John Rosholt said. “We didn’t have our feet set a lot and we front-rimmed a lot.”

Meanwhile, Peschel, Jill Klaphake (14 points) and Maesyn Thiesen (11) shared the offensive load. But defense made the difference.

“We hope our defensive pressure eventually gets to teams and I think it did tonight,” Bergman said.

First report

Sauk Centre defeated Watertown-Mayer 58-41 in Friday’s second Class 2A semifinal game. The Mainstreeters advance to play top-ranked Roseau (31-0) in the championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena.

The Mainstreeters made life tough on Watertown-Mayer’s Monika Czinano, a 6-2 junior forward who made a verbal commitment to Iowa. Swarming Czinano with two and sometimes three defenders, No. 2 seed Sauk Centre (31-1) dared the Royals to win the game with perimeter shooting.

No. 3 seed Watertown-Mayer (27-4) couldn’t answer. Czinano scored just six points and the Royals shot only 23 percent from the field.

Sauk Centre seeks its first state championship after second-place finishes in 2012 and 2015. Roseau defeated the Mainstreeters in the third-place game last season.

Check back later for more on the game.