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Mahtomedi overwhelms Hastings in the second half to secure Metro East title

By Ben Farber, SportsEngine, 02/24/17, 7:15AM CST

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Marisa Gustafson led the Zephyrs in scoring, dropping a career-high 31 points.




Mahtomedi senior Marisa Gustafson draws a foul in Friday night's 65-55 victory over Hastings. Gustafson poured in 31 points on Senior Night for the Zephyrs. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine



Mahtomedi senior guard Maggie Freking drives around two Hastings defenders. Mahtomedi defeated Hastings 65-55 Friday night. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine


Mahtomedi is the new champion of the Metro East Conference. The Zephyrs knocked off 2016 defending champion Hastings 65-55 on Friday night to claim the crown.

Mahtomedi (22-3, 13-1) got to put the finishing touches on what’s been an historic season for its program with an enormous win on its home floor. The Zephyrs, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, received top-level contributions from its seniors on senior night.

Gustavus Adolphus-bound Marisa Gustafson was the star of the show. The guard swished numerous three-pointers, scoring a career-high 31 points. She netted 19 of those in the second half, and added five rebounds to her saturated box score.

“For the first time in a couple weeks, I felt super confident that my shot was going in,” said Gustafson. “I love that.”

The Zephyrs struggled early, trailing Hastings for nearly the entire first half. They went into the halftime break trailing 31-25. In the second half, however, Mahtomedi exploded, opening the period on a 12-0 run and seized a lead they would never relinquish.

“Kids came out firing in the second half,” said Zephyrs coach Eric Prose. “It’s home court. Senior night. Conference title on the line. So I think they wanted it. I think they wanted it more than Hastings. There were some plays in the first half—we got in a little bit of foul trouble—in the second half we settled down a little bit. We had some huge shots.”

A disproportionately large number of those clutch baskets came from Gustafson, who was honored along with her two senior teammates Maggie Freking and Samantha Hogan before the game.

“[Gustafson] was huge tonight. The net was ten miles big today. Everything she put up went in. She was a huge factor. She really wanted it tonight, you could tell. Gustavus is very lucky to have a player like that. I wish nothing but good things for her,” said Prose.

In what was mostly a back-and-forth contest, both sides were plagued by sloppy offense and overzealous defense in the first half. Turnovers and reckless fouls constantly stopped the clock and made it difficult for either squad to find a rhythm. Mahtomedi junior forward Emma Grothaus, who won the Metro East scoring title by averaging over 19 points per game, was sidelined with foul trouble for much of the second half.

Yet once Mahtomedi solidified its mistakes, its lead grew and grew. Timely defense and big shots from Gustafson helped the Zephyrs make their decisive late-game push.

After the game, Coach Prose praised his team’s cohesiveness and unselfishness. He cited their togetherness they have cultivated over the past few months as the main reason the Zephyrs were able to improve from their 7-7 record in conference play last year to their 13-1 mark this season.

“I think the biggest difference is our defense,” he said. “Everyone is buying in—it took this program over. They focused on the whole defensive aspect and played for one another.”

The Zephyrs received big contributions of 12 points and six rebounds from Hogan. and a well-rounded 10 points; five rebounds, three assists and four steals from junior forward Annika Sougstad. Despite playing limited minutes, Grothaus still finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Hastings (14-12, 11-3), meanwhile, missed its shot at back-to-back Metro East titles. The Raiders were only slightly outplayed statistically, but struggled when playing from behind for most of the second half.

Mahtomedi outscored Hastings 40-24 in the game’s second half.

Hastings junior forward Krystal Carlson had a sensational game. She totaled 22 points and 13 rebounds, scoring from both inside the paint and beyond the arc.

Sophomore forward Haylee Yaeger added 16 points and five rebounds in the loss. Freshman forward Mallory Brake contributed seven points, seven boards, and five steals for the Raiders.

As sensational as the 2016-17 season was for Mahtomedi, its future potential is even brighter. While it will hurt losing Gustafson, Hogan and Freking, many of the Zephyrs’ rotation players are still juniors.

“We have such great potential,” said Gustafson. “We have a great group of girls. They work well together. I think we can do just the same next year. I think we can win again.”


Hastings junior Krystal Carlson goes up for two of her team-high 22 points. Carlson also had 13 rebounds in the loss to Mahtomedi. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

First Report

Mahtomedi, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, clinched the Metro East Conference championship on Friday night, defeating rival and defending champion Hastings 65-55 at Mahtomedi.

Senior Marisa Gustafson led the Zephyrs in scoring, pouring in a career-high 31 points. The slick-shooting guard is headed to Division III Gustavus Adolphus, where she will continue her playing career with the Gusties.

The Zephyrs trailed 31-26 at halftime but a 12-0 run after the break gave them the momentum. Once the Mahtomedi took the lead, they never gave it back.

For Mahtomedi (22-3, 13-1), senior forward Samantha Hogan chipped in 12 points and six rebounds. Junior forward Emma Grothaus added nine points and eight boards.

Krystal Carlson had a monster game for the Raiders. The junior forward amassed 15 points and 9 rebounds in the first half, and finished with 22 points and 13 boards. Sophomore forward Haylee Yaeger contributed 16 points and 5 rebounds for Hastings (14-12, 11-13).

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