Kasson-Mantorville Finishes Season Today

The Kasson-Mantorville Komets will finish their season today and could do something only a handful of teams get to do each year. End their season with a win. It won't be easy but, as I always say, anything worthwhile in life shouldn't be easy. Head coach Ryan Haraldson told me before the New Prague game to open the tournament that his team wanted to show they belonged in the tournament. They have certainly done that: defeating New Prague without their leader and giving the defending state champs from Park Center a scare in the semifinals.

Sophomore post Kristin Scott has scored 42 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and tallied seven blocks in the two state tournament contests. Scott is 16 of 26 from the field (61 percent) and 10 of 12 from the free throw line (83 percent). Eighth-grader Peyton Suess has 10 points, 18 rebounds and one block and junior Maddie Worden has 18 points, 15 rebounds and is eight of 12 from the charity stripe. Senior Taylor Wiebke has eight assists. Senior Taylor Miller scored 10 points against New Prague and was in foul trouble against Park Center.

I can't help but believe the Komets might have been able to knock off Park Center with point guard Cori Kennedy on the floor. The 5-foot-4 senior injured her knee in the opener against New Prague just a little over two minutes into the game.  She had an MRI on Friday and the results show a torn ACL. Not good news for the defending state champion softball team at Kasson-Mantorville. Kennedy is heading to Minnesota State-Mankato to play softball. She led the team this season in three-pointers made (and the Komets struggled from beyond the arc against Park Center, going one for seven) and is the second leading scorer in school history and the second leading scorer on this year's team. It's hard to replace her 15.4 points average per game and nearly four assists per contest.

The Orono Spartans were the No. 1 seed in this tournament, and top-ranked team in Class AAA. They are led by their point guard, 5-foot-6 senior Kiera Nelson, who averages 16 points a game. Their center is 6-foot-4 junior Meghan Mandel, and she averages 12 points, seven rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. Five-foot-8 junior guard Danielle Jorgenson averages 12 points and four rebounds and also dishes out about five assists a game. Orono moves the ball well, averaging 18 assists per contest. They have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 15 rebounds a game so glass will be key in this game for Kasson-Mantorville, and maybe they can disrupt that ball movement by wreaking havoc in the passing lanes.

I'm sure coach Haraldson and his assistants, Slone Suess, Matt Rosaaen and Bob Buck, will have a great game plan for the Spartans.

I'll have the game on KDHL Radio  920 AM and of course kdhlradio.com. You can also tune in by downloading the free Radio Pup app on your favorite mobile device. The coverage begins at 1:45 p.m. from Concordia University in St. Paul.