After letting a pair of 13-point leads slip away Saturday, the Worthington Trojans girls basketball team appeared on its way to a sudden end to its season.
Thankfully, they had Maria Boever.
Boever scored seven of her team-high 16 points in the final 3 minute, 38 seconds, then swatted away a potential game-tying 3-point attempt by Litchfield's Brittany Eurle as time ran out, helping the second-seeded Trojans outlast the third-seeded Dragons, 62-59, in the Section 2AAA semifinals at Gustavus Adolphus.
Worthington (21-3) advances to play for a trip to the state tournament on Friday against the Marshall Tigers, currently ranked No. 1 in the state Class AAA rankings. Marshall (25-2) moved on with its second rout in as many games, a 73-43 victory against Mankato East.
And, from the sounds of Worthington head coach Eric Lindner following Saturday's game, the Trojans could've seemingly been ready to go right then and there.
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"We're ready. We want to play them. I'm sure they want to play us," he said. "It's going to be another great night of tournament basketball."
Boever's blocked shot capped a wild second half in which Worthington led by 13 points with 14:52 to go, only to see Litchfield go on a 20-2 run over the next 9:35, taking a 52-47 lead.
Litchfield head coach Bill Huhner felt, at that point, his team had the Trojans on the brink, but he was not too confident, considering the opposition.
"I knew we had them staggered," he said. "I didn't feel the game was ever a sure thing, especially with (Maria Boever) in there."
Boever had some difficulty finding her offensive rhythm, as did most of the Trojans. Worthington shot 22-for-56 (39 percent), including 5-for-18 from 3-point range.
One player who didn't struggle, especially in the first half, was Ashley Aggen. Picking up the scoring slack for the Trojans, Aggen stepped forward with 11 points, earning praise from Lindner for taking charge on offense after struggling in recent games, when she totaled a combined one point.
And, in an area where the team has had problems before, the Trojans were strong at the foul line in the second half, going 5-for-7. Holli Aggen proved to be the most accurate down the stretch, going 4-for-4, including the two free throws which closed the scoring with 24.8 seconds remaining.
"(When) Holli goes to the line, I'm pretty confident she's going to get two of them," Lindner said.
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From the start of the game, Litchfield was having trouble on offense. The Dragons turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, and were unable to find a complimentary scorer for Becky Smith. Smith, a senior forward, scored 16 of her team's 32 points in the half, on her way to a game-high 29 points.
Finally, toward the end of the half, Emily Davis stepped forward as Litchfield ran off a 15-2 run late in the first half to knot the game at 28-all, scoring seven points.
After a timeout by Lindner, the Trojans responded again, going on a 17-4 run covering 6:35, setting the stage for Litchfield's second rally.
After the game, Huhner was very happy with how his team stayed in the game, especially after Worthington appeared ready to blow the game open.
"I told the girls I'm so proud of their heart and their effort, and their willingness to never give up," he said.
Note: Worthington is again offering a fan bus to St. Peter for the Section 2AAA title game Friday.
The cost for the bus is $10 per fan, and will leave from the north parking lot of Worthington High School at 4:15 p.m. for the 7 p.m. start against Marshall.
Litchfield 32 27 -- 59
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WHS 38 24 -- 62
Litchfield (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): Devine 0-2-1-5, Wollin 0-3-0-6, Kalenberg 0-1-0-2, Davis 1-3-3-12, Eurle 0-2-1-5, B.Smith 0-10-9-29. Totals: 1-21-14-59.
WHS (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): S.Boever 1-2-2-9, H.Aggen 1-2-5-12, A.Aggen 1-3-2-11, Springman 2-0-0-6, Ebbers 0-1-0-2, Brignac 0-2-2-6, M.Boever 0-7-2-16. Totals: 5-17-13-62.
