BROOKINGS – Just like the Bobcat-Arrow boys’ game held in Bob Jostad Gymnasium on Tuesday, Thursday’s District 1AA third-place game between the Watertown and Brookings girls turned into an all out brawl all the way to the bitter end.
Taylor Terronez capped off a stellar performance with two free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining to lift the Arrows to a 42-40 victory to keep their season alive.
Carolyn Hieb dribbled around her defender and scored on a two-footer off the glass to tie the game at 40-40 and Watertown called a timeout with 6.5 seconds on the clock.
The Arrows inbounded the ball to Mateya Waldner, who dribbled the length of the court and called timeout again with 1.3 seconds left.
With the ball under the Watertown basket, a lob pass was thrown in to Terronez and Baylee Tetzlaff was called for holding on the play, sending Terronez to the line for a bonus free-throw attempt.
Leading 40-36, two different Arrows – Waldner and Megan Fannin – had just missed the front ends of bonus tosses to allow the Bobcats chances to get back into the game, but this time, Terronez drilled both for the two-point edge.
A desperation pass at the end ended up in Waldner’s possession as time ran out.
“Our kids have really connected; I feel bad for our seniors – it’s tough to lose, but it’s really tough to lose that way,” said Bobcat head coach Lynn Frederick. “(I’ve) been around the game long enough where that’s happened – I’ve been on both ends of that, so I know the psychology of that – it’s the part of athletics that is painful at times.
“There’s not a lot that you can say tonight to the kids, but as we reflect and move forward, we’ll learn from it.”
The first half featured two ties and four lead changes as Watertown closed the half with an 8-0 run to take a 23-17 lead into the locker room.
The Bobcats scored six straight points to open the second half and tie the game at 23-all before the Arrows went back up by six, 31-25, with 4:11 left in the third.
Tetzlaff knocked down a 3-pointer, and then, Peyton Evans stole a pass and went coast-to-coast to make it 31-30 at the 1:51 mark.
Cassie Quail buried a trey for Watertown and Johanna Miller scored in the paint for the ‘Cats as the Arrows led 34-32 heading into the final frame.
Michaela Jewett’s bucket in the lane tied the game at 34-34 with 5:25 to go and then the two teams traded baskets inside – Terronez for the Arrows and Evans for ‘Cats – before Watertown scored two straight hoops to go up by four.
Terronez hit a tough driving layup before Jackie Tetzlaff scored in the lane.
After a Brookings miss with 36 seconds to play, the Bobcats had to foul two straight times to put the Arrows in the bonus.
Waldner missed her free throw, but a tieup on the rebound gave the possession back to Watertown.
Baylee Tetzlaff came up with a steal and went the length of the court for a layup to get the ‘Cats within two, 40-38, and Brookings called a timeout to set up its defensive strategy for the final 24 seconds.
The Arrows inbounded to Fannin, and she was immediately fouled by Megan Gilk as only a second ticked off the clock.
Fannin came up empty at the foul line, which allowed the Bobcats to tie the game on Hieb’s basket.
“We had a good start to the third quarter – I think the foul trouble in the first half and the fact with our certain lineup we had to play more zone hurt us a little bit,” Frederick said. “They made some shots, at the same time, our girls responded at halftime – really confidently responded – and then it was a battle.
“You have to give Watertown credit; I thought they really changed their defenses a lot – that was expected – we decided to go with a base offense tonight and that helped us a little bit.
“Our concerted effort to get the ball inside was good; I thought our kids did a pretty good job with that. Our defensive effort was great – our kids have really played great defense as the season has progressed, particularly with our man (to-man).”
Terronez led all scorers with 16 points while Waldner added 11 as the Arrows improved to 6-16. Watertown travels to Brandon on Monday to face the Lynx in a Region 1AA play-in game for a state tourney bid.
Jewett led the Bobcats with 12 points and seven rebounds; Evans finished with 10 points, five boards and two steals; and Tetzlaff chipped in with nine points, six boards, two steals and a pair of assists.
Brookings finished its season with an 8-14 mark as Tetzlaff, Kelsey Phelps and Flannery Berreth ended their Bobcat basketball careers.
“I want to thank the seniors and their parents for their commitment to our program,” said Frederick. “I told the kids tonight that I wouldn’t trade this group for anything – it’s been a special group to coach; it’s been a lot of fun; they always bring energy; a really, close tight-knit group after the game.
“They will always remember that; they will always support each other and for the seniors, they’re a part of our family. As they move forward, we’ll continue to support them.”
WATERTOWN 42, BROOKINGS 40
Watertown (6-16)
Mateya Waldner 4-9 2-3 11, Mariah Gloe 0-5 2-2 2, Taylor Terronez 6-12 2-2 16, Cassie Quail 2-3 0-0 5, Jackie Tetzlaff 1-4 4-4 6, Meghan Heggelund 0-0 2-2 2, Annie Norberg 0-3 0-0 0, Megan Fannin 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 13-36 12-14 42.
Brookings (8-14)
Carolyn Hieb 2-3 0-0 5, Baylee Tetzlaff 4-9 0-0 9, Ava Burns 1-6 0-2 2, Peyton Evans 5-7 0-1 10, Michaela Jewett 4-10 4-4 12, Megan Gilk 0-2 0-0 0, Grace Eggebrecht 0-1 0-0 0, Johanna Miller 1-2 0-0 2, Kelsey Phelps 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-40 4-7 40.
Watertown 5 18 11 8 – 42
Brookings 6 11 15 8 – 40
3-point goals – W 4-12 (Waldner 1-3, Gloe 0-3, Terronez 2-4, Quail 1-1, Norberg 0-1); B 2-12 (Hieb 1-2, Tetzlaff 1-3, Burns 0-3, Jewett 0-3, Gilk 0-1). Rebounds – W 25 (Tetzlaff 8); B 25 (Jewett 7). Assists – W 10 (Quail 4); B 7 (Hieb 2, Tetzlaff 2). Steals – W 7 (Waldner 2, Terronez 2, Tetzlaff 2); B 4 (Tetzlaff 2, Evans 2). Blocks – B 8 (Burns 4). Turnovers – W 13; B 14. Total fouls – W 12; B 19. Fouled out – None.
