Overtime seemed imminent in the final game of the first day of the Minnesota state girls basketball tournament Tuesday at Target Center.
Grand Rapids and Alexandria, the No. 4 and 5 seeds respectively, had played to a draw into the final seconds but Alexandria found a way to turn the game's final possession into a berth in the Class 3A semifinals at Williams Arena.
With the clock about to expire, sophomore guard Kaye Paschke made her only basket of the game off a drive down the lane to give Alexandria a 46-44 victory over Grand Rapids. On the possession, Alexandria whipped the ball around the top of the arc looking for an opening before Paschke found the ball in her hands and she began her drive through traffic.
Senior guard Kendall Kohler led the Cardinals (26-4) with 17 points and senior center Kayla Feldhake added 16.
Sophomore Meara Beighley led Grand Rapids (23-6) with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Grand Rapids used a 16-2 run early in the second half to wipe out what had been a 10-point halftime deficit.
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Orona 59, Willmar 45
Senior guard Tori Andrew was 2-of-11 from the field in the first half of Orono's Class 3A quarterfinal against Willmar at Target Center. While she still scored nine points in the opening 18 minutes, it was uncustomary for the Yale recruit, who averages nearly 21 points per game.
That changed in the second half when Andrew scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting to power the top-seeded Spartans to a 59-45 victory over Willmar. She finished 5-of-12 from three-point range, including one early in the second half to send the Spartans (24-4) on their way to the semifinals.
Senior guard Natalie Smaron contributed 16 points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
Willmar (20-9), which trailed by as many as 21, got 11 points from senior forward Heidi Sellman. Junior guard Cayle Hovland scored 10 points and had 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Hannah Johnson also had 10 points.
-- mshsl.org
