Quantcast
skip navigation

Mt. Iron-Buhl blows out Goodhue at the Breakdown Sports Tip Off Classic

By Peter Odney, SportsEngine , 12/03/16, 11:00AM CST

Share

The Rangers held the Wildcats below 20 points in each half and rolled to the 78-34 win.


Mountain Iron-Buhl senior Chelsea Mason tries to get past a Goodhue defender Saturday at Hopkins High School. Mason led the Rangers with 24 points. Photo by Nick Gerhardt, SportsEngine

There aren’t many teams that can compete with players who make 20,000 shots during the offseason. 

And when those players take care of the basketball, good luck. 

Mountain Iron-Buhl struggled with turnovers in the first few moments of Saturday’s matchup against Goodhue, but once the Rangers found their handle, what should have been a highly competitive game turned into a shooting clinic. 

“Shooting is one of our main focuses all the time,” Rangers coach Jeff Buffetta said after the 78-34 win. 

“Year-round we work at it,” Buffetta continued. The players have a '20,000 made' club in the summer, which was evident in the shooting on display Saturday afternoon. 

Senior guard Chelsea Mason led all scorers, nailing five three-pointers on her way to 24 points in the win for the Rangers, ranked No. 3 in the latest Minnesota Basketball News Class 1A poll. 

“Last year we played them here and lost by nine,” Mason said, referring to the 69-60 defeat at the 2015-2016 Breakdown Sports USA Tip-Off Classic. 

“We wanted to win this time.”

Mason scored 22 points in that loss 12 months ago, and quickly downplayed her point totals, instead highlighting the consistent play throughout the lineup.

“It’s really a team offense, everybody was hitting shots,” Mason said. 

“I feel like not one person was doing everything,” Mason added. “Everybody was contributing.”

Junior center Mary Burke scored 17 points for the Rangers (2-0), and sophomore guard Macy Savela chipped in 10 despite being harassed into multiple early turnovers by the high-pressure defense of No. 1-1A Goodhue. 

Savela took a breather, returned to the floor and promptly sped past Wildcat defenders for the remainder of the game. 

“The jitters went away, (I) calmed down, got into the game and started moving the ball and making better decisions,” Savela said, adding that the continuous ball movement employed by the Rangers on offense helps players stay engaged. 

“It’s easy when we keep it moving in our offense,” Savela said. “It’s just fun to play.”

Senior forward Maddy Miller was the leading scorer for Goodhue (3-1) with 10 points.

Trouncing the top-ranked team in Class 1A by 44 points was a statement win for Mountain Iron-Buhl and should cement the team's place as one of the most feared in the class.  

“We know how good Goodhue is, and we know what kind of program they run,” Buffetta said of his team’s unrelenting effort despite the large lead. 

“We know they’ll be here at the end, so we had to keep it going and build our confidence.” 

First Report

Senior guard Chelsea Mason scored a game-high 24 points on five three-pointers to lead Mountain Iron-Buhl to an impressive 78-34 win over Goodhue on Saturday at the Breakdown Sports USA Tip-Off Classic at the Lindbergh Center of Hopkins High School. 

The Rangers, ranked No. 3 in the latest Minnesota Basketball news Class 1A rankings, jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the first half and cruised the rest of the way, relying on a steady diet of three-pointers and well-executed ball movement. Junior center Mary Burke was the second-leading scorer for the Rangers (2-0) with 17 points.

Senior forward Maddy Miller was the only player from Goodhue (3-1) to score in double-figures, reaching 10 points for the Wildcats.  

 



Photo Gallery

Most Popular

Spotlight Game Coverage

  • Familiar powers land highest state seeds

  • By RON HAGGSTROM, Star Tribune 03/09/2024, 1:30pm CST
  • Hopkins, Minnetonka and St. Michael-Albertville lead the Class 4A list. Benilde-St. Margaret's heads 3A, and Providence Academy is atop 2A.
  • Read More