Willmar eliminates Pantherse from 8AAA playoffs with win in OT

Andrea Brown's desparation 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime and Laura Nielsen's pair of baskets in the extra session lifted Willmar to a 53-50 victory over Park Rapids in a Section 8AAA semifinal game Saturday night at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Willmar led 23-16 at the half and 26-16 at the start of the second half before Janessa Wolff, who sat out the majority of the first half with three fouls, sparked a 9-0 run as the Panthers closed the margin to 26-25.

After 3-pointers by Dana Guetter and Brown extended the lead to 32-25, Wolff's short jumper sparked a 12-2 run that gave Park Rapids a 37-34 advantage.

A free throw by Wolff gave the Panthers a 45-42 lead with 10 seconds to play before Brown hit her game-tying shot.

Brown made five 3-pointers in the game and finished with 20 points while Laura Nielsen had 24 points. The win gave Willmar, which is ranked No. 8 in the final state Class AAA poll, a 22-4 record entering the section title game.

Wolff scored 21 of her game-high 30 points in the second half. Wolff also had 17 rebounds and three blocks. Lauren Knuttila hit three 3-pointers and added 11 points while Lindsey Czeczok had five assists. Nicki Schumacher added four assists as the Panthers ended the season with a 22-5 record. The 22 wins are the most ever posted in a season in the history of the Park Rapids girls basketball program.

"You have to give our girls a lot of credit," said Park Rapids head coach John Schumacher. "We were down by 10 in the second half, but we played good defense and hit some shots and had a chance to win it. We played well against the No. 8-ranked team in the state."

WILLMAR: Brown 20, Holmgren 5, Nielsen 24, Guetter 4. Totals: 19 of 48 (FG), 8 of 13 (FT).

PARK RAPIDS: Knuttila 4 0-0 11, Schumacher 0 1-2 1, Tretbar 1 0-0 3, Czeczok 1 0-1 2, Wolff 12 6-10 30, Gravalin 0 1-4 1, Pike 1 0-0 2, Grewe 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 of 34 (FG), 8 of 17 (FT).

Halftime: Willmar 23, Park Rapids 16. End of regulation: Park Rapids 45, Willmar 45. Three-point field goals: Brown 5, Guetter 1, Nielsen 1, Knuttila 3, Tretbar 1. Total fouls: Park Rapids 13, Willmar 15. Fouled out: Czeczok. Rebounds: Park Rapids 25 (Wolff 17, Schumacher 3, Czeczok 2, Gravalin 1, Knuttila 1, Pike 1). Assists: Park Rapids 13 (Czeczok 5, Schumacher 4, Knuttila 2, Pike 1, Tretbar 1). Steals: Park Rapids 2 (Czeczok 1, Wolff 1). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 3 (Wolff 3). Turnovers: Park Rapids 18, Willmar 12.

Panthers oust Perham

Park Rapids jumped out to a 9-0 lead then used a 19-2 run late in the game to spark a 47-29 win over Perham in the Section 8AAA playoff opener Thursday night at the Area High School gym.

Two jumpers by Wolff, a jumper by Lindsey Czeczok and a 3-pointer by Knuttila gave the Panthers a 9-0 lead at the 14:27 mark.

Perham's first field goal came on a layup by Shannon Winkels with 10:30 to play in the first half.

Wolff followed with an assist on a layup by Czeczok, two inside baskets and four free throws as the Panthers led 20-9 at the 3:33 mark.

Baskets by Kayla Speicher, Megan Miller and Brandi Cresap closed the deficit to 20-15 with 15 seconds to play in the first half before a basket off a rebound by Wolff at the buzzer gave Park Rapids a 22-15 advantage.

After Czeczok opened the second half with a layup, Perham went on an 8-2 run as baskets by Juliana Schumacher, Cresap, Speicher and Brittany Gigstead made it 27-23. A jumper by Miller pulled Perham to within 28-25 with 8:53 to play.

Wolff then scored the Panthers' next 12 points to provide a 39-27 cushion with 4:53 remaining. Wolff made 8 of 9 free throws and added a pair of layups during that stretch.

A 3-pointer by Jena Pike, another layup by Wolff and two free throws by Heather Tretbar pushed the lead to 47-27 with 2:41 to play. A layup by Lauri Sczygiel with 2:21 concluded the scoring.

Wolff led the Panthers with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Czeczok grabbed 13 rebounds and had three steals while Nicki Schumacher had seven assists as the Panthers set a school record for victories in a season with win No. 22.

Perham ended the season with an 11-16 record.

"Perham played pretty well, but we didn't panic and took care of the ball down the stretch," said Schumacher. "That was a great win."

PERHAM: Stoll 0 0-0 0, J. Schumacher 3 0-0 6, Sczygiel 1 0-0 2, Winkels 2 0-0 4, Cresap 2 0-0 4, Gigstead 3 0-0 6, Speicher 1 0-0 2, Miller 2 1-6 5. Totals: 14 of 50 (FG), 1 of 6 (FT).

PARK RAPIDS: Knuttila 1 0-0 3, N. Schumacher 0 1-2 1, Tretbar 0 2-4 2, Czeczok 3 0-1 6, Wolff 9 12-15 30, Ament 0 0-0 0, Gravalin 0 0-0 0, Grewe 0 0-0 0, Pike 2 0-0 5. Totals: 15 of 45 (FG), 15 of 22 (FT).

Halftime: Park Rapids 22, Perham 15. Three-point field goals: Knuttila 1, Pike 1. Total fouls: Perham 19, Park Rapids 12. Fouled out: Czeczok. Rebounds: Park Rapids 38 (Czeczok 13, Wolff 11, Knuttila 4, Gravalin 3, N. Schumacher 3, Tretbar 3, Pike 1). Assists: Park Rapids 12 (N. Schumacher 7, Czeczok 2, Wolff 2, Gravalin 1). Steals: Park Rapids 8 (Czeczok 3, Knuttila 2, Wolff 2, N. Schumacher 1). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 5 (Wolff 4, Knuttila 1). Turnovers: Perham 17, Park Rapids 15.