Goodhue Girls Run Away From Zumbrota-Mazeppa

Before our broadcast from the Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars Den both coaches pointed to turnovers as the key to victory.  Cougars Head Coach Andy Bromeling hoped his team would be able to handle the pressure the Goodhue Wildcats can put on display.  Wildcats Head Coach Josh Wieme wanted his team to be able to turn those turnovers into points.

Goodhue built a 31-27 halftime lead by scoring 17 points off 14 Zumbrota-Mazeppa turnovers.  The Wildcats finished with 25 points off 21 Cougars turnovers while Goodhue had 9 turnovers and Zumbrota-Mazeppa scored 9 off those. Another key for Goodhue was getting to the free throw line.  They were 8 for 11 in the first half and 8 for 16 in the second half while the Cougars finished 7 of 10 for the game.

The Wildcats had four players in double figures led by sophomore 5'6 Arianna Thomforde with 20 points.  Senior 6'3 Lexie Lodermeier had 13 points.  Senior 5'10 Kate Opsahl 11 points and sophomore 5'8 Elissa Lodermeier scored 11 points off the bench.  Lexie Lodermeier had to have at least a half dozen assists in the game passing out of either the low or high post to a player slashing into the lane.  Goodhue did what many teams fail to do against a zone defense.  They attacked the basket and got 28 points in the paint by my unofficial tally.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa couldn't get their top scorer in a rhythm because of all the turnovers.  Junior 6'1 Ali Hunstad came into the game averaging 21 points per contest and got in some foul trouble.  She finished with 9 points.  The Cougars were led by senior 5'7 Natalye Quam and junior 5'11 Jakalyn Arendt with 10 points each.

Goodhue improved to 7-2 overall and is now in first place in the Hiawatha Valley League Blue Division.  Before the game Coach Wieme said he wanted to see how his team would stack up with the team chosen by many to win the Blue this season.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa falls to 6-3 a night after throttling Chatfield 83-37.

In other girls games Tuesday night:

• Kasson-Mantorville 84  Byron 75
• St. Charles 76  Kenyon-Wanamingo 61 (Megan Shanahan 32 points with 9 three point baskets for Saints.  Riley Dummer leads K-W with 22 points and Megan Mattson chips in 17 points for Knights)
• Hayfield 69  Fillmore Central 48
• Rochester Lourdes 81  Lake City 71
• Triton 73  Cannon Falls 49 (Cobra Sydney Gilliland sets school record with 15 assists.  Triton led by Kendra Petersohn 19 points.  Cannon Falls Bella Davisson 14 points and Makayla Bowen 10 points)
• Stewartville 78  Pine Island 35
• Faribault 56  Rochester Century 37
• Mankato West 71  Albert Lea 30
• John Marshall 85  Austin 61
• Northfield 50  Mankato East 46
• Rochester Mayo 77  Winona 42
• Red Wing 72  Owatonna 51
• Waseca 68  NRHEG 28
• Kingsland 61  Rushford-Peterson 42
• New Prague 52  Bloomington Jefferson 32
• Cleveland 68  GHEC-Truman-Martin Luther 54
• Jordan 74  Norwood-Young America 69
• Leroy-Ostrander 77  Riceville, Ia. 58
• Blooming Prairie 53  Southland 43
• Belle Plaine 55  Mayer Lutheran 42
• Spring Grove 61  Decorah, Iowa 56
• Lakeville South 40  Rosemount 32
• Burnsville 53  Eagan 35
• Shakopee 66  Prior Lake 58
• Waukon, Iowa 64  Caledonia 59
• New Ulm 95  Worthington 55