The Luverne girls’ basketball team traveled to Marshall to take on New London-Spicer Friday, March 10, for the Section 3AA Championship.
Region 3A No. 1-seeded Luverne fell 44-32 to Region 5A No. 1–seeded New London-Spicer Wildcats in a heartbreaking game for LHS.
“This loss was hard to swallow, and I am not sure when I will get over it,” head coach TJ Newgard said.
“I felt like this team had what it takes to play in the state tournament and thought they deserved that opportunity.”
Luverne started the game with great energy but was unable to get the ball to drop.
“I think a few missed shots by us and a couple made by them really cast some doubt in our minds,” Newgard said.
“We were never able to get anything going offensively in the first half. Part of that was our lack of execution, but it was also a result of their ball pressure.”
The Wildcats kept Luverne to only eight points in the first half while scoring 24 of their own.
“The second half we just talked about leaving it all on the floor,” Newgard said.
“We played our game in the second half, and if we had played like that in the first half, I think this game would have been closer.”
Newgard reflected on Luverne’s game plan saying, “It seemed like every time we had some momentum, they would answer with a three.”
New London-Spicer made six of 15 from beyond the line, while Luverne made two of 17 shots, missing valuable points off the rim.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way, and unfortunately for us, that was Friday night,” Newgard said.
Juniors Kira John and Tori Serie led Luverne in scoring with eight points each.
John played big inside, grabbing eight rebounds with one assist. Serie had one rebound and two steals in the game.
Senior Christina Wagner added six points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
Seniors Elizabeth Wagner and Emma Beyer contributed four points each. Wagner posted six rebounds and four assists and Beyer had three rebounds and two assists.
Senior Jocelyn Hart made two points, one rebound and one steal in the game.
Senior Averill Sehr was held scoreless but grabbed two rebounds, had one assist and one steal for the Cardinals.
“I cannot say enough good things about this group as a whole, but these seniors specifically. They brought it every day of practice and there is a reason they won 25 games,” Newgard said.
“Their leadership will be missed by everyone in the program and by the entire school.”
The Luverne girls’ basketball team finished the season with a record of 25-4 and led the Big South Conference with a record of 11-1.