By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls basketball team snapped a seven-game losing skid in the regular season finale Tuesday.Hosting Adrian in the final regular season for both teams, Luverne broke open a close game by outscoring the Dragons 21-9 in the fourth quarter to notch a 55-40 victory.The 15-point win was Luverne’s first victory since Jan. 17. The 5-17 Cardinals drew the eighth seed for the Section 3AA South Tournament, and they will take on No. 1 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Tracy.Adrian, which has dropped six straight games, will bring a 7-16 record into the Section 3A South Tournament. The seventh-seeded Dragons take on No. 10 Westbrook-Walnut Grove in a preliminary round game tonight in Adrian. The game starts at 6 p.m.The fourth quarter proved to be the decisive period during Tuesday’s game between the Cardinals and Dragons.Luverne took a 34-31 edge into the stanza and expanded the lead to 10 points (41-31) with a 7-0 run capped by a three-point shot by Maggie Kuhlman with 5:57 left to play.The Dragons trimmed the difference to eight points a couple of times, but Luverne outscored AHS 6-3 in the final 1:34 to win by 15.The Cards scored the first two points of the game before Adrian went on a 7-0 run that ended with Emily Thier converting a field goal at 5:31 of the first period to give the Dragons a 7-2 lead.Luverne battled back to tie the game at 11 before Kuhlman drained a three-point shot with two seconds left to give the hosts a 14-11 lead.Adrian tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter, but the Cards countered with an 11-0 run that ended with the hosts leading 25-14 when Samantha Gacke buried a pair of free throws with 2:25 left in the first half. Adrian trimmed the difference to two points (25-23) when Kelly Banck hit a three-point shot with 31 seconds remaining, and LHS maintained a two-point edge (26-24) at the intermission.The Dragons took a 31-30 lead when Samantha Lynn hit a three-point shot with 1:44 left in the third quarter. Luverne ended the period with a 4-0 spurt capped by a field goal from Gacke to take a 34-31 advantage into the decisive fourth quarter.Gacke, who blocked four shots, registered a double-double by scoring 15 points and collecting 12 rebounds. Kuhlman netted 22 counters. Tori Snyder charted four assists and three steals.Banck, who had four steals for AHS, produced a double-double by tossing in 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Lynn scored 15 points and passed for seven assists. Brittany Bullerman latched on to 12 rebounds.Box scoreAdrianJ.Bullerman 0 0 0-0 0, E.Thier 3 0 0-0 6, Banck 2 4 1-2 17, N.Lynn 0 0 0-0 0, K.Thier 0 0 0-0 0, S.Lynn 5 1 2-2 15, C.Thier 0 0 0-0 0, K.Bullerman 0 0 0-0 0, Runia 0 0 0-0 0, B.Bullerman 1 0 0-0 2, Loosbrock 0 0 0-2 0.LuverneHeitkamp 1 0 0-0 2, Nieuwboer 2 0 1-1 5, Snyder 2 0 2-5 6, Peterson 0 0 0-0 0, Kuhlman 1 4 8-10 22, Hoiland 2 0 0-0 4, Gacke 6 0 3-6 15, Evans 0 0 1-2 1.Team statisticsAdrian: 16 of 54 field goals (30 percent), three of six free throws (50 percent), 41 rebounds, 14 turnovers.Luverne: 18 of 56 field goals (32 percent), 15 of 24 free throws (63 percent), 24 rebounds, seven turnovers.
