The Worthington Trojans girls basketball team exploded for a 32-0 second half run Thursday night and went on to defeat the visiting St. James Saints 80-65.
In the last game of the regular season, WHS came out flat and trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half before heading into the locker room down 42-33 at the break. The Saints then grabbed a 49-37 advantage in the early stages of the second half, but the Trojans answered with a 7-0 mini surge to get within five.
St. James upped its lead to eight, 56-48, but that’s when Worthington locked in on both ends of the floor and began its streak of 32 consecutive points. A three-point play from New Gora made it an 8-0 burst and tied the score at 54-apiece, but the Trojans were only getting started at that point.
It marked the second time in three nights that the Trojans blitzed their opponent with a big run, as they scored the first 23 points of the second half Tuesday against Blue Earth. Offensively for WHS, New Gora led the way with 16 points as all five starters scored in double figures. Janessa Hamann had 14 points, Pham Gora added 11 and Madison Beckmann and Regan Schaefer each had 10.
Worthington concludes is regular season at 8-18 and will play next in the sectional tournament on Wednesday at a location to be determined.
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In the Class A state girls hockey tournament Thursday, Proctor-Hermantown edged Luverne 3-2. The Cardinals led 2-1 in the third period, but Proctor-Hermantown scored a pair of goals in less than two minutes to take the lead and held on from there.
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Postseason high school girls basketball gets underway Saturday across southwest Minnesota with multiple games scheduled.
In Section 3A, there will be four South Subsection games contested during “Super Saturday” at Worthington High School. Top-seeded Southwest Minnesota Christian will play Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) at 11 a.m., followed by No. 5 Adrian-Ellsworth against No. 4 Hills-Beaver Creek at 12:30 p.m. The day’s third matchup will pit Murray County Central against second-seeded Westbrook-Walnut Grove at 2:30 p.m., and No. 6 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton will take on No. 3 Edgerton at 4 p.m.
South Subsection semifinals will be played Friday, March 1 in Worthington, with the finals to take place March 5 at a site to be determined. The sectional finals will take place March 8 at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
In Section 3AA, among the South Subsection games scheduled for Saturday are fifth-seeded Luverne at fourth-seeded Redwood Valley, No. 6 St. James at No. 3 Jackson County Central, and seventh-seeded Pipestone at No. 2 Windom. Each of those games will tip off at 7 p.m. South Subsection semifinals will played next Thursday and the finals will be March 5. The sectional finals will be played March 8 at SMSU.
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In area girls basketball Thursday night, it was:
Murray County Central 51, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 16
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 60, Red Rock Central 24
Minnehaha Academy 62, Marshall 61
In area boys basketball:
ML-GHEC-T 68, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 63
Belle Plaine 62, Fairmont 54
Jackson County Central 88, New Ulm 79
In area boys hockey:
Marshall 3, Mankato West 2
New Ulm 8, Windom Area 1
Luverne 9, Fairmont 0
