1999/2000 Game Results Last Updated: March 4, 2000

March 3, 2000  

North 51, Hudson 61

Hudson handles Huskies, see game stats.

Simon says Raiders look to bench to save the day
By Steve Beaudry

Leader-Telegram staff

MENOMONIE -- The news hit Molly Simon like a velvet brick.

It hurt -- but not nearly as much as the Hudson junior guard thought it might.

When Raiders girls basketball coach Dave Johnson called Simon into his office in late November to inform her she’d been edged out by sophomore teammate Emily Anderson for a starting spot, Simon didn’t spend any tears.

North's #42 Larissa Parr Leader-Telegram Photo

"We’ve got a good team, and I want to do whatever’s best for the team," the 5-foot-6 Simon said. "I knew if I worked hard in practice and stayed patient, I’d probably get my chance to go in and make something happen sometime."

Simon’s chance arrived Friday night at a jam-packed and raucous Menomonie High School gymnasium, and the stakes couldn’t have been much higher.

With the Raiders’ top player having fouled out and their season on life support, Simon came off the bench to lift Hudson to a 61-51 victory over Eau Claire North in a WIAA Division 1 Marshfield Sectional semifinal.

The victory was the seventh straight for the Raiders (21-2), who will play Marshfield (13-10) at 7 p.m. today in the final. A win today would earn Hudson its fourth berth in the state tournament in the past five years.

North (17-5), which had won seven straight games and was responsible for one of Hudson’s two losses this season, bowed in a sectional semifinal for the second straight season.

Kricket Whyte on Defense Leader-Telegram Photo

"Molly was huge -- with a capital ‘H,’ " said Hudson senior swing player Allison Burchill, who entered the game averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game and was fresh off a career-high 26-point outing. "If it wasn’t for her, there’s no way we win this game. No way.

"She went in for me and totally saved my -- our -- butt."

The 5-foot-11 Burchill was assessed three fouls in the opening 12 minutes of the game and was whistled again 3 minutes, 4 seconds into the third quarter.

Then, while Burchill was jousting with North center Gretchen Schroer for a rebound early in the fourth quarter, the shrill shriek of official Loren Ward’s whistle again filled the gym.

Burchill, who’d scored nine points, had fouled out. The Raiders’ once-plush lead had shrunk to 43-40, and North’s already-rambunctious fans were on the verge of a tizzy.

Enter Simon. Exit Hudson worries.

Over the next four minutes, a poised Simon grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, canned a 3-pointer to end a 6-0 Huskies run, buried a 17-foot jumper, grabbed a defensive rebound, drew two fouls and hit three of four free throws.

Simon finished will 11 points -- 10 coming in the game’s final 4:10.

Not bad for someone who’d averaged 3.2 points per game this season and was held scoreless in Hudson’s two Big Rivers Conference games against North.

During a Huskies timeout with 46.6 seconds left, with Hudson up 56-46, a jubilant Burchill leaped off the Raiders’ bench. She raced onto the court, grabbed Simon around the waist and lifted her three feet off the ground. Raiders coach Dave Johnson quickly shooed Burchill off the court, fearing she’d be called for a technical foul.

"One of the best things in sports is when someone with Molly’s attitude get rewarded," Johnson said. "She goes to practice every day, works hard, challenges our starters to improve. I’ve never heard her complain once about her role.

"Then, here we are, in our biggest game of the year, and Molly goes in and saves our season."

The Huskies also got a boost from their bench. After trailing 28-21 at halftime, North cashed in on Burchill’s foul trouble to own a 14-5 third-quarter scoring edge. The Huskies forged their first tie, at 33-33, when reserve guard Beth Hoenisch caught a snappy pass from Emilee Planert and sank a 3-pointer.

Then, a minute later, reserve guard Lindsey Rongstad scored on a driving layup to give North its first lead. Rongstad, who finished with seven points, hit a jumper 26 seconds into the fourth quarter to put the Huskies up 37-35.

But 6-foot-1 Hudson center Katie Garms promptly back-to-back shots, and the Raiders refused to give up the lead. Garms finished with a game-high 14 points.

"The biggest thing was us being able to handle (North’s) defense," said Hudson guard Jessie Syfko, who scored 11 points. "They’re awesome on defense. In practice this week, we went 7-on-5 to get used to handling their pressure."

Hudson’s defensive pressure helped limit the Huskies’ three top scorers -- Nicki Robinson, Larissa Parr and Planert -- to 27 points on 10-for-41 shooting. They’d averaged a combined 38 points per game this season.

"It’s a tough one to lose," first-year Huskies coach Dan Sippel said. "We fought hard, and Hudson fought hard. When you’ve got two good teams going tooth and nail, it’s always bad when one has to lose."

HUDSON (61)

FG-A FT-A TP: Emily Anderson 1-8 4-4 6, Jessie Syfko 4-11 0-0 11, Allison Burchill 3-5 2-2 9, Katie Garms 6-10 2-2 14, Annie Nelson 4-6 2-2 10, Molly Simon 3-8 4-6 11, Megan Hanson 0-0 0-0 0, Greta Tracey 0-0 0-0 0, Katy Cari 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly Peterson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 14-16 61.

EAU CLAIRE NORTH (51)

Nicki Robinson 2-15 4-6 8, Scooter Aspen 2-6 1-2 5, Emilee Planert 5-18 0-0 11, Kricket Whyte 1-6 4-8 6, Larissa Parr 3-8 2-2 8, Lindsey Rongstad 3-6 0-0 7, Gretchen Schroer 0-2 1-1 1, Beth Hoenisch 1-4 0-0 3, Amanda Eisold 1-1 0-0 2, Jessa Quick 0-1 0-0 0, Andrea Thorsness 0-0 0-0 0, Anne Connell 0-0 0-0 0, Angie Ziehme 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-67 12-19 51.

3-point goals: Hudson 5-11 (Syfko 3-4, Burchill 1-1, Simon 1-1, Anderson 0-5), North 3-20 (Rongstad 1-2, Hoenisch 1-3, Planert 1-10, Quick 0-1, Robinson 0-2, Aspen 0-2). Rebounds: Hudson 39 (Nelson 8, Garms 6), North 41 (Parr 8, Whyte 7). Fouls: Hudson 16, North 19. Fouled out: Hudson, Burchill; North, Parr. Turnovers: Hudson 25, North 15.

RECORDS: Hudson 21-2, Eau Claire North 17-5.