Redhawks Advance With Second Half Spurt

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn—The Minnehaha Academy played in the class AA tournament for the first time. They made the most of their first trip after playing in the AAA tournament last year with a 56-31 victory over Hawley.

Through the first 18 minutes of play, Bill Gottenborg’s team appeared to have the Redhawks right where the wanted them. Minnehaha Academy averaged 64 points per game during the season, and the Nugget defense was coming up golden in the first half. Hawley held the Redhawks to 38 percent shooting from the field and just 23 points in the half.

”We got two starters in foul trouble and had to sit them along time,” said Redhawks head coach Josh Thurow. “State tournament games are a little lower scoring, with all that said, it was good we held them to sixteen.”

Minnehaha Academy came out and established themselves in the second half. The Redhawks went on an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 16 points at 34-18. They continued to pressure defensively and allowing the Nuggets one shot at the basket. The Redhawks shot a blistering 62 percent from the field in the second half. They also went to the free throw line 23 times converting on 12 of those opportunities.

The Nuggets, who entered the game undefeated at 29-0, shot 25 percent for the game at 12-47 and only added 15 second half points to their 16 in the first. Hawley will have a strong group coming back next year. As it turned out, the “been there, done that” experience of the Redhawks paid huge dividends in their quarterfinal contest.

Minnehaha Academy moves on to the semi-final game and will face Rochester Lourdes in Friday night.