Groton pushed the pace on offense and pinched the post on defense to fuel a victory Tuesday night at Roncalli Gym.
The Tigers pulled away from Webster in the fourth quarter on the way to a 50-31 girls’ basketball victory in Region 1A tournament action.
Groton was clinging to a 31-28 lead late in the third quarter before blitzing the Bearcats 19-3 to finish off the contest.
From the opening whistle, the Tigers played at break-neck speed, trying to force turnovers on defense and score in transition on offense.
“We don’t really like to play half-court offense,” said Groton’s Rylee Dunker, “so we want to get the ball up the court as fast as we can.”
That strategy worked as Webster got caught up in the pace on both ends of the floor, rushing shots on offense and then having to scramble to get back on defense.
“It’s definitely difficult because we have to try to get back and get in our offense right away or try to defend them right away, and they are just going right through us,” said Webster senior Payton Snell. “We have to just try to keep our composure and keep our balance on them.”
The Tigers moved the ball so quickly, they almost got ahead of themselves at times.
“Playing too fast with the ball and fumbled the ball around,” said Groton coach Matt Locke.
Webster’s Erin Sannes worked inside for 10-first half points as the Bearcats trailed by just three at the half. However, that interior offense dried up in the second half as Groton made an adjustment.
“A lot of it was, they really started shutting down and pinching our post play,” said Webster coach Mike Dunse. “Post play’s been our big thing all year with the height that we have on the floor. Coach Locke came up with something at halftime that just pinched that out and it made it difficult to get into the post spot.”
A big sequence took place late in the third quarter and early in the fourth period that allowed the Tigers to break away. Sydney Leicht nailed a 3-pointer right before the end of the third period, and then Dunker scored, and Jerica Locke converted a turnover into a three-point play and just like that Groton’s precarious 34-29 lead had grown to 42-29 in a span of less than 30 seconds.
Meanwhile, Webster managed just two points in the final quarter as perimeter shots weren’t falling and the middle of the lane was clogged up.
“We just couldn’t get the three to drop tonight,” Dunse said. “We kind of rely on that to pick up some of our extra points and open that middle up. If we can’t get our threes to drop, they just start closing that middle off.”
Not only that, but the pace of the play began to take a toll on the Bearcats, despite frequent substitutions.
“It’s still so difficult constantly going back and forth,” Snell said.
Meanwhile, Dunker was a force inside for Groton the entire night. Not only did she score 11 points, she hauled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
“I just found a girl, boxed her out, and went for the ball,” Dunker said.
Her effort drew the praise of Locke following the contest.
“Rylee got after it tonight. She’s got real potential,” Locke said. “She just has to get some more confidence. She’s just a sophomore, yet, first year of really getting major varsity time.”
Leicht, Jaedyn Penning, and Brooklyn Hansen each scored eight points, and Locke added seven for the Tigers.
Sannes topped the Bearcats with 14 points. Webster, which concluded its season with a 7-14 record, loses just one senior on the squad in Snell.
“I’m very sad,” Snell said. “It’s hard being the only senior the whole year. It’s hard leaving all the girls.”
Groton, 14-7 on the year, now takes on Aberdeen Roncalli at 7 p.m. Thursday for the right to advance to next week’s SoDak 16.
“We just have to come play loose,” Locke said. “We’re at their place. Come and play hard, play loose and let the chips fall where they may.”
WEBSTER (7-14): Payton Snell 2 0-0 4, Erin Sannes 6 2-2 14, Harley Johnson 1 0-2 3, Allison Case 2 0-0 5, Bailee Ninke 2 0-0 4, Chloe Mammenga 0 1-2 1. Totals 13-43 3-6 31.
GROTON (14-7): Sydney Leicht 3 0-0 8, Jerica Locke 2 3-5 7, Jaedyn Penning 3 2-2 8, Kennedy Hansen 1 0-0 2, Rylee Dunker 4 3-8 11, Brooklyn Hansen 3 0-0 8, Faith Traphagen 2 0-0 4, Talli Wright 1 0-0 2. Totals 19-53 8-15 50.
Webster 9 19 29 31
Groton 6 22 37 50
3-point field goals – Johnson, Case; Leicht (2), B. Hansen (2). Total fouls – Webster 16; Groton 10. Rebounds – Webster 29 (Johnson 8); Groton 39 (Dunker 16). Turnovers – Webster 24; Groton 13. Assists – Groton 13 (Penning 4, Locke 3). Steals – Groton 18 (Dunker 5, Penning 4).
