Sauk Centre guard Tori Peschel (21) drove to the basket as Norwood Young America center Bren Fox (23) looked to defend in the first half. Photo: ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com
Sauk Centre sophomore Tori Peschel stole the ball and was fouled. She got up from the floor and gave a “let’s go!” shout.
“Well, we knew coming into the game that we’d definitely be smaller, especially down in the post area, so when you get those fouls down there and draw contact… it benefits us,” said Peschel, who finished with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds.
That play was near the start of a 16-2 run for the Mainstreeters (32-0) in the second half on their way to a 54-45 victory over No. 6-ranked Norwood Young America in the Class 2A semifinal on Friday at Target Center.
Photo gallery: Class 2A semifinals
Sauk Centre coach Scott Bergman said it was similar to the quarterfinal against Byron, when his team erased a nine-point halftime deficit with a 21-2 run. On Friday, the teams were tied 23-23 at halftime.
“It just did not seem like we were scoring in transition like we’re used to in that first half, for whatever reason,” Bergman said. “It just wasn’t working, and then early in that second half, we got a couple run outs. Those are just momentum builders for us.”
Senior Kelsey Peschel, who scored all of her 13 points in the second half, was part of the spark. “Second half was all ours, so I was just super excited to get those in,” she said.
Raiders (28-4) senior center Bren Fox led her team with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
“They picked up their defense the second half, which caused us to get out of sync on our offense,” Raiders coach Gary Lembcke said. “Unfortunately, they capitalized and took advantage of some of the mistakes we made.”
First report
The streak is still alive.
Top-ranked Sauk Centre (32-0) defeated No. 6-ranked Norwood-Young America 54-45 in the Class 2A semifinals Friday at Target Center.
The two squads were tied at 23 after a back-and-forth first half, but the Mainstreeters used a 16-2 run to distance themselves in the second half. Sophomore guard Tori Peschel scored 18 points and senior Maesyn Thiesen added 13 points for Sauk Centre. Senior Kelsey Peschel scored all of her 13 points in the second half.
The Mainstreeters, in their fourth consecutive state tournament appearance, look to finish off the undefeated season with a state title. They have runner-up finishes in 2012, 2015 and 2017.
The loss snaps a 15-game winning streak for the Raiders (28-4). Senior center Bren Fox led their effort with 18 points.
Check back later for more on the game.
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