The Sleepy Eye girls basketball team had the experience of a lifetime playing in the "Barn" at Williams Arena.
If games were decided by effort alone, then Sleepy Eye would be playing for the state championship. Unfortunately for the Indians, the game of basketball is decided by who puts the ball in the hoop most often. Mountain Iron-Buhl scored the first 11 points of the game and never trailed in defeating the local girls 50-31 Thursday in the Class A high school girls basketball state tournament quarterfinals at Williams Arena.
The Indians struggled the entire game against the much taller and very aggressive MIB squad. SE shot just 25% in the contest, even when they got good looks (which wasn’t often) they would misfire on the shot.
The Rangers made a pair of steals then forced the Indians to turn the ball over allowing them to build a 11-0 lead just 2:20 into the game. Jessica Busch finally was able to get the Indians on the board at the 15:00 mark.
SE trailed 20-7 with just under eleven minutes to go. The Indians cut their deficit to 25-17 at the half, courtesy of four free throws and a trey by Carissa Hillmer.
MIB hit a three pointer fifteen seconds into the second half. Their lead was back to 13 less than a minute into the half. The closest things would get again was nine points at 36-27 when McKayla Ahlrich grabbed an offensive rebound and banked it in. It was all MIB the rest of the way.
“We got some good looks, we just couldn’t finish,” said coach Ryan Hulke. “I think we were a little star struck by the atmosphere early and that put us in a hole. MIB averages 64 points offensively and we held them to 50, so I can’t fault our effort on the defensive end.”
“This experience is something these girls will never forget. From the banquet Wednesday night, to arriving on campus Thursday morning, the looks and expressions on the girl’s faces is something I personally will never forget,” added Hulke.
“It’s such a huge momentum builder for the program. I have heard from so many young kids and players now that their goal is to play at Williams Arena someday because they got to see their role models do the same and realize it is possible for Sleepy Eye to play in the State Tournament. I have already had phone calls about a couple girls joining select AAU teams from the area, and everyone is already talking about how they are going to make themselves better this offseason. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come!” said Hulke.
“Unfortunately we lose a group of seniors that can’t be replaced. Three out of five have been playing varsity for four or more years, and that experience and leadership is going to be terribly missed.” explained Hulke. “I came in that first week and made some changes from day one, and at first they may not have seen the big picture, but as the season went on they really started to understand why I made them and accepted it’s better for the team. I could talk about these five girls forever, but the bottom line is they will be missed on and off the court.”
The Indians finish the year with a 19-11 mark
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