Warriors Girls Basketball Wins Sectional Opener

Back in the second game of the season, East Ridge came to West St. Paul and beat the Henry Sibley girls basketball team in the championship game of its own tournament.

On Monday night, the Warriors got their revenge.

With 15 and 14 points, respectively, from post players Jessie Kreuser and Jill Gangl, Henry Sibley defeated the visiting Raptors by a score of 62-42 in the opening round of the Section 4AAAA Tournament.

"It was our best game of the season," Warriors head coach Tom Gustafson said. "From start-to-end, our best game."

Eighth-seeded Henry Sibley took the lead just seconds after the tip-off on a basket by Gangl and increased its lead to 6-0 while holding ninth-seeded East Ridge without a basket for the first eight-and-a-half minutes of the game.

Yet, when the Raptors finally did score, they went on a sudden 7-0 run of their own to take a slim lead that they owned for the next three minutes until a three-pointer from guard Katie Jacobsen gave the Warriors the edge for good at 15-13 with just over three minutes until the half.

The two teams traded baskets for the ensuing minutes until Jacobsen capped off the half with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from center court to send the Warriors jubilantly off to the locker room with a 24-19 advantage.

East Ridge would not be so close again as Henry Sibley opened the second half on an 11-4 run to push its lead to double digits at 35-23 on a three-pointer from Emily Larson after 4:45 had elapsed in the frame.

The Warriors continued to build on their lead, pushing it to as high as 28 points before Gunderson pulled his starters. The game concluded with both sides playing their reserves as the final horn blew on Henry Sibley's 20-point victory.

"We played consistent defense and were solid on offense," Gunderson said. "Our seniors played out of their minds."

The victory concluded the Warriors' home schedule as the team takes its 11-16 record to No. 1-seeded White Bear Lake on Wednesday night.

"It's going to be fun to play another game," Gunderson said. "That's why you play, to play games."

The Bears won the Suburban East Conference this season and carry a 23-3 record into the playoffs. Still, Gunderson sees room for optimism.

"Who knows?" He said. "Size-wise, we match up well with them, if we can make our outside shots like we did tonight, we can make it a different game; I hope we can do that."

Tip-off for Wednesday's game is at 7 p.m. The winner of the contest advances to the sectional semifinals at East Ridge High School on Saturday night, with the 4AAAA finals scheduled for Thursday, March 10.