MINNEAPOLIS -- The Fulda Raiders girls' basketball team sent a clear message to the rest of the Class A state tournament field Wednesday night at the Target Center: They're not happy with just defending their sectional title.
They want another gold trophy.
Fulda (28-3) opened defense of its state championship with a stifling defensive effort, holding Rushford-Peterson to just four field goals in the first half, sparking a 65-36 victory in the state quarterfinal round.
Fulda advances to play Badger/Greenbush-Middle River in Friday's semifinal. The game is scheduled for noon at the Target Center. R-P finishes the season at 22-8.
On the night, the Raiders held the Trojans to 11-for-51 shooting (22 percent), forced 28 turnovers and took away offensive spark Bailey Vitse, who finished with four points, nine turnovers and no assists.
ADVERTISEMENT
While the defense was strong, Fulda head coach Gregg Slaathaug came away with the hope that this isn't the only time his unit will turn in a performance like it did Wednesday night.
"Hopefully, that's what we want our defense to look all the time," Slaathaug said.
Vitse was taken out of the game by the solid performance of Chelsey Speckmeier. The plan was to make Vitse, who averaged more than seven assists per game, a shooter. She went 2-for-8 from the field in the game and never seemed comfortable running the Trojans' offense.
"We didn't want her to get good looks and be able to find those post players down there and feed them the basketball," Slaathaug said.
"She does that every night," added Kaitlyn Kramer, when asked about Speckmeier's performance. "She did really good."
At the start of the first half, the Trojans were able to feed post Danielle Ruberg against the Raider defense -- getting a pair of three-point plays to help build a quick 6-3 advantage. The Trojans later held a 9-8 advantage in the first half, but it was at that point the Raiders cranked up the defense and left their foes in the rearview mirror.
"They just wore on us, played a great game, we lost our confidence, and the ball didn't go in the whole," R-P head coach Matt Helgemoe said.
Fulda put the game away for good at the end of the first half and beginning of the second, putting together a 14-3 run that gave the Raiders a 39-17 advantage early in the second half. Still, the big lead never registered with the Raiders, who played at a level usually seen in much tighter contests.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It was pretty tough. It was intense the whole game," said Laura Kramer, who had 14 points and 14 rebounds on the night. "I never felt like we were up as much as we were."
It was evident in the ball-hawking defense the Raiders displayed -- even when the game was securely put away. The Fulda defense continued to go for steals against the R-P offense and ended the game with 11 thefts -- part of 28 forced turnovers on the night.
"Fulda played great team defense,' Helgemoe said. "They all play together well. That's an outstanding basketball team. I expect them to win the whole thing."
Sam Raddle picked up where she left off from last year's state tournament for the Raiders. Named the tournament MVP in 2006, Raddle was deadly from the field, hitting all four of her 3-point attempts to finish with 14 points.
It was her shooting from the outside which sparked the Raiders to a modest, yet effective, 6-of-7 performance from 3-point range.
"When you shoot 6-of-7 from 3 ... and you shoot 22.5 percent, that's tough," Helgemoe said.
Sarah Raddle was the only other player to hit double figures for the Raiders, totaling 12 points.
As for R-P, Jade Pelzl led the team with 14 points and 10 boards. She was the lone player to hit double figures.
ADVERTISEMENT
R-P 16 20 -- 36
Fulda 33 32 -- 65
R-P (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): Vitse 0-2-2-6, Sawle 0-1-5-7, Becker 0-1-0-2, Pelzl 0-0-1-1, Ruberg 0-6-2-14, Vix 0-0-2-2, Smith 0-1-0-2, Holger 0-0-2-2. Totals: 2-9-12-36.
Fulda (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): Sam Raddle 4-1-0-14, K.Kramer 0-3-1-7, Sarah Raddle 2-1-4-12, Speckmeier 0-1-4-6, L.Kramer 0-6-2-14, Kuehne 0-1-2-4, Drealan 0-0-1-1, M.Gunderman 0-1-0-2, Paulzine 0-1-3-5. Totals: 6-15-17-65.
