Goodhue's Joslyn Carlson drove to the basket and was fouled by a Menahga defender in the first half of the Class 1A semifinal Friday at Williams Arena. Photo: ELIZABETH FLORES • liz.flores@startribune.com
Freshman guard Joslyn Carlson’s driving layup between two defenders with 21.9 seconds left broke a tie and propelled Goodhue to a 47-43 victory over Menahga in the Class 1A semifinals Friday at Williams Arena.
The No. 3-ranked Wildcats (26-6) will be playing for their third state championship in the past four years, winning back-to-back titles in 2016-17.
“In a game like this you need to step up,” Carlson said. She finished with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. “The play we called is made for me to drive.”
Teammate sophomore guard Arianna Thomforde added two clinching free throws with 3.1 seconds left. She wound up with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
“You have to give them credit,” Menahga coach Cody Pulju said. “They made plays and we didn’t.”
Photo gallery: Class 1A semifinals
The No. 5-ranked Braves (30-2) used an 11-4 run to start the second half to take a 37-28 lead with 11:43 remaining. Senior guard Cierra Ahlf capped the spurt with a three-pointer. She finished with 12 points as did junior guard Tara Hendrickson.
“Our defense sparked us,” Goodhue coach Josh Wieme said. “We got a couple of turnovers that led to baskets.”
Back-to-back steals and layups by Thomforde and sophomore guard Torrie Rehder capped a 10-run that gave the Wildcats a 38-37 lead. The tandem had seven of the Wildcats’ 11 steals.
“We freaked out a little bit,” Pulju said. “It was unfortunate that we couldn’t quite pull it off.”
Menahga also went 1-for-6 from the free-throw line in the second half. They missed the front end of three 1-and-1’s, too.
“We make our free throws, and we win the game,” Pulju said.
Goodhue went through the same scenario a day earlier (turnovers and missed shots and free throws) at the end of the game but held on for a 50-48 victory over Mountain Iron-Buhl.
“The experience of yesterday absolutely helped us.” Wieme said. “You don’t stop believing.”
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