Maranatha does just enough to prevail

It's tough making free throws in pressure situations.

Sami Payne and Kayla Jo Davis each made one in the final minute of overtime, giving No. 6-ranked Maranatha a 67-65 victory over No. 5 Ada-Borup in the Class 1A quarterfinals Thursday at Mariucci Arena.

The Cougars missed a short baseline jumper with two seconds left in the extra session.

"We gave them plenty of opportunities to come back, and take that game," Maranatha coach Chris Buerman said. "It gets frustrating watching your team miss free throws."

The Mustangs (24-7) went 2-for-8 from the line in OT, finishing 23-for-44. They also made only one of their final four of regulation.

"I'm sure our percentage was a lot lower than theirs," Buerman said.

Not much. The Cougars went 20-for-35 from the charity stripe, including 2-for-6 in the extra session. They also only made two of their last six in regulation.

Maranatha forced overtime at 61-61 when Elise Moore made the first of two free throws with 0.3 seconds left. She was fouled in the act of shooting after grabbing an offensive rebound.

Ada-Borup took a 61-60 lead when Brooklyn Erickson made the first of two free throws. The Cougars had big leads in both halves but were hampered by 30 turnovers.

"Once we were able to set our defense, we were able to get some turnovers," Buerman said. "That was the difference."

Kylie Post had 18 of her 24 points in the first half when the Mustangs overcame an 11-point deficit to claim a 33-30 advantage at the intermission.

Goodhue 68, GHEC/Truman/Martin Luther 55: Goodhue needed a spark. It had the perfect provider in 5-5 Mckenzie Ryan.

Ryan made four three-pointers en route to a 14-point performance as defending state champion and No. 2 Goodhue pulled away from the Jaguars.

Her two three-pointers near the end of the first half, and another shortly after the intermission, helped the Wildcats turn a one-point lead into a 40-26 cushion. She also scored during the 17-4 run.

"We needed that spurt," Goodhue coach Josh Wieme said. "Mckenzie really showed how important she is to our team. She's a great shooter, composed shooter."

Maddy Miller led the Wildcats with a game-high 23 points, 13 in the second half. Emily Benrud added 13 points and Sydney Lodermeier had 10.

"We promote all of our kids on the floor to be scorers," Wieme said. "Emily getting in double figures was huge."

Mountain Iron-Buhl 65, Southwest Minnesota Christian 49: It might have taken a few minutes, but the Rangers showed why they are No. 1. Their defense cut off the Eagles' attacking offense, which averages 81.3 points per game, at every pass.

"We wanted to limit their attacks to the basket, and keep them off the boards," said Mountain Iron-Buhl coach Jeff Buffetta, whose squad held the Eagles to 37 percent shooting and forced 25 turnovers. "Tying them for the total number of rebounds [32 each] was a win for us."

Mary Burke scored the Rangers' first six points and eight of their first nine. She had 13 of her 14 points at halftime.

"I was ready to do whatever I needed to in order to help our team win," Burke said. "I knew my teammates would start hitting their shots."

The Rangers (30-1) were led by senior guard Chelsea Mason's game-high 23 points. She also had six steals, including a state record 909th of her career, and four assists.

"All five of our starters can score," Buffetta said. "We have confidence in any one of them taking shots."

Cromwell-Wright 71, Red Lake 41: The No. 7 Cardinals (26-4) learned from their state tournament experience of a year ago: Be ready from the opening tip. They scored 39 of the first 49 points and went on to rout the Warriors.

"We definitely thought about last year," said Cardinals leading scorer Chelsea Swatek, referring to a quarterfinal loss to Wheaton-Herman-Norcross after a slow start. Swatek, who scored a game-high 23 points, called it "a big advantage coming back this year. We were comfortable, and ready to play."

Swatek and Shaily Hakamaki each had 11 points in the first half, when the Cardinals shot 60 percent. They also hit 57 percent (9-for-16) of their threes in building a 46-15 lead.

Red Lake (24-3), appearing in its first state tournament, got 13 points from Grace White, who has committed to the University of Denver.