The Class C1 state championship game was the match-up everyone was hoping for – Malcolm, featuring two of the top players in the state in Halle and Payton Dolliver, and Milford, featuring another of the state’s top players, Shayla Rautenberg.
Both teams entered March 7’s championship game 27-1. Milford’s only loss was to Norris on Dec. 16, and Malcolm’s only loss was to Milford on Jan. 8.
“It was high level,” Milford Coach Bryce Roth said.
The score was 18-17 Malcolm after the first quarter. It was 34-28 Milford at halftime. It was 49-47 Milford after the third quarter. The Eagles pulled away in the fourth for a 66-52 win and the school’s first girls’ basketball championship.
“It’s so hard to get there and win at state,” Roth said. “And you never know when or if you’ll get back.”
He said the game boiled down to toughness and discipline.
“We knew coming in the Dollivers are special players,” Roth said. “We knew we would get everything we could handle.”
The Milford defense held Payton Dolliver, a sophomore, to 13 points, well below the 19.4 she averaged coming into the tournament.
Halle Dolliver led all scorers with 22 points, but Milford had four reach double figures – Ashlynn Miller with 19, Shayla Rautenberg with 14 points and 13 rebounds, Abby Crabtree with 14 points and Kylie Jakub with 13.
Roth said the team did a good job rebounding, grabbing 36 to Malcolm’s 29. Jakub had nine boards to just miss a double double in her final game for Milford.
“We answered the question, ‘who are you?’ We are a darn good team,” Roth said.
He was pleased to see the Eagles commit just six turnovers against the Clippers.
Miller and Rautenberg took over in the third quarter, and Jakub’s two threes in the fourth quarter provided some distance between the teams.
Senior Maeli Kubicek put her name in the score book with a three-pointer, as well.
The tournament started March 5 with a 37-34 win over Central City. The Eagles turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter of the rematch against the Bison. MHS had more turnovers (8) than points (7) in the period.
Not only did the Eagles have to play CC for the second time in two weeks, the team was also battling illness.
“That helps understand how resilient these kids are,” Roth said.
The team was able to regroup in the second quarter, holding Central City to four points while scoring 10.
“Their zone is tough. You have to manufacture buckets,” Roth said.
In the second half, Milford was able to settle in with Miller working out of the high post. Central City hit three three-pointers in the fourth quarter to cut into Milford’s lead, but the Eagles didn’t panic, Roth said.
“We were able to find a way to finish,” he said.
Jakub answered the Bisons’ threes with a three of her own, and Abby Crabtree added a three-pointer.
Miller led the Eagles with 11 points, while Rautenberg put up 10 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
Central City’s 34 points tied a season low in scoring for them.
“It was a gutty kind of win,” Roth said. “There’s a lot of pressure in the first game.”
The win put Milford in the semifinals against Gothenburg, a team the Eagles play every summer. The Swedes have two more of the state’s best players – Zoe Beveridge and Halsey Thomalla. They combined for 38 of Gothenberg’s 51 points, but Milford won the game 63-51.
Gothenburg came out hot, going 4-9 from three in the first quarter and building an 18-11 lead. MHS came back with a 19-point second quarter, and the score was 30-30 at halftime.
Roth was pleased to see his team stay calm and weather the storm. Crabtree’s half-court highlight-reel shot to end the first quarter sparked the Eagles, he said.
Crabtree scored 11 of Milford’s 19 second-quarter points, getting to the rim and the free-throw line.
In the second half, Miller got going in the paint, and the Milford defense held Gothenburg to just seven points in the third quarter while the offense scored 18.
Despite the lead, Roth said, they knew the Swedes weren’t done.
“We needed to stay locked and don’t lose focus,” he said.
GHS cut Milford’s lead to three in the fourth quarter, hitting four of nine from three again, but Milford made a couple threes of its own to extend the margin again.
“I’m proud of our discipline and toughness,” Roth said.
He was also proud of how MHS took care of the ball – just seven turnovers against a defense that forced 20 a game.
Crabtree led Milford with 22 points and five assists. Miller added 15 points, and Rautenberg had 11 points and 20 rebounds.
Roth praised the two seniors – Kubicek and Jakub – for their four years playing basketball.
“They are not basketball-first people,” he said. “They are amazing kids and competitors and so fun to coach.”
