Two consecutive girls’ basketball state championship game appearances taught Winona coach Tim Gleason that success follows the more comfortable team.

He could not have known just how relaxed Orono felt. A pregame locker room dance party helped ease the Spartans, and they handled their first championship game with veteran poise. Top-seeded Orono never trailed and defeated the Winhawks 65-47 in the Class 3A title game at Williams Arena.

The Spartans (26-5) made program history while the No. 3 seeded Winhawks (26-5) fell in the championship game for the second consecutive season.

Seniors Tori Andrew and Mattea Rice combined for 41 points and inspired their fellow starters, who played the entire game without substitutions.

Andrew was the lone returning starter from an Orono team that did not fulfill championship expectations last season. In fact, the Spartans didn’t even reach the tourney. Players resolved to make this season count even if observers counted them out.

“The difference this year was that we didn’t think we were going to get far,” Andrew said. “So we just played like we didn’t have anything to lose and we didn’t lose.”

No respect? Not even as the tournament’s No. 1 seed?

“Even though we’re the No. 1 seed, people still had doubts,” Andrew said. “People still don’t believe in us. All we need for us is to believe in ourselves.”

Gleason’s game plan, to win inside, never materialized. Orono outscored the Winhawks 28-18 in the paint and 13-5 on second-chance points. Too often his team either struggled to make stops on defense or failed to rebound a missed shot.

While Andrew, a Star Tribune all-metro first team selection, scored near her regular-season average with 22 points, Rice added 19 points — 17 more than her regular-season average.

“It upset me during the season when everybody said, ‘Orono is just Tori Andrew,’ ” first-year Spartans coach Lavesa Glover said. “That’s not true.”

Count Winona among the converted.

“We really underestimated the other players they had,” Winhawks senior guard Eden Nibbelink said. “Their group of five is really strong.”

Down by as many as 22 points during the second half, Winona fought back and cut its deficit to 10 with about five minutes left. A veteran Winhawks team, featuring nine seniors who shared a court each winter since the fifth grade, saw hope.

But zero field goals in the final 5:48 relegated Winona to second place once again.

“To make it to the championship and just never be able to pull it off is a little bit tough,” senior guard Maria Appicelli said.

First report

Members of the Orono girls’ basketball team kept hearing about what could have been last season when the state-title caliber Spartans failed to reach the state tournament.

The 2016-17 squad wasn’t projected to challenge at the highest level. But a section final payback victory against Hutchinson helped make the Spartans the state tournament’s No. 1 seed.

Once forgotten and now favored, Orono completed its climb with a 65-47 victory against Winona on Saturday in the Class 3A championship game at Williams Arena.

No. 1 seed Orono (26-5) won its first state title while the No. 3 seed (26-5) Winhawks fell in the championship game for the second consecutive season.

Seniors Tori Andrew — the only Class 3A player named to the Star Tribune All-Metro team — and Mattea Rice helped Orono make its first title game appearance count. They combined for 41 points and inspired their fellow starters, who played the game without substitutions.

A similar game plan worked well throughout the tournament. Only one Spartans’ substitute saw significant action in the quarterfinals. The second unit got one minute of action in the semifinals.

Down by 22 points during the second half, Winona fought back and cut its deficit to 10 with about five minutes left.

But Orono’s better shooting and relentless defensive play kept the team in control. The Spartans set the tone early, pursuing set plays Winona used to chew up other defenses and getting blocks or shot disruptions.

Starting Winona forwards Danneka Voegeli and Abby Winter along with guard Eden Nibbelink, combined for 28 points, 25 rebounds and seven blocked shots in defeating Holy Angels 58-43 in the semifinals. They combined for 33 points against Orono but the team shot just 31 percent.

Andrew, who made a verbal commitment to Yale, stretched and at times demoralized the Winona defense by connecting on three-pointers launched well past the maroon–colored arc on the Williams Arena floor.

First-year Orono coach Lavesa Glover-Verhagen brought another key element. The former at Wis.-Green Bay player has an outgoing personality and it meshed well with her new players.

Orono controlled the first half and took a 39-25 lead into halftime.
Andrew hit four three-pointers and led her team with 15 points. Rice added 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor.

The Spartans shot the ball better on offense while Winona kept giving possessions away. The Winhawks made seven turnovers and Orono scored five points off the miscues.

Despite Winona’s slight height advantage, Orono outscored the Winhawks 13-5 on second-chance points in the game and 28-18 in points in the paint.