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Hutchinson pushes through league foe Holy Family Catholic in regular-season finale

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine, 02/23/18, 10:00AM CST

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The Tigers closed the regular season as winners of 13 of their last 14 games.

Hutchinson senior MaKenzie Rensch works the play around the perimeter Friday night against Holy Family Catholic. Rensch had 15 points in the Tigers' 48-32 victory over the Fire. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Hutchinson senior MaKenzie Rensch works the play around the perimeter Friday night against Holy Family. Rensch had 15 points in the Tigers' 48-32 victory over the Fire. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Click photos to view the entire gallery from the game

With the Wright County East already won, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Hutchinson look flat on the road against Holy Family Catholic to close out the season.

While Friday night's game didn’t have any implications on the conference standings, it was still important to the Tigers to get a road win against a good team and ride into the section playoffs hot.

“It’s good to go into the playoffs on a high note,” Hutchinson coach Tim Ellefson said. “We got some momentum going forward, and hopefully make a run here in the sections.”

The Tigers, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, beat the No. 6-2A Fire 48-32, securing their 13th win in their past 14 games, giving them what looks like plenty of momentum going into the Class 3A, Section 2 playoffs.

The win also secured a season sweep for the Tigers over the Fire, as they won 57-55 at home earlier in the season. The biggest difference between those two games was the schedule leading up to this game for the Fire, as Friday’s game was their fourth in the past five days. Three of those games were against ranked opponents, and three were played on the road.

“It was a fun week,” Holy Family Catholic coach Ellen Thompson sarcastically said. “I thought our kids were taking shots that they normally make, and it just kind of bounced out. Steals that we’d normally get were just a hair short. I love our effort, our effort was there, we were just a little bit short on the gas in the tank.”

Ellefson also noticed the toll the tough schedule had taken on the Fire (18-8, 6-4), as the Tigers (20-6, 9-1) wore them out as the game progressed.

“I think we had a little more energy than they did, partially because they played a tough schedule this week,” he said.

That seemed especially relevant in the second half, as the Tigers went on a 19-3 scoring run for the first 10 minutes of the half. Their pressure defense ramped up in the second half, and it was too much for the Fire to handle. The Tigers were able to force 10 steals in the game.

“Our defensive pressure grinds teams down to where they start to make little mistakes and it turns into quick baskets for us,” Ellefson said.

No team in the state was jealous of the Fire’s schedule this week, which looked more like an NBA schedule than a high school one. While the amount of games took its toll on the Fire’s record — they went 1-3 this week — Thompson thinks her team can use this week as a positive going forward.

“I think it helps us immensely. That’s what we just talked about: What can we take away from this week?” she said. “We’re ready. We’re ready for anything. We’ve seen zones, we’ve seen full-court presses, we’ve seen 3A teams, 4A teams, 2A teams, we’ve seen it all. We’re ready and now it’s just a matter of getting rested up and starting a run.”

Friday was senior night for Holy Family Catholic, and Thompson was able to sub her two seniors — Shea Thompson and Molly Kalb — out of the game to get an ovation from the crowd. She hugged each of them and gave them a message.

“I just thanked them for everything they’ve done,” Thompson said. “I just told them that we need them to be ready to lead this team forward.”

Both teams will be number-one seeds in their respective sections, and they’re each confident that a run to the state tournament could be in the works. The Fire will look to their two seniors for guidance, and the Tigers will rely on the progress they’ve made this season.

“We lost a lot of seniors last year, a lot of leadership, and our younger kids are stepping up throughout the season. Continue to improve, continue to find how they can help us and now that’s coming all together for us; we’re excited for our next stage,” Ellefson said.

Hutchinson's Elizabeth Wortz drives the baseline as Holy Family Catholic's Shea Thompson and Julia Geurs defend. The Tigers defeated the Fire 48-32 in the season finale for both teams. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Hutchinson's Elizabeth Wortz drives the baseline as Holy Family Catholic's Shea Thompson and Julia Geurs defend. The Tigers defeated the Fire 48-32 in the season finale for both teams. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

First Report

With the Wright County East already won, Hutchinson (20-6, 9-1) closed out its impressive regular season with a 48-32 road win over conference foe Holy Family Catholic (18-8, 6-4) on Friday night.

This was the second win of the season for the Tigers, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, over the No. 6-2A Fire. They won their previous meeting 57-55 after going to overtime. The biggest difference between the games may have been the Fire’s fatigue. This was their fourth game in five days, three of which came against ranked opponents.

The first half was tightly contested, with the Tigers going into halftime leading by three. Hutchinson took over the game in the second half, going on a 19-3 scoring run in the first 10 minutes of the half. Pressure defense proved too much for the Fire to handle, as the Tigers finished the game with 10 steals.

MaKenzie Rensch led all scorers with 15 points for Hutchinson. She rounded out her impressive stat line with four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Teammates Elizaberth Wortz and Gabby Hahn added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

It was senior night at Holy Family Catholic and seniors Shea Thompson and Molly Kalb were honored on the floor before the game by their teammates. Thompson had five points and a steal while Kalb recorded a rebound in the loss.

The Tigers have now won 13 of their last 14 games and will be heading into the Class 3A, Section 2 tournament with plenty of momentum. 

Holy Family Catholic junior Julia Geurs goes up for the shot against Hutchinson Friday night. The Fire fell to the Tigers 48-32 in Victoria. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Holy Family Catholic junior Julia Geurs goes up for the shot against Hutchinson Friday night. The Fire fell to the Tigers 48-32 in Victoria. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

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