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DeLaSalle back in title game

By Star Tribune, 03/15/12, 3:00PM CDT

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Trailing 10-2 early, the veteran team made adjustments to overtake Fergus Falls.

Tournament-savvy DeLaSalle weathered an early onslaught from Fergus Falls, falling behind 10-2, before methodically battling back for a 59-51 victory and a chance to defend its 2011 Class 3A championship.

“We weren’t nervous,” said DeLaSalle’s junior guard Tyseanna Johnson, who is playing in her fourth consecutive state tournament. “We just had to stick together and play as a team.”

DeLaSalle coach Faith Johnson Patterson knew her veteran squad had what it took to come back from Fergus Falls’ initial burst. She wasn’t going to panic, she said. And neither was her team.

“They look to me at that point,” Johnson Patterson said. “They can’t see me taking all kinds of timeouts and getting worried.”

The Islanders, she said, just needed a simple defensive adjustment.

“We were extending our defense too far from the basket,” Johnson Patterson said. “We had to defend the basket better. If they were going to shoot three-pointers, let them. We couldn’t keep giving them easy baskets.”

Defensive issues solved, the Islanders started to apply offensive pressure. With Johnson leading the charge, DeLaSalle (27-3) regained the lead with a 15-4 run late in the first half, taking a 28-25 lead at halftime.

After halftime, seniors Mia Loyd and Mariah Adanene combined for 17 of DeLaSalle’s 31 points, repeatedly finding openings inside the Fergus Falls defense.

Johnson led DeLaSalle with 16 points, Adanene scored 14 and Loyd, who missed the 2011 championship with a torn ACL, added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Mariah Monke paced Fergus Falls (29-2) with 13 points.

JIM PAULSEN

Player of the game

Senior guard Mariah Adanene misses two months of the season after suffering from a skull fracture.

Her season was in doubt, and most figured she wouldn’t make it back to the hardwood for the remainder of her senior season.

Adanene had other plans however, fighting her way back for a chance to play on the biggest stage high school basketball can offer. 

In just her third game since returning, Adanene was a major factor in the Islanders’ 59-51 victory over Fergus Falls in the state tournament semifinals on Thursday, March 15, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. 

Tallying 14 points and hitting all six of her free-throw attempts, Adanene proved her injury was in the past.

“At first it was nervewracking but when I started playing I just felt how I felt last year so it was just normal,” Adanene said after the game. “Getting out here of course, target center, it just all came back to me and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be.” 

DeLaSalle coach Faith Patterson was happy that Adanene was even playing and ecstatic that she was contributing at a high level. 

“It’s amazing,” Patterson said. “I’m so proud of her. Her willingness even to come back. Some kids with an injury like that wouldn’t even think of getting out here but she fought through  a lot of that stuff just to be able to get out here and have an opportunity to help her team. She’s had a great year.”

Adenene showed off her ability to get to the rim in the win over the Otters, flipping layups in with a soft touch. She also dribbled out of a tough press put on by Fergus Falls throughout the game.

“She knows how to attack the basket, she can help bring the ball up, she’s a greater shooter and she’s calm, she’s poised so that really helped us quite a bit,” Patterson said.

-- Walker Orenstein, MN Girls Basketball Hub staff

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