Dec 28, 2024
Photo by Samantha Davis. Minneota’s Jaylyn Coequyt drives the lane in the first half against St. Clair at at the Holiday Classic at Southwest Minnesota State University Saturday night. Coequyt finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds in the Vikings’ 58-51 win.
MARSHALL — Facing its second Class 2A opponent in 24 hours, the Minneota girls basketball team took down St. Clair 58-51 in a hard-fought, competitive battle that saw several lead changes at the Holiday Classic at Southwest Minnesota State University Saturday night. Jaylyn Coequyt led all scorers with a 29-point and 17-rebound double-double.
“This was a big win,” Minneota head coach Alan Panka said. “They’re (St. Clair) a good team. They were ultra aggressive and ultra quick. We knew that going in, and the girls responded and did what they needed to do to come away with a W.”
To add to Coequyt, Kiersyn Hulzebos finished with 13 points, and Sarah Gruenes added 6. Hulzebos made the Vikings’ only 3-pointer of the night in the first half, as Minneota played mainly from the interior.
The Vikings shot 40% from the field, and held the Cyclones to just 26%. The difference maker in the game was Minneota’s 47 rebounds, 34 of which were defensive, to St. Clair’s 24 total rebounds.
Minneota has faced challenging competition over the past two days, where it fell to 2A No. 9 Minnewaska Area Friday evening behind 40 committed turnovers. Although having back-to-back games, Saturday was St. Clair’s first game back on the court after having a week off.
“It was a different type of beast that we had to play tonight. Last night, we were giving up size and quickness. Tonight, it was definitely the quickness,” Panka said. “After about the first five minutes, it seemed like we finally settled in … They understood the quickness that was on the floor.”
Minneota looked more cohesive midway through the first half, and was up by as many as 7 points and went into half up 6 points. Turnovers remain an area of struggle for the team, but the Vikings made up for its mistakes through defense. They finished with 23 turnovers on the night.
Hulzebos led Minneota with 11 first half points, and Coequyt followed with 7.
The Vikings went on a 7-0 run when St. Clair was up 13-6 and in a full-court press, which Minneota was able to adjust to and get past after a few steals.
The Cyclones’ stayed in its press for a majority of the game.
Minneota was scoreless for a few minutes until Coequyt got a steal and went up for a fast break layup, and Hulzebos began to heat up.
Hulzebos drove the lane on the next possession to bring it within a possession, and hit a 3-pointer to tie the game up at 13.
Minneota grabbed a 16-15 lead after Hulzebos got the and-1 with the free throw.
Claire Rost found a running Gruenes up the court in transition to break St. Clair’s press, and Coequyt stole the ball to turn defense into offense once again up to an open Rost to help Minneota pull ahead 26-19.
Coequyt also finished with a team-high three steals.
Although the Vikings struggled with travel calls and other turnovers, it was able to make up for lost points through forcing Cyclones’ turnovers, especially late in the half.
The Cyclones got a field goal and free throw in before the half ended, and the Vikings went into the locker room with a 28-22 advantage.
St. Clair came out of the half on an 8-2 run to tie the game up at 30 after Brooklin Hinze sank a 3-pointer, who was the Cyclones’ primary playmaker and Minneota struggled to find an answer to.
Hinze led St. Clair with 23 points.
“We knew that they liked to shoot a lot of 3’s. The biggest thing that we talked about before the game too, was they like to drive a middle and kick out to the opposite side,” Panka said. “That’s what most teams do defensively, including us. Your help comes from the weak side. We had to readjust … You got to stay out there a little bit more, and you can’t give up drives on your own.”
The Vikings continued to look inside to find Coequyt, who was able to locate the basket throughout the second half and kept Minneota within reach and tied the game again at 44 after pushing her way into the low block and going up for a left-handed layup.
“I just try to be strong with the ball, and go up with it,” Coequyt said.
Coequyt hit back-to-back buckets in the lane to put Minneota up 50-47 with 2:36 to go.
A go-ahead layup in transition by Libby Sussner brought the game up to 52-49 with 45 seconds on the clock, and Coequyt created more cushion with a putback basket on the next possession off an offensive rebound.
“She [Coequyt] played well … She’s a great kid,” Panka said. “Sometimes it’s like, ‘No, I don’t care if you scored the last 8 or 10 points, or whatever it is. It doesn’t matter. Our team needs you to keep doing that. Keep being aggressive.’”
St. Clair made a pair of free throws with 31 seconds to go, as Minneota held its 54-51 advantage.
With tensions raised, the Cyclones’ began to foul and put Hulzebos at the line, who made both free throws for a 5-point lead.
“The biggest thing was, when we had possession, we needed to make sure we kept possession. It’s like they’re coming to foul you, so you have to be strong with it,” Panka said about the pressure toward the end of the game. “Do not give up a turnover, especially one that’s going to lead into points … We got the ball in bounds where we needed to and we made some free throws down the stretch to seal it.”
The Vikings were able to hold off St. Clair in the final seconds after Coequyt grabbed a defensive rebound, was fouled and put at the charity stripe and sank both free throws for the final 58-51 score.
Coequyt said that the win feels good, and hopes it brings the team good momentum to build off of in the new year.
Minneota (6-3) ends 2024 back in the win column and will next go on a three-game road trip beginning at Renville County West (3-6) on Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m. It will return home on Jan. 9 when it hosts Central Minnesota Christian at 7:30 p.m.
“We need to get back on the winning side of things, and we did a good job of that tonight,” Panka said. “There’s a lot of things we need to work on and get better at, and Monday, Tuesday, we’re working.”
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