Waterville-Elysian-Morristown coach Tyler Kaus kept looking at the scoreboard, wondering why the second half was taking so long.
His girls basketball team had built a lead, but it seemed to be slowly slipping away.
“Every time I looked at the clock, I was wondering what happened,” he said. “Especially when we got to about 9 minutes. Our possessions seemed to last five seconds. I’m so proud of our girls for staying with it.”
WEM defeated New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva 55-43 in the Section 2AA semifinals Monday at Bresnan Arena, reversing the decision when the teams played in Gopher Conference games. The Panthers, seeded No. 2 in the South Subsection, defeated WEM twice during the regular season, though both were close games.
“Every time we play them, you know it’s going to be a battle,” Kaus said. “They got us twice during the year, but we didn’t think we played complete games those times. Our girls really competed and bought into the defense all game long.”
The Buccaneers, who defeated top-seeded Maple River in the subsection semifinals, were aggressive early, going up 10-1 on a pair of 3-pointers by Kylie LaFrance after four minutes.
WEM took advantage of several turnovers to put together a 16-0 run, with 12 points coming in the paint. Addison Condon came off the bench to score eight points in the run, which put the Bucs on top 26-4 with 6:38 remaining in the first half.
The Panthers finally got some shots to fall, scoring nine straight as Faith Nielsen hit a 3-pointer and driving basket, as the gap closed to 28-15. However, Alayna Atherton answered with a three-point play, and the Bucs held a 31-17 lead at halftime.
“There were some nerves, and we knew they were going to keep fighting,” Atherton said. “They’re a good team. They weren’t going to give up.”
Then Panthers gradually closed the gap in the second half, and Nielsen hit consecutive baskets to start a final rally. Nielsen scored again with 3:05 to play to make it 49-43.
However, the Bucs finished at the free throw line, not making a field goal in the final 6:25. Condon was 4 of 4 at the line in the final two minutes.
Condon led the Bucs with 15 points and seven rebounds. Atherton had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Ashlyn Pelant had 11 points. Claire Bohlen grabbed eight rebounds.
“This feels great, feels amazing,” Atherton said. “This is my first time playing at (Minnesota State), and to win is amazing. This has been one of my dreams in my basketball career.”
Nielsen scored 15 points to lead the Panthers (20-8). Quinn Vanmaldeghem had six points and 11 rebounds, and Hallie Schultz had nine rebounds.
WEM (18-11) will play Glencoe-Silver Lake in the Section 2AA championship game at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Bresnan Arena.
Glencoe-Silver Lake 64, Tri-City United 59: Top-seeded GSL trailed until late in the game, pulling out the victory in the Section 2AA, North Subsection championship game at Bresnan Arena.
Brooke Mickolichek led GSL with 29 points.
Audrey Vosejpka led TCU with 14 points, and Ella Schmiesing scored 13 points.
GSL plays WEM in the section championship game at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Bresnan Arena.
Please follow Chad Courrier on X @ChadCourrier.