Senior leadership is vital come state tournament time and Madi Heiderscheidt is one of the best at providing it.

The Sleepy Eye guard made a layup with 22 seconds left and came up with a steal 18 seconds later, leading the Indians to a 53-51 upset victory over No. 6-rated Ada-Borup/Norman County West in the Class 1A quarterfinals Thursday at Williams Arena. The smooth left-hander finished with a game-high 25 points and eight steals.

“Madi made great plays for us all night,” Sleepy Eye coach Ryan Hulke said. “She always hits big shots for us when we need them.”

Junior guard Mariah McKeever sank the Cougars’ only three-pointer with 32 seconds left, giving them a short-lived 51-50 lead. Sophomore forward Kora Kritzberger paced the Cougars (26-3) with 21 points.

“She hit a big three,” Heiderscheidt said. “I was really nervous after that.”

It didn’t show as she took the inbounds pass and raced down the court, finishing with a right-handed layup between two defenders. She added a free throw with 3 seconds left.

“I knew they weren’t getting back in transition very well, so I took off,” Heiderscheidt said. “I’m just glad it went in.”

Heiderscheidt had 18 points in the first half, including banking in a three-pointer after crossing midcourt at the buzzer, as the Braves (27-4) took a 27-25 lead into the locker room. She also had four assists, three coming in the second half.

“I knew in the end we would pull it out in the end,” Heiderscheidt said. “I just try to do whatever I can for the team. This was a great team win.''       

Senior leadership is vital come state tournament time. Madi Heiderscheidt is one of the best.

The Sleepy Eye guard made a layup with 22 seconds left and came up with a steal 18 seconds later, leading the Indians to a 53-51 upset victory over No. 6-rated Ada-Borup/Norman County West in the Class 1A quarterfinals Thursday at Williams Arena. She finished with a game-high 25 points.

Junior guard Mariah McKeever made a three-pointer with 32 seconds left, giving the Cougars a short-lived 51-50 lead. Heiderscheidt added a free throw with 3 seconds left.  

Heiderscheidt had 18 points in the first half, closing it out by banking in a three-pointer after crossing midcourt at the buzzer, as the Braves (27-4) took a 27-25 lead into the locker room. The smooth left-hander then drilled a long jumper to start the second half.

Sophomore forward Kora Kritzberger scored 21 points for the Cougars (26-3).

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