Hills-Beaver Creek senior Amanda Olson is fouled by a Wabasso defender while the Patriot drives to the basket during Friday’s Section 3A Girls’ Basketball Tournament championship game in Marshall. Olson scored four points and grabbed five rebounds during a 54-42 loss.By John RittenhouseHills-Beaver Creek’s bid to earn its first berth in a state basketball tournament was denied during the Section 3A Girls’ Basketball Tournament championship game played at Southwest State University in Marshall Friday.The Patriot girls, who won the first sub-section title in 13 years three days earlier, were hoping to become the first team in school history to advance to a state tournament.Standing in H-BC’s way in the section finals was Wabasso, a tall and talented team that was gunning for its first state tournament, too.In a game that was closer than the final score indicates, it was the Rabbits who punched their ticket to Minneapolis by defeating the Patriots 54-42.H-BC’s 17-11 season comes to an end. Wabasso, 28-4 overall, plays 23-5 Barnesville at 3 p.m. in today’s Class A quarterfinals at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.The Patriots can take pride in the fact that they made the Rabbits fight hard to advance to state.Although H-BC never led in the game, it trailed by as little as one point in the second half.In the end, Wabasso’s constant defensive pressure and pure athleticism prevailed as the Rabbits wore down the Patriots enough to outscore them 14-6 in the fourth quarter."It was their quickness and their length," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle, when asked what settled the issue in Wabasso’s favor."They start a 5-10 guard and 6-0 and 6-1 posts. The other two starters are extremely quick. Their girls are long and athletic, and they cover a lot of ground on the press."Wabasso’s team quickness was evident throughout the game, as was H-BC’s determination to play with the Rabbits.The game was tied at two early before Wabasso scored four straight points to take a 6-2 lead.H-BC’s Erin Boeve tied the game at six with a field goal at the 4:31 mark of the first quarter, and the score was knotted at eight when the Rabbits went on a 10-0 run to open an 18-8 advantage as the period progressed.Boeve, who led the Patriots with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots in the game, scored with 1:18 remaining in the first quarter to make it an 18-10 game at period’s end.The Rabbits led by 10 points twice in the first 1:25 of the second quarter and sported a 13-point cushion (25-12) with 5:41 left in the first half, but the final five minutes of the period belonged to H-BC.A 13-5 run capped a field goal by Cassi Tilstra with 51 seconds remaining in the second quarter and brought the Patriots within five points (35-30) of the Rabbits. The teams traded baskets before the half was complete, leaving Wabasso sporting a 32-27 lead.The Rabbits scored the first two points of the third quarter to extend their lead to nine points. H-BC countered with a 6-2 spurt that ended with Kelly Mulder draining a field goal at the 4:15 mark of third quarter to trim Wabasso’s lead to one point at 34-33.Wabasso led 36-35 before scoring four straight points to extend its lead to five points (40-35). Boeve hit a free throw with 27.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it a 40-36 difference at period’s end.The Patriots, however, were unable to cut into Wabasso’s four-point lead in the fourth quarter.The Rabbits led by six points at two different occasions in the early stages of the fourth quarter, and they sported a 12-point (50-38) lead after outscoring H-BC 10-2 in the first 5:31 of the stanza.A field goal by Boeve with 1:10 remaining made it a 50-42 game before the Rabbits scored four unanswered points in the final minute of the contest."I think their constant pressure and not letting us get into our offense finally wore us down in the second half," Goehle offered. "Our kids played extremely hard, and they did everything we asked them to do. We made Wabasso earn the win, and that’s what you want to do."Tilstra turned in a 10-point, seven-rebound, five-assist effort for the Patriots.Senior Amanda Olson, who played her final game with H-BC along with classmates Boeve, Melinda Sandstede and Alissa Hoyme, pulled down five rebounds. Box scoreRozeboom 1 0 2-2 4, Fransman 0 1 0-0 3, Bush 0 1 0-0 3, Sandstede 0 0 0-0 0, Tilstra 5 0 0-0 10, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 6 0 2-4 14, Roozenboom 0 0 0-0 0, Olson 1 0 2-2 4, Mulder 2 0 0-0 4.Team statisticsH-BC: 17 of 36 field goals (47 percent), six of eight free throws (75 percent), 23 rebounds, 14 turnovers.Wabasso: 24 of 63 field goals (38 percent), five of seven free throws (71 percent), 28 rebounds, seven turnovers.
