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By Cynthia Scott
The Rush City Tigers' amazing post-season run came to a halt on March 1 in the subsection 18 championship game against the Foley Falcons. The Falcons defeated the Tigers 37-56.
The Tigers upset Great River Conference champion Braham on Feb. 24 and then defeated Hinckley-Finlayson on Feb. 26 to earn a berth in the championship game against Foley. The win was Foley's 20th of the season. They went on to lose 57-38 to Albany in the section championship
Senior Breann Stottler, who has been a juggernaut both offensively and defensively in the post-season, was named to the all-tournament team.
Rush City held its own in the first half against Foley, in spite of frigid outside shooting. Both teams shot 33 percent on field goals, but the Tigers made only 1 of 8 three-pointers while the Falcons put in 3 of 6. The cold 3-point shooting continued for the Tigers in the 2nd half, and for the game they shot only 2 of 19. But Foley shot 60 percent, and that proved to be too much for Rush City to overcome.
"The team came out and played real hard the first half despite our shots not falling," said Coach Stuart Lang. "Foley came out the second half and caught fire. They had some girls step up and that's what it takes to win championships."
Foley had 3 players in double figures. Christine Reimer and Ashley Stewart each scored 15 and Alysa Kotsmith contributed 13. Kotsmith also had 9 rebounds.
Foley out-rebounded the Tigers 33-20.
Stottler led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points and Becky Kemen added 8. Stottler also had 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Lang credited his corps of seniors for the team's success in the playoffs. The seniors are Stottler, Holly Grimes, Christine Frandsen, Laura Cort and Brittany Wendorf.
Two years ago the Tigers went 19-6 and lost to East Central in the subsection final. But that was before Rush City was moved to Class 2A. "For us to make it back there two years later, after moving up a class, is huge," Lang said."In Class 2A we are sometimes competing against schools twice our size."
The Tigers finish the season with a record of 14-11.
IN THE PICTURE:
The Rush City Tigers with their second place trophy. Bottom row (l to r): Derra Gullickson, Heather Dean, Becky Kemen, Holly Grimes, Breann Stottler, Jamie Prettner, Justine Prettner, Amber Hoffman. Back row (l to r): Shannon Grimes, Laura Cort, Laura Gamache, Kacie Vold, Christine Frandsen, Bobbi Cort, Brittany Wendorf.
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