Carlton, Wrenshall exit playoffs

Wednesday night the Section 7A girls basketball tournament saw two local teams eliminated from further play. The Wrenshall Wrens were bounced out by No. 2 seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl and No. 7 seeded Carlton fell to No. 10 seed Cook County.

The first round game between Carlton and Cook County was tight all the way with the Vikings holding a slim three-point halftime edge. The Bulldogs cut into the lead in the second half, but when the final horn sounded, the Vikings had hung on for a 50-49 win and a berth in the second round of the playoffs.

“The game was slower-paced and we wanted to get it moving quick because that is when we are typically playing our best,” said Carlton head coach Lucas Beireis. “When we were able to push the ball up the floor, good things were happening, but they did a good job at slowing us down, along with us being complacent with playing a slower-paced game.”

The slow start to the game was difficult for Carlton to overcome as the game wore on.

“For about the first five minutes of the game you could tell our girls were nervous,” explained Beireis. “They haven’t played a game of this magnitude in basketball, and it showed. We started off with a couple of bad turnovers, not catching a pass or making poor passes; we could just tell we were anxious.”

On the other end of the floor, Abbie Crawford pumped in 20 points for the Vikings and Rhonnie Poyirier finished with 18 points. The only other Vikings to score were Ariana Poyirier and Paisley Smith, who each had six points.

“Crawford and Poyirier really hurt us,” Beireis said. “Crawford had a couple of big threes at the beginning. I wanted to face guard her right away and not give her any space, but [we] did not do a great job of that and she hit a couple of threes. After the girls realized the importance of stopping her, I feel we did a better job. Poyirier is just a solid and aggressive rebounder, and for some reason we couldn’t get her off the offensive glass and she got a bunch of second-chance points.”

It appeared as if the Bulldogs would win the game when Alaina Bennett finished off a three-point play, giving Carlton a 49-48 lead, but the Vikings responded on a Paisley Smith field layup with just over 10 seconds remaining to reclaim the lead at 50-49. Carlton had a last chance at tying the game at the buzzer, but the shot ended up short of the rim, giving the Vikings the win.

Leading the Carlton scoring barrage were Alaina Bennett with 21 points and Abby Mickle with 13 points.

“Alaina and Abby have been huge for the team this year,” Beireis said. “They both got selected to all-conference teams with Alaina on the first team and Abby on the second team. Abby has been extremely aggressive the second half of the season and showed it in that game. I’ve been preaching to her all year that she is one of the quickest girls on the court and can get past any defender. She has started to realize that and has been aggressive at getting to the rim for layups or pull-up jumpers, and that is what happened against Cook.”

Wrenshall vs. MIB

The Wrenshall Wrens had the tough task of matching up with No. 2 seeded MIB and were knocked out of the tournament by the Rangers 100-11. MIB is seeking a ninth straight trip to the state tournament out of Section 7A.

“It was a tough loss for us,” said Wrens coach Sheri Nelson. “I had a goal of our team scoring 20 points and trying to hold MIB to 80. They came out strong as I knew they would and I think our girls were a little shell-shocked at how quick they were and their physicality on defense.”

Wrenshall advanced to the first round after winning a play-in game on Monday 36-35 over Silver Bay.

“The hard thing against MIB is the girls tried to play to their tempo and we just aren’t set up to do that. We needed to try and slow the pace down,” Nelson said. “I told the girls that the only thing that would truly upset me about the game is if they gave up and quit. While not one girl stood out with a strong performance against MIB, I think as a team we just continued to work together and do our best against a stronger team.”

The Wrens had a pair of wins in the regular season, as well as the win against Silver Bay in the playoffs, but they were no match for the incredibly tough Rangers.

The team will lose three seniors to graduation, including April Lattu, Haley Patritto and Jordyn Seehus

“All three are great girls and will go on to be successful in whatever they choose to do,” Nelson said. “ One thing you would most often see on their faces were smiles. Those smiles and their personalities are what I will miss the most next year.”

Despite the lack of wins, Nelson said there were plenty of other things for the Wrens to be proud of.

“We certainly didn’t have the season that any of us had hoped for in terms of wins and losses,” she said. “My hope is that the girls learned a lot about themselves and each other in the challenges we faced during the season.”