After losing a defensive battle in Randolph 44-37 on Tuesday, the varsity girls bounced back on Friday with come-from-behind 58-37 win over host New Ulm Cathedral.
NUC scored on a three, one of five they would have in the first half, for the game’s first basket. Kaylee Karels drove in for a bucket, and Sarena Remiger pivoted inside, and the Clippers led 4-3.
Remiger put in a layup, but the Greyhounds added the next eight points to go in front 13-6. Karels and Greta Hahn each made a free shot, and Ava Hahn scored from the perimeter, but Cathedral made a pair of free shots, a couple of baskets from the floor and another three to go up 21-11.
“We just didn’t get rolling the way we wanted to coming out,” said head coach Joe Remiger.
But the Clippers matched up heightwise, and that provided some flexibility on defense, Remiger said.
“We did a really good job defensively. Instead of fighting through those screens, we did a switch, and that helped us to step in front of passes.”
But starting with threes by Ava Hahn and Karels, the Clippers took the game over on both sides of the court, scoring all but three of the next 27 points.
With a steal, layup and the and-one basket, Greta Hahn converted a three-point play with 0.6 seconds left, and the Clippers led 35-23 at the break.
“The way we finished out the first half, with Greta taking it at them, we’ve been working at that all week,” Remiger said. “She took it in and made contact. It was a good way to finish the half and gave us energy, I think, to start the second half and keep it rolling.”
Ava Hahn waltzed through the lane for the first bucket of the second half. Later, Greta Hahn and Lacey McCabe each put in a three. Remiger put up two buckets and Ava Hahn added three more, and Mariah McCabe pulled down an offensive rebound and scored.
Not to be done by her older siblings, eighth grader Taylor McCabe banked in a basket at the final buzzer to put the finishing touches on the triumph.
With 17 points, six from behind the arc, Karels led all scorers. Ava Hahn had 16 points, 10 twos and two threes. Greta Hahn had nine points, including one three. Remiger also scored nine points. Lacey McCabe put in a three for three total points. Mariah McCabe and Taylor McCabe each tossed in a basket.
The Clippers were successful in six of 16 shots from the goodwill stripe. NUC put in five threes and made eight of 21 foul shots.
The Clippers lead early in Randolph. Ava Hahn’ shot from the corner tied the game 2-2. Remiger put an in-bounds pass up and in, Greta Hahn made a free shot, and Karels plopped in basket from behind the arc, the first of a quartet of threes she would have in the half, and the Clippers led 8-4.
The Rockets scored from inside to knot the game 9-9, but Ava Hahn cut in a Mariah McCabe pass for a layup, and Karels took an inbound toss in for a three. Later, the Rockets rebounded and scored for the last basket before the intermission to deadlock the game at 20.
But the Clippers went into a shooting deep freeze to start the second half. The Rockets scored all but one of the first 13 points before Greta Hahn stole and drove from shore to shore for a layup.
“We had what we were looking for, but the shots were just not falling,” Remiger said.
Later, with the Clippers down 41-30, Remiger stole and Greta Hahn put in a three on the possession. Karels drove the baseline for two. Karels stole and made a layup to narrow the Clipper deficit to six, 43-37, but that was as close at they could get.
Karels (on the drive above) led the Clippers with 19 points. Greta Hahn had eight points. Remiger had six points, and Ava Hahn had four points.
Fifteen Clipper points came from three land. As happens more often than not, they could have won the game from the foul line, where they were six of 16. Randolph had four threes and made eight of 19 foul shots.
Randolph was a big, physical team, and coach Remiger was proud of how his team stepped up.
“I told the girls I didn’t care if we got blown away, as long as we were getting better and doing things we practiced. I don’t want to say we are more than satisfied, but I am satisfied with tonight, even though it didn’t come out the way we wanted it to.”
The varsity girls travel to Henderson on Monday to take on Le Sueur-Henderson at Hilltop school.
Ava Hahn twists under a Randolph defender for a shot.
Sarena Remiger stretches for a shot at Randolph.
Greta Hahn drives to the hoop.
With Rocket defenders in front of her, Micah Peterson puts up a shot.
Lacey McCabe tangles with a Randolph defender.
Mariah McCabe takes the ball to the hoop on the New Ulm Cathedral court.
Oliva Reinhardt, Taylor McCabe, Samantha Baker, Addi Holden and Delaney Thompson on defense in New Ulm.