Cloquet Girls Fall In Opening Round Playoff Action

Mar 2

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

Before Cloquet knew what happened Tuesday night it was a Bemidji leading 8-0, and from there it was Bemidji controlling the battle of the Lumberjacks in the opening round matchup between the section 7AAA four and five seeds. The 8-0 run to start the game continued on to a 28-16 halftime lead, en-route to 59-30 win at Bemidji High School Tuesday night.

The early lead held by Bemidji was fueled by three turnovers and an offensive foul which put Cloquet behind the eight ball. Cloquet however didn’t quit Tuesday as they battled back cutting the lead to a six point deficit at 17-11, but it was a Bemidji 11-1 run to close out the first half and distance the two Lumberjack teams.

Jess Yost was the main offensive weapon for the Bemidji Lumberjacks as she hit 13 shots inside and went 5-10 from the free throw line for a game high 31 points on the night. Her 31 points outscored the entire Cloquet team Tuesday night. “A month and a half ago Cloquet gave us all we could handle but Tuesday’s outcome shows just far this team has come,” Head Coach Rick Kehoe told Northland Sports Online.

“Offensively we were patient.” Kehoe added “We did a good job with Cloquet’s press, it didn’t give us the trouble we had the first time we played.” Kehoe went on to state “We played a tight pressure defense, which is spearheaded by the great defense of our guards Summer Monsrud, Maren Erpelding and Cheyenne Woods.”

Cloquet was led by senior post Annabel Morrisroe, who finished with 10 points, Kenzie Rathe added 7, Sarah McMillen ended with 6, Avery Bieri and Shania Paulson each closed with 2 points and Krista Schmitz, Felicia Hraban, and Reilly Kedrowski all finished with 1 point.

Following Yost and her 31 points, it was Cheyenne Woods finishing with 10, Caitlyn Hadrava added 7, five Lumberjacks finished with 2 points and one player added 1 point in the win.

Bemidji improves to 7-16 overall and they move on to face Grand Rapids in the section 7AAA semi-finals on Friday night in Grand Rapids. The other semi-final features Hibbing traveling to Hermantown to take on the Hawks. The Cloquet Lumberjacks season comes to an end with an 8-18 overall record on the season for Head Coach Jeff Ojanen, in his third season as the Girls Head Coach.

Northland Sports Online would like to thank the four seniors on the Cloquet roster for all of their hard work and dedication over the years. Those seniors are Sarah McMillen, Felicia Hraban, Mary Keller, and Annabel Morrisroe. Good luck in all of your future endeavors!

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com