With two minutes left in overtime and his team up 71-69 against visiting Nicollet/Loyola, Clipper varsity girls head coach Joe Remiger’s decision to stall was a risky one.
It was the Clippers’ first game of the season while the third for the Raiders. Starters Emily Kern and Kaylee Karels were on the bench with five fouls. Two of his would-be starters, Sarena Remiger and Halle McCabe, were not in uniform, and the five players on the floor had really not competed together. Two of them were varsity starters and two were on junior high last year while one did not play at all in 2020.
But despite the high risk of a turnover, Remiger was confident a delay was the best choice.
“Our girls were gassed too. This is our game number one. We’re playing with masks. We’ve been doing it in practice, but game time is a whole different deal. I don’t know if we would have kept running if that would have worked out for us. What we did, I don’t question it now. If we lost, maybe you question it, but at the same time, I think if we would have pushed ball in that situation, we would have been done.”
Remiger was right. Senior point guard Macey Ziebarth (above) led the delay. When the Raiders fouled, freshman Greta Hahn, with ice in her veins, swished both of her free throws.
After Marah Hulke made two free shots for the Raiders, Ziebarth was fouled immediately. She made the second of two free shots. With 13.8 seconds left the Raiders took the ball down court but missed the three they needed for the tie, and the Clippers went on to win 74-71.
With two Ziebarth layups and inside baskets by Kern and Karels, the Clippers were ahead early in the first half 8-5, but the Raiders took a 25-16 lead. Never giving up though, the Clippers, led by Kern and Ziebarth, only trailed by three at the intermission, 29-26.
“With the girls who were out here, Laci (Hollerich) and Emma Treanor have never played a varsity game, a B-Squad game, a C-Squad game, and they’re starting varsity tonight,” Remiger said. “And then you have Lilly Draheim and Greta coming off the bench. You try to tell those girls it’s a varsity game. We had ninth graders start last year, we had eighth graders start last year, but my big worry was halftime we go from ‘hey, we’re hanging in there’ to ‘these guys are going to punch us in the face and it’s all over.’”
In the second half, the Clippers tied the game at 35, but the Raiders scored the next dozen points. Once again though, the Clippers, with Kern inside shots and Karels baskets, battled their way back. Ziebarth missed threes earlier, but with 4:07 left, her basket from the tip of the arc was right on, and the Clippers led 54-53.
From there, it was a see-saw battle. After failing to pull off an inbounds, the Clippers lost the lead, but Karels’ three put them up 62-60. With Kern fouling out with 14.3 seconds in regulation, the Raiders made two foul shots, but Ziebarth was fouled on her drive to the rim and made both of her free shots to tie the game 66-66 at the end of regulation.
Ziebarth’s layup early in the OT finally gave the Clippers a lead they would never relinquish. She followed up with another three for a 71-66 Clipper advantage. With an inside basket and a free shot, the Raiders pulled within a basket before the Clippers went into the delay and Hahn sunk her free shots.
The Clipper triumph was a surprise for Remiger.
“Coach (Chris) Seely and told them at the beginning of the game we really don’t care what the score is. It’s game number one; they’re on game number three. Let’s just do what we need to do and keep those baby steps to keep moving forward. If you want to look at who is the better team, it’s not us, but that’s why we play the game of basketball.”
Ziebarth led the scoring with 26 points. Kern had 25, and Karels totaled 18 points. The Clippers out rebounded the Raiders 32-31, but the Raiders had 17 steals compared to 10 by the Clippers.
Remiger, getting back after concussion protocol, and McCabe, away with family, will not be back when the Clippers travel to Trimont on Monday to take on Martin County West. The Mavericks lost to Nicollet/Loyola by 12 and beat Madelia decisively.
Cleveland 26 42 74
Nicollet/Loyola 29 36 71
Points 74 (Emily Kern 25, Macey Ziebarth 26, Kaylee Karels 18, Laci Hollerich 4, Greta Hahn 2)
Rebounds 32 (Kern 12, Ziebarth 3, Karels 3, Hollerich 6, Hahn 3, Draheim 1, Treanor 3, some data not available)
Assists 9 (Ziebarth 3, Karels 2, Hollerich 2, Hahn 1, some data not available)
Steals 10 (Ziebarth 6, Karels 1, Hollerich 2, Hahn 1)
Blocks 5 (Kern 4, Hollerich 1)
2FG 22-36(61%)
3FG 3-15 (20%) (Ziebarth 2, Karels 1)
FT 21-29 (72%)
Emma Treanor peeks around a defender.
Kaylee Karels drives to the hoop.
Emily Kern works toward an inside shot.
It was the end of a high school career for Serena Williams (see related story).