The Osakis girls saw their season come to an end with a 54-44 loss to Benson in the semifinals of the West 6AA tournament on Saturday.
The Braves came in as the top seed in the west but knew exactly what Osakis was capable of after edging them by just four in the regular-season finale. The Silverstreaks again put a scare into Benson as the two teams went into the break tied at 28 apiece.
The Silverstreaks got contributions from everyone on the court in the opening half. Danielle Chisholm and Brooke Sorenson led the way with seven and five points, respectively. Eight players scored in all in the opening 18 minutes as Osakis took some momentum into the break.
The Braves responded in the second half. They turned up their defensive pressure to hold Osakis to just 16 points the rest of the way. Benson countered with 26 points, 13 of which came from the free throw line as it held on down the stretch to advance to the subsection finals.
"I thought the girls competed really hard today," Osakis head coach Pat Kalpin said. "Benson is a very good basketball team and came at us hard, especially on the defensive end. I felt that their pressure got to us in the second half. The first half, I thought we handled their trap well and were able to get some nice open looks."
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The loss ended a season that could help pay dividends in the future as Osakis gained valuable experience with a young core this year. That same group got its feet wet on the varsity level last season on its way to a 7-19 record.
The Silverstreaks improved on that win total by five games this winter. They finished 12-16 overall and 7-5 in the Prairie Conference.
"I thought the team getting to this round in section play was a great accomplishment," Kalpin said. "This team went through a lot this year. We had some tough, close losses this year, especially early. Late in the season, we were able to win close games.
GAME STATISTICS
OSAKIS 28 16 - 44
BENSON 28 26 - 54
OSAKIS - Taylor Kraemer - 2 points; Annalise Savageau - 9 points; Brooke Sorenson - 8 points; Mariah Backes - 4 points; Chisholm - 8 points; Calista Sadlemyer - 5 points; Becka Sadlemyer - 6 points; Michelle Alverson - 2 points
BENSON - Emma Peterson - 18 points; Kenzie Jensen - 2 points; Kelsey Sonnabend - 9 points; Emily Auch - 11 points; Samantha Goff - 4 points; Beth Larson - 5 points; Emily Goff - 5 points
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Osakis 50, Morris 49
Annalise Savageau and Calista Sadlemyer cemented Osakis' Section 6AA-West opening game victory Thursday night.
Savageau hit the second of her two free throw attempts with 6.4 seconds remaining to put Osakis up by one over Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta and Sadlemyer intercepted a long pass by the Tigers to end the game 50-49 and advance the Silverstreaks to the Section 6AA-West semifinals.
"What an exciting night and win for our team tonight," said Osakis head coach Pat Kalpin. "This was a game of runs from both teams.
"We were able to build a couple of comfortable leads and Morris was able to battle back."
Sadlemyer had 11 rebounds to go with her eight points, while Savageau had 23 points and three assists, adding a pair of steals.
"This was such a great accomplishment for the girls, not only getting the home playoff game, but winning as well," said Kalpin.
GAME STATISTICS
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MORRIS 23 26 -- 49
OSAKIS 22 28 -- 50
OSAKIS - Annalise Savageau 23, Brooke Sorenson 7, Danielle Chisholm 3, Calista Sadlemyer 8, Becka Sadlemyer 3, Taylor Kraemer 2, Michelle Alverson 4. Field goals 25-62, 3-pt 6-14 (Savageau 3, Chisholm 1, C. Sadlemyer 2), Free throws 6-15, Rebounds 22 (C. Sadlemyer 11, B. Sadlemyer 4), Assists 14 (Sorenson 5), Turnovers 6, Fouls 13.
MORRIS AREA/CHOKIO-ALBERTA - Beth Holland 3, Holly Amundson 2, Katie Holzheimer 6, Natalie Johnston 3, Shadow Olson 5, Hannah Sayles 10, Erika Domnick 12, Erin Schieler 8. Field goals 17-42, 3-pt 6-17 (Holzheimer 2, Sayles 2, Johnston 1, Olson 1), Free throws 9-15, Rebunds 20 (Domnick 6, Schieler 6), Fouls 14.
Benson 51,
Minnewaska 29
Top-seeded Benson moved on with a 51-29 win over Minnewaska in the 6AA-West opener as Emily Auch dropped in 22 points for the Braves.
Minnewaska got seven points from Sydney Joos as no Laker player reached double figures.
The Lakers finished the season with a 1-24 record.
GAME STATISTICS
MINNEWASKA 14 15 -- 29
BENSON 25 26 -- 51
MINNEWASKA - Halle Christianson 4, Madison Phillips 3, Kaylee Jacobs 4, Natalie Holte 1, Shayla Paulzine 2, Veronica Weisel 2, Lexi Amundson 2, Sydney Joos 7, Jillian Hendrickson 2, Alexis Guggisberg 2. Field goals 11-38, 3-pt 0-5, Free throws 7-18, Rebounds 30, Fouls 14.
BENSON - Emma Peterson 4, Kenzie Jensen 4, Kelsey Sonnabend 6, Emily Auch 22, Samantha Goff 8, Mel Webber 2, Emily Goff 5. Field goals 20-57, 3-pt 5-21, Free throws 6-111, Rebounds 36, Fouls 16.
Breckenridge 57, WCA 53
West Central Area ended its season with a 57-53 loss to Breckenridge in the opener.
"Tonight's game was a heartbreaker for our girls," said Knight head coach Beth Hanson. "We started slowly and were never able to catch back up.
"You have to give Breck credit. They came out ready to play with a lot of intensity. They were able to make shots when ours just weren't falling.
"The thing I am incredibly proud about is that our girls did not give up. They fought back and battled until the very end."
West Central Area got 20 points from Alyssa Blair and 14 from Marissa Skinnemoen.
GAME STATISTICS
BRECKENRIDGE 57,
WEST CENTRAL AREA 53
WEST CENTRAL AREA - Alyssa Blair 20, Marissa Skinnemoen 14, Jen Froemming 8, Tee Rudnitski 8, Deanna Passer 3. Field goals 21-62, 3-pt 3-7, Free throws 8-17, Rebounds 25 (Blair 7, Froemming 5), Assists 2, Steals 14 (Froemming 5), Blocked shots 4 (Passer 2), Fouls 24.
