Winona 85, Chisago Lakes 56

Hallee Hoeppner and Eden Nibbelink combined for 44 points to power Winona past Chisago Lakes by the score of 85-56. Most of the second half was running time after the Winhawks secured a 28-point halftime lead.

Chisago sophomore Carmen Backes scored 31 points in a losing effort. Her performance included three straight triples late in the second half.

Winona enjoyed a significant height advantage across the board with a starting line that went 5-11, 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1. Jayne Emerson, the fifth starter, drilled two of the team’s 12 triples and finished with 12 points.

— Brett Boese

Score by half
Winona — 54-31 — 85
Chisago Lakes — 26-30 — 56
Individual scoring
Winona: Schultz 7, Nibbelink 21, Moger 2, Emerson 12, Hoeppner 23, Lor 8, Winter 4, Voegeli 8
Chisago Lakes: Carlson 9, Nelson 2, Clarin 3, Backes 31, Bjelland 2, Peters 4, Elfering 3, Kluge 2.

Goodhue 69, Mt. Iron-Buhl 60

Mountain Iron-Buhl rallied from a 24-point halftime deficit to tie Goodhue twice in the final 6 minutes. Both times Wildcats senior Michelle Hadler stepped up to hit a 3-pointer that restored the lead.

Hadler hit two free throws late as part of her 10 second-half points to help clinch the 69-60 victory in a battle between two Class A programs with legit state title aspirations.

Goodhue raced to a 21-3 lead before coasting to halftime with a 47-23 advantage. MIB junior Chelsea Mason scored 16 of her 22 in the second half to lead a rally that fell just short.

— Brett Boese

Score by half
Goodhue  47-22 — 69
MIB  23-37 — 60
Goodhue: Me. Ryan 9, Miller 11, Mc. Ryan 12, Hadler 10, Lodermeier 12, Larson 13.
MIB: Mason 22, Peterson 4, Burke 5, Savela 6, Buffetta 11, Dagen 2, Primeau 5.
 

Win-E-Mac 70, Mankato Loyola 62

Senior Madison McKeever outdueled junior Lindsey Theuninick to propel Win-E-Mac to a 70-62 victory over Mankato Loyola.

McKeever scored a game-high 35 points, including 21 in the second half, but it was her passing that proved the difference down the stretch. She scored five straight to break a 55-55 tie, then assisted on three straight buckets that gave Win-E-Mac a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Theuninick poured in five 3-pointers over the first 10 minutes en route to 21 points in the first half. She finished with 30, including six triples. Classmate RaeAnne Dose stepped up in the second to finish with 26, adding another five treys. However, just one teammate scored.

— Brett Boese

Score by half
Mankato Loyola 33- 29 — 62
Win-E-Mac 29-41 — 70
Loyola: Dose 26, Theuninick 30, Mettler 5.
Win-E-Mac: Mar. McKeever 4, Bring 2, Kaserzak 2, Knutson 6, Nomes 2, Mad. McKeever 35, Espeseth 19

White Bear Lake 63 Rochester John Marshall 52

Rochester John Marshall and White Bear Lake continue their every-other-year schedule—White Bear having defeated JM in Rochester’s annual Rotary holiday tournament in 2011-2012 and 2013-2014. Now, #8AAAA JM (2-0) draws the #10AAAA Bears (1-2) in the 3:15 game on the East Court at Lindbergh Center in the Breakdown Tip Off Classic.

JM’s Nicole Fautsch and Jamie Ruden figured to give their team the edge, and they combined for 14 first half points. But Ruden got her third foul on a charge at 4:14. And, more to the point, White Bear guard Alexa Molin scored 14 points all by herself with four three-pointers. Her third three gave White Bear the lead for good at 14-12, en route to a 28-21 White Bear lead at the half.

The White Bear lead was ten a couple times in he second half but JM would not go away. But just as JM got within one, Molin hit her first three of the second half, sandwiched between a pair of baskets by Alison Hinck and the Bears led 55-47 at 3:33. Taite Anderson made 5-of-6 throws down the stretch for a final score of 63-52.

Molin led all scorers with 18 points.

— Marc Hugunin

Score by half
White Bear Lake 28-35--63
Rochester John Marshall 21-31-52
Individual scoring
White Bear Lake: Anderson 10, DeBilzan 3, Crouch 2, Perron 4, Molin 18, Brabenec 4, Ferrand 2, Keefe 4, Karg 2, Hinck 14.
Rochester JM: Haider 6, Gee 2, Js. Ruden 6, Ojeikhodion 5, T. Fautsch 1, Jm. Ruden 7, N. Fautsch 25

Rochester Mayo 49, Minnetonka 45

Mayo senior Courtney Hruska poured in a career-high 23 points to lead the Spartans to a stunning 49-45 victory over Minnetonka. Senior Anna Winter chipped in 19 points and 12 points while playing the whole game against the Skippers’ Division I front line of Lizzie Odegard and Courtney Fredrickson.

Minnetonka turned a steal into a transition layup just before half to grab a 25-22 lead and a quick burst to start the second half had the Spartans on their heels.

Mayo coach Rich Decker used a timeout to regroup and the Spartans slowly clawed their way back in with a methodic attack that limited Minnetonka’s potent offense.

The Spartans led 47-45 with under 10 seconds to play when Tonka senior Hannah Hedstrom misfired on a corner three. Winter calmly got the rebound and sank two free throws to ice the victory.

— Brett Boese

Score by half:
Mayo 22-27 — 49
Minnetonka 25-20 — 45 
Individual scoring:
Minnetonka: Allen 8, Hedstrom 6, Walker 4, Hamilton 2, Gershon 2, Fredrickson 10, Odegard 13.
Mayo: Korngable 6, G. Riley 1, Hruska 23, Winter 19.

Sauk Centre 70, Dover-Eyota 68

Sauk Centre and Dover-Eyota featured a matchup of outstate powers, but don’t tell these fan bases that. Both teams brought big, loud crowds to see a rematch of last year’s AA state championship game in which DE won. 

The two teams flexed their styles throughout the first half, with DE dominating in the paint, led by Madison Nelson (10 pts) and Megan Hintz (10 points). SC elected to do their damage from the perimeter, hitting tough threes and deep twos to keep it close. Maesyn Theisen led the way with 14 first half points, none bigger than a fallaway on the baseline to beat the buzzer. 

SC began the half on a 6-0 run behind great pace and vision from Thiesen, extending the lead to 10 with 10:00 left. Madison Nelson wouldn’t go quietly however. She continued to stay aggressive and got help from sophomore Gracie Gellersen, who finished with 14, in the paint to tie the game at 60 with 5 minutes left. 

When crunch time came, it was time for the stars to shine. Thiesen attacked hard and finished among the trees to build the lead as Nelson kept it close for DE, hitting a huge 18-foot jumper to make it 68-69 with under :30 left, but Sauk Center’s guards were too quick and dribbled out the clock to secure the victory by a final score of 70-68. 

— Jared Nelson

Score by half:
Sauk Centre 36-34–70
Dover-Eyota 36-32–68
Individual scoring 
Sauk Centre — Thiesen 22, Weir 11, Peschel 11, Greenwaldt 5, Borgerding 2, Gamradt 5, Klaphake 14
Dover-Eyota — Nelson 25, Gellersen 14, Hintz 15, Olson 4, Meyers 2, Finstuen 8

Orono 59, Centennial 49

It was the last game of the evening, and Centennial vs. Orono did not disappoint those still in gym late Saturday night. It had a little bit of everything. Big time prospects and role players; proven veterans and youngsters with a name to make. 

Orono held a small lead throughout the first half, thanks in large part to the shooting of junior Tori Andrew. Andrew tallied 4 first-half threes en route to 14 points in the opening frame, but it was Centennial that went into half with a lead on the back of Sydney Stapleton, who nailed an ultra-deep trey as time expired to put the Cougars up 1. 

It was tight throughout the second as well, as Orono continued to turn to Andrew who continued to fill it up. Centennial reaped the benefits of a very balanced attack. 

The Spartans set their defense around the 6 minute mark and were able to build a 5-point lead with under 4 to play. From there, Danielle Jorgensen took over. DJ didn’t score in bunches, but she controlled the pace and the ball on offense, and sat down and kept people in front of her on defense. Excellent backcourt performance from Orono gives them the 59-49 win. 

— Jared Nelson

Scoring by half
​Orono 27-32–59
Centennial 29-20–49
Individual scoring 
Orono — Andrew 34, Jorgensen 10, Rudd 3, McKown 4, Parris 4, Mandel 4
Centennial — Sa. Stapleton 12, Sy. Stapleton 10, Grow 9, McAuley 6, Orth 5, Clark 3, Bolkcom 2

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Click here to view photos from all the games at the Dec. 5 Breakdown Tip Off Classic at Hopkins Lindbergh Center. The photos are organized by game and will be posted within a day or two of completion of the event (check back Tuesday night, Dec. 8).