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Mar. 14—MINNEAPOLIS — A key stretch midway through the second half led by sisters Sam and Ella Hultgren helped lift the MACCRAY girls basketball team to a comeback victory against Sleepy Eye St. Mary's on Friday.
Seventh-seeded MACCRAY (25-5) went on to never trail after taking a 51-48 lead off a Brielle Janssen and-one basket and fought off the third-seeded Knights in capturing a 60-56 victory in the Class A state semifinals at Williams Arena.
"It means the world to us," Wolverines junior center Emma Thein said.
The Wolverines advance to play No. 4 West Central Area (25-6) in the Class A state championship at noon Saturday at Williams Arena.
MACCRAY has never appeared in the Class A state championship. It marks the Wolverines' first state trip in four appearances. Midwest Minnesota, a co-op of Clara City and Maynard, won the Class A state title in 1986.
"We've always talked about what a goal would be for this team and I remember at Christmas we were talking how maybe a goal was state and a couple of them laughed," MACCRAY head coach Shaun Condon said. "I couldn't be more proud."
West Centra Area (25-6) upset top-seeded Goodhue (25-6) 58-50 in the other Class A state semifinal.
SESM (30-3), which was searching for its first state championship berth, plays No. 1 Goodhue in the Class A state third-place game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Concordia University's Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.
"(West Central Area) is a good team, all around," Wolverines senior guard Ella Hultgren said. "All their players are really skilled, so it'll be a challenge for us, but I think we can do it."
The two Hultgren's hit three key 3-pointers made it a 46-46 tie with 7 minutes, 36 seconds to play. That stretch came after the Wolverines, who missed their first five attempts from beyond the arc in the second half, trailed 37-28 early.
Sam and Ella Hultgren hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut MACCRAY's deficit to 43-41 with 8:42 remaining. SESM's Natalie Fischer hit a 3-pointer on the next set to put the Knights up 46-41.
Then, Janssen hit a pair of free throws, came up with a steal and set up Sam Hultgren for another 3-pointer to cap off a five-point swing and tie the game 46-46 with 7:36 to go.
"I've been struggling with my confidence, so I've just been really trying to shoot with confidence recently," Wolverines sophomore guard Sam Hultgren said. "I did that today."
Amelia Schwartz went on to hit a long-range jumper for SESM to give the Knights a 48-46 lead before MACCRAY's Emma Thein scored a layup off an assist by Janssen, who later converted a hard and-one attempt after securing another steal.
That sequence put MACCRAY up 51-48 with 6:48 to go and it never trailed the rest of the way.
SESM tied the game twice, 53-53 and 56-56, but it was Janssen and Thein who were key down the stretch for the Wolverines. Janssen made 7 of 9 free throws, with one layup in the mix, and Thein hit 1 of 2 to help MACCRAY capitalize on its first state championship berth.
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Seventh-seeded MACCRAY (25-5) went on to never trail after taking a 51-48 lead off a Brielle Janssen and-one basket and fought off the third-seeded Knights in capturing a 60-56 victory in the Class A state semifinals at Williams Arena.
"It means the world to us," Wolverines junior center Emma Thein said.
The Wolverines advance to play No. 4 West Central Area (25-6) in the Class A state championship at noon Saturday at Williams Arena.
MACCRAY has never appeared in the Class A state championship. It marks the Wolverines' first state trip in four appearances. Midwest Minnesota, a co-op of Clara City and Maynard, won the Class A state title in 1986.
"We've always talked about what a goal would be for this team and I remember at Christmas we were talking how maybe a goal was state and a couple of them laughed," MACCRAY head coach Shaun Condon said. "I couldn't be more proud."
West Centra Area (25-6) upset top-seeded Goodhue (25-6) 58-50 in the other Class A state semifinal.
SESM (30-3), which was searching for its first state championship berth, plays No. 1 Goodhue in the Class A state third-place game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Concordia University's Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.
"(West Central Area) is a good team, all around," Wolverines senior guard Ella Hultgren said. "All their players are really skilled, so it'll be a challenge for us, but I think we can do it."
The two Hultgren's hit three key 3-pointers made it a 46-46 tie with 7 minutes, 36 seconds to play. That stretch came after the Wolverines, who missed their first five attempts from beyond the arc in the second half, trailed 37-28 early.
Sam and Ella Hultgren hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut MACCRAY's deficit to 43-41 with 8:42 remaining. SESM's Natalie Fischer hit a 3-pointer on the next set to put the Knights up 46-41.
Then, Janssen hit a pair of free throws, came up with a steal and set up Sam Hultgren for another 3-pointer to cap off a five-point swing and tie the game 46-46 with 7:36 to go.
"I've been struggling with my confidence, so I've just been really trying to shoot with confidence recently," Wolverines sophomore guard Sam Hultgren said. "I did that today."
Amelia Schwartz went on to hit a long-range jumper for SESM to give the Knights a 48-46 lead before MACCRAY's Emma Thein scored a layup off an assist by Janssen, who later converted a hard and-one attempt after securing another steal.
That sequence put MACCRAY up 51-48 with 6:48 to go and it never trailed the rest of the way.
SESM tied the game twice, 53-53 and 56-56, but it was Janssen and Thein who were key down the stretch for the Wolverines. Janssen made 7 of 9 free throws, with one layup in the mix, and Thein hit 1 of 2 to help MACCRAY capitalize on its first state championship berth.
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