For a two-minute stretch late in the second half on Tuesday the junior high girls, succumbing to visiting Martin County West’s press and offensive rebounds, couldn’t transport the ball to their half of the court.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks, after a succession of six misses from the foul line, finally managed to get a free throw through. With it, they lead the Clippers 9-8 with 28 seconds remaining.
After a quick Clipper turnover, the Mavericks again retained possession, but Anistyn Dauk came up with a timely steal, raced down court (above) and, with 14 ticks on the game clock, soft-touched in a layup.
Back to the foul line, the Mavericks missed again and recovered the rebound too, but after a timeout with three seconds left, their shot in front of the buzzer fell short, and the Clippers hung on for a 10-9 victory in game one before easily downing the Mavericks in the second game of the series.
Emily Baker made the first of two free shots to fire up the scoreboard in game one. The Mavericks responded with a two, but after a Natalie Flowers steal, Gretchen Heldberg grabbed a rebound, got pushed on the way back up and made her second of the two ensuing free throws to tie the game 1-1.
From there, Baker took an Dauk pass up and in. The Mavericks scored on an inbound pass to stalemate the game 2-2, but Flowers found Dauk under the rim for an assist just in front of the buzzer, and the Clippers led 6-4 at the break.
In the second half, all but two of the Clipper’s shots were off target, sometimes far off. Meanwhile, the Mavericks stole and scored on a layup and then popped in a shot from the baseline to pull in front 8-6.
With 3:20 remaining, Heldberg grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up for a bucket to deadlock the score at 8-8 before the Mavericks made the go-ahead free shot.
Dauk totaled four points. Heldberg and Baker each had three points.
Game two was decisive with the Clippers beating the Mavericks 20-9.
Poised near the foul line, Addison Sandhurst plopped in a basket for the first points.
The Mavericks responded with a basket after an offensive rebound, but Sandhurst parked a pair of freebies, and Lily McMillen found the basket from outside as did Hadley Thompson, and the Clippers led 8-2 before the Mavericks scored again.
After a pair of Heldberg buckets, the Clippers led 12-6 at the break.
Flowers put in a free shot and a couple of outside buckets in the second half. Harley Samuelson stole and ran in a layup, and Dauk put in a free shot to put the finishing touches on the 20-9 triumph.
With five points, Flowers led the Clippers. Sandhurst and Heldberg each had four points. Samuelson, McMillen and Thompson each tossed in a bucket. Dauk chipped in a free throw.
The Clippers were coming off wins over Mankato Loyola and MCW and a loss to Nicollet in Saturday’s tournament in Alden.
GHEC/ML/T 27, Cleveland 25
Before that, on January 9, the Clippers fell to visiting Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 27-25. The Jaguars put in the game winner in the final 10 seconds.
The Clipper were trailing 6-0 when Thompson took an inbounds pass in for a bucket. Heldberg followed with a basket that Flowers assisted. Thompson put in a free shot, and Kortuem scored twice inside, but the Jags stole and scored twice to lead 16-11.
After a Flowers basket, the Clippers trailed 16-13 at the half.
The Jaguars posted the first basket of the second half, but Sandhurst scored from outside, Thompson found herself all alone under the rim and scored, and with another Sandhurst basket from a distance, the Clippers were in front 19-18.
With baskets from Heldberg and Thompson, the Clippers kept a two-point lead. The Jags put in a pair of free shots to deadlock the game at 23, but as she was hauling in a rebound, Helberg got fouled. She made both of the resulting free throws to put the Clipper back in front by two.
But the Jags scored from the baseline for the tie, and with 13 seconds left they had a chance to go ahead with two shots from the foul line. Although they missed both, they cashed in when they pulled down the rebound and scored.
After a timeout, the Clippers had 7.5 seconds to score, but their final shot was off target, and the Jags held on for the victory.
With nine points, Thompson led the effort. Heldberg contributed six points. Sandhurst and Kortuem each had four points. Flowers scored two points.
LSH 39, Cleveland 14
Two days earlier, Le Sueur-Henderson came to town and whipped up on the Clippers 39-14.
Kylie Wobbrock put in a free throw, and Thompson scored from near the foul line and then inside on a Flowers assist in the first half. The Giants led 24-5 at the break.
In the second half, Thompson put in a layup, Kenzie Kortuem scored on a Flowers assist, Samuelson scored on a Kortuem assist, and Wobbrock stole and put in a jumper.
Upcoming schedule
Coached by Nancy Heldberg and John Wobbrock, the Clippers return to action on Thursday with a grudge match against host Nicollet. They beat the Raiders in Cleveland back on December 10. On Friday, they have a rematch against Mankato Loyola on the Hill. On Monday, they travel to Madelia. They return to their home court the following Thursday when they take on Medford.
