‘Buck up and fight’

Next stop?

Williams Arena.

How long has it been since Panther basketball fans had a night like they did Friday?

Eight years.

The last time the Lady Panthers won a section championship game and earned a state tournament berth was in 2017 when a pair of identical twins were leading the way, Maddie and Marnie Wagner.

This time it was another pair of twins leading the Panthers to victory: Quinn and Cam VanMaldeghem.

The pair combined for 45 points as NRHEG defeated Glencoe-Silver Lake (GSL) 66-64, Friday night at the Taylor Center in Mankato.

After an early back and forth, GSL went on a 20-2 run to jump out to a 26-7 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.

It was at this point NRHEG head coach Onika Peterson called a timeout.

“I said (to the players), ‘Hey, on a scale of one to 10, how bad do you feel for yourselves right now?” Peterson recalled. “And they came back with a ten. I said, “Well, it's probably more of a 12.

“I said we can either roll over and give up and lose by 40 or we can buck up and fight.”’ Peterson continued.

And buck up they did.

And fight, they did.

Six minutes later the score was tied, 26-26.

Both VanMaldeghems either assisted or scored every basket over the remainder of the half, combining for 22 first half points, which ended with the Panthers trailing 32-28.

“We focused on rebounding and pushing the ball up the floor,” Quinn VanMaldeghem said about how they responded after the timeout. “No more dumb passes. Keep the team relaxed and on a calm level.”

“We didn't play Panther basketball in the first however many minutes,” Peterson stated. “We all of a sudden got a little shell shock. They came out guns blazing and hit some huge shots and we didn't make some, and then we kind of forgot to rebound, which is something we pride ourselves on. We just readjusted and went on a run. It was huge.”

Again, in the second half the Panthers clawed and clawed, and fell down by as many as seven points, when they trailed 41-34 four minutes into the second half.

The VanMaldeghems combined for baskets to cut the score to 43-41 after multiple steals, and assists to each other. It was then Quinn made a pass to Gabrielle Schlaak to tie the game. One possession later, with just under 8 minutes remaining in the game, the Panthers took the lead on a three pointer from Schlaak at the top of the key.

The two teams would trade the lead six more times on the night, with the ultimate game winning basket coming on a drive to the hoop from Camryn VanMaldeghem with 20 seconds remaining.

“That was definitely a special feeling,” Camryn VanMaldeghem recalled. “Even though there was  20 seconds left, we held our composure. We weren't too excited, but we were still excited.

“(I thought) I hope this goes in,” she continued. “I thought I need to get the spin on this ball.”

“I was praying that it would go in to,” Quinn VanMaldeghem added.

With 2.5 seconds remaining, GSL senior Mylea Monahan was fouled, but missed both free- throws, clinching the game for NRHEG.

“What an amazing experience,” Peterson said. “A huge comeback win to advance to the state tournament.”

“This is a night that they will never forget!” Peterson exclaimed. “I know I won't. I am so proud of these girls.”

On the night Quinn and Camryn VanMaldeghem led the Panthers in scoring with 23 and 22 points respectively.

“We had red medals the past couple of years,” Camryn VanMaldeghem said after the game. “Having the blue one breaks the curse of the red metal…. It’s definitely a special moment.”

The VanMaldeghems said they have ‘twin-telepathy”

“I feel like we can read each other's minds a lot,” Camryn VanMaldeghem said. “We know each other's best skills, so we know what we're capable of.”

Coach Peterson was asked several questions after the game.

What do you do to help keep the girls mentally strong going into a game like Friday night?

“Whether people agree with it or not, we try to just talk about it,” Peterson said. “This is a big game. Everyone's going to tell you how important it is. Don't focus in on it being a big game. Focus on one play and one possession at a time. Don't make it out to be bigger than what it is and have fun. And you're going to make mistakes, cause guess what, as adults, we make mistakes all the time. It's how you bounce back from that mistake.”

What was it like being on the sideline watching Cam drive and put that last basket in?

“I think… just proud. Those kids have rallied and battled every single game. The fact that she still was confident enough that she wasn't going to get a charge called on her when she just had one was huge. Because in my mind it was like, oh, that could happen and they just had confidence and did a great job.”

What is it like coaching twins, seeing the chemistry they have between them?

“It's unreal. They can read where they're going to be before I even know where they’re going to be. They see the floor so well that every now and then I think they sometimes bail each other out. But they do a heck of a job.

With no seniors, and only juniors and younger kids leading the team, what kind of challenges or opportunities does that present?

“We didn't have any seniors coming in this year. And we've been very, very lucky with the juniors that we have, but those younger kids have really stepped up and have led us as well.

“The whole team in general gets along so stinking well, and you can tell. There's been years where I'm like, 'Oh, they get along.’ But this group, it's like they really, really do it on and off the court. They're so supportive of each other. They get excited for each other when they do well, and that's huge.”

What’s it like to be headed back to the State Tournament for the first time in eight years?

We went in 2017 with me as the head coach. My two assistants actually played for me that year. Which is crazy. Kind of full circle that we're going back with those two back as assistants. But again, it was such a week. I think the kids laughed at me, but we talked about how it's such a program win. You know, whether you're rebounding, making the baskets, diving on loose balls, or running scout team… It's definitely a program win, but also a community win too.”

What do you need to do well going forward into the State Tournament?

Realistically we are going to get unseeded, so we're going to have a heavy hitter coming in. It's the same thing. Why not us? So go out fighting and attack and do the little things and do them well, and if we lose, we lose. It’s state and we can come back fighting the next day, so we're very fortunate and very lucky to be in that position.

Individually for the Panthers: Gabrielle Schlaak 10 pts, 8 rebounds, 1 assist; Ezra Boerner 1 rebound; Quinn VanMaldeghem 23 pts, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals; Clara Buendorf 3 rebounds, 1 assist; Camryn VanMaldeghem 22 pts, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot; Chloe Stork 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Kylie Olson 11 pts, 7 rebounds, 1 assist.

With the win the Panthers improved to 23-5. The girls played against Providence Academy on Wednesday night at Williams Arena in the opening round of the state tournament. The winner of that game plays Friday night at Williams Arena at 6 p.m. The loser plays Thursday night at the Gangelhoff Center in St Paul.