Second half scoring surge gives Posen its third straight district
The job of a coach never seems to end. Two days after a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory in the final minutes against host Hillman, 67-65, the Posen Viking girls basketball team (18-4) were down at halftime by two points to Johannesburg-Lewiston in the district title game. At halftime, Viking coach Tom Schellie was not happy, and anyone within an earshot of the locker room door would have heard his displeasure. He asked his squad how bad they wanted to advance to the regional tournament at Sault Ste. Marie and win the school?s third district championship in three years. The answer came in the second half as the girls put on a historic scoring display unlike any seen in girls basketball circles at the school ? especially in the playoffs against a good team — in some time. Posen scored 28 points in the third quarter and 35 in the fourth, to eliminate the 17-5 Cardinals and win the district championship game, 107-79. The combined score of the two schools appear to have set a new state record. The record was 183 points set in a four overtime game in 1993.
?IT IS UNBELIEVABLE,? said Schellie. ?To score that many points is unreal. Defensively, we?ve got to get that down a little bit. On offense we were hitting on all four cylinders.? Senior Jill Krajniak, who scored a career-high 25 points, hit three three-pointers in the final minutes to help the Vikings eclipse the century mark. Her three pointer from the right wing that banked off the glass put Posen on top, 101-77. ?It definitely was exciting, but I had the open shot,? said Krajniak, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter. ?It?s exciting to be a senior and win the district.? Junior Roxann Hincka was a stable presence underneath the basket, grabbing a game-high 24 rebounds. Her hot shooting in the playoffs continued as she scored 25 points. Junior Mary Calhoun scored 21 points and snagged four rebounds, while junior Jenny Ciarkowski had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Schellie said it was truly a team effort. ?It was just an all around superior second half, offensively and defensively. They responded great.? Schellie believes Joburg outhustled Posen in a first half that saw 17 lead changes.
?They came out ready to play, (while) we came out a little flat footed. They were beating us back on the fast breaks, and that?s one of the things we talked about in practice on Thursday, that we needed to stop their fast breaks.?
THE COACH wanted the girls to be more patient on offense in the second half. He could only remember the offense setting up a play five times in the first two quarters. The press also played a huge roll in the third quarter turn around. What?s surprising is that the score was still close midway through the third quarter as the schools were knotted at 53. From that point in the game, the Vikings pulled away, going on a quick 19-9 run before the end of the third quarter. A highlight in the run was a five-point swing by Posen. Ciarkowski got an offensive rebound and put in the field goal. The pressure defense resulted in a steal by junior Megan Pieczynski, who made a perfect pass to Calhoun. Mary had nobody in front of her and went in for the points, but was fouled. The free throw put the Vikes up by 10, 68-58. Four consecutive free throws by Hincka and junior Michelle Mulka upped the lead to 13 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. ?Scoring 107 points; wow, I?m amazed,? said senior Amanda Pieczynski, who had three steals and nine points. ?Coming from a first half that wasn?t that great, to playing a second half that was awesome.?
All but one player scored in the game. The win gave Posen its fourth district championship in five years in girls basketball. As head coach, Schellie has won three straight. Posen 67, Hillman 65
District semifinal game, November 16
Clutch baskets by Calhoun and Krajniak, along with solid team defense helped Posen erase a four point Hillman lead twice in the final minutes and give the Vikings a thrilling victory at Hillman. Posen built an early 13-point advantage in the first half, 28-15, and was shooting the lights out from all over the floor, before Hillman got going. The Vikes got some of the lead back before halftime and were up 36-28 heading into what would be a nail biting final two quarters. Posen maintained a two-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter until Jessica Herbert gave the Tigers its first lead of the night on a three pointer. The Vikings were uncharacteristically struggling from the free throw line, while Hillman went up by four, 58-54 with 2:52 remaining.
For the Viking players, who had defeated Hillman twice during the regular season, the pressure of being behind with only minutes to spare, along with the dejected looks on some of their faces, it looked like Hillman was on its way to the district final. ?Posen never gave up,? said Schellie. ? It was a great team effort. We just never gave up, offensively, defensively. Everybody played great tonight. I?m just so proud of the girls.? After Calhoun made one-of-two free throws, the next time down the floor Krajniak drilled a three pointer from the right wing that tied the game at 58 and got the Posen fans back into the contest. The Tigers countered on two quick buckets, 62-58, and it looked like the comeback had been thwarted. Calhoun said after the game she knew her club needed a score, so she took control on the next possession and dribbled the ball to the low post and swished a jumper over two defenders. Michelle Mulka made a free throw to get the Vikes within one, 62-61.
The Vikings had three players in double digits with Calhoun scoring a game-high 25 points. Calhoun also added five rebounds and five assists. Hincka scored 13, with most of her points coming in the first half when Posen built its lead. Ciarkowski played well down low and scored 10. Jessica Herbert had 16 for Hillman.