1998-99
GIRL'S BASKETBALL RECAPS
February 27, 1999
Defense on Parr for scrappy North
Raiders don't make a FG in final quarter .. North Boxscore
By Steve Beaudry
Leader-Telegram staff
Their point guard was on the bench nursing an aching back. Their top scorer was sitting beside her with four fouls.
The Eau Claire North girls basketball players' opponents, the defending WIAA Division 1 state champions, had them in a five-point hole in a regional final and smelled blood.
It was late in the third quarter and getting later Saturday night for the Huskies when, suddenly, their signature began to kick in.
Deflection by Lindsey Rongstad. Steal by Rachel Evjen. Improbable hook shot over four outstretched arms and into the basket by Larissa Parr.
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The Huskies' reserves used defense to create offense and vault North to a come-from-behind 39-35 victory over Hudson at the Eagles Nest.
The triumph was the sixth in a row for North (18-4) and earned the Huskies a sectional semifinal date with Menomonie (17-5), which tentatively is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. in Hudson. Menomonie downed Rice Lake 61-55 Saturday.
Hudson (16-5), which failed to extend its string of three straight sectional titles, saw its 10-game winning streak evaporate in a tornado of tipped balls, steals and gritty under-the-basket play by Parr.
"In the huddle after the third (quarter), we said, 'The fourth is ours.' And I guess we proved it," said Parr, who had a game-high 20 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
The Raiders took a 31-25 lead into the fourth quarter. But they were held without a field goal over the final 10 minutes, 21 seconds of the game.
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"Defense is what we're all about," said Rongstad, who saved the game twice in the final 19 seconds by flicking away a pass and then keeping an offensive rebound alive.
Evjen had five steals for the Huskies, who missed their first nine field-goal attempts, missed their first seven free-throw tries and trailed 11-0 with 5:46 gone in the first quarter.
"Forget buying a basket; we couldn't even MasterCard a basket," said North coach Chico LaBarbera, whose team halted Hudson's 49-game Big Rivers Conference winning streak on Jan. 5. "We knew it was an aberration. It was only a matter of time before we turned it around."
Chandra Johnson, who scored 48 points in her last two games for North, fought foul trouble and finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Melissa Anderson was Hudson's lone double-figure scorer with 12 points. Fellow team captain Randi Miller fouled out with four points and 11 rebounds.
Beaudry can be reached evenings at 833-9212 or (800) 236-7077.