(KWMN)- The Cotter Girls basketball team made the trek north to face off against the number one ranked team in class A in the Goodhue Wildcats.
The Ramblers shot out to an early lead in the matchup, leading by as much as 11 in the first half. A 19-4 run from Goodhue, however, put the Wildcats in the lead after one half of play.
Goodhue had the advantage for the first 10 minutes of the second half, led by the play of Senior guard, Elisabeth Gadient, Goodhue mounted a double-digit lead. Cotter was able to storm back, bringing it within three points with under five minutes to play on the brink of sneaking away with a victory.
Instead, Gadient and Goodhue locked in late, and pulled away to win 71-56. The scoreline, albeit 15 points, doesn’t paint a good enough picture of how close the game was. Gadient finished with a whopping 36 points, and head coach for the Ramblers, Pat Bowlin, credited her as the biggest reason for the win,
“We tried to contain, but we didn’t…She was kind of the story of tonight’s game. Without her incredible scoring I think we’re winning that game, but we couldn’t stop her…We tried everything.”
The Ramblers struggled offensively, mainly due to turning the ball over. That’s what eventually led to their demise. Against the Goodhue press they were unable to run their offense, and it showed on the scoreboard. The Ramblers finished with over 25 turnovers in the loss.
“They got the ball out of our top ball handlers…To their credit they run a really good press…They stopped us from our strengths, and they did a really good job defending the three-point line as well,” Bowlin said.
The Cotter girls will have to learn and then move on quickly from the loss, as they face Caledonia tonight, with a conference title on the line.
Matchups for Friday Night
Cotter Girls vs. Caledonia: 7:15 p.m.
Rushford-Peterson Girls @ Fillmore Central: 7:15 p.m.
Winona Girls @ Albert Lea: 7:30 p.m.
Cotter Boys @ Caledonia: 7:15 p.m.
Rushford-Peterson Boys vs. Fillmore Central: Coverage at 7:00 p.m. Tip set for 7:00 on the Winona Sports Network, 99.3 FM
Winona Boys vs. Albert Lea: 7:30 p.m.
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