Wildcats Defeat Hermantown in Section Quarterfinals

Chisago Lakes hosted Hermantown on Wednesday night.

It wasn't too long ago these two teams played and Chisago won that game. The Wildcats looked to do so again, but this time a trip to the section semi finals was on the line.

The Wildcats came out and set the pace early on and looked like the more dominant team. Their defense created a handful of turnovers and they turned many of those into points. They were quick to build up a 10 point lead, but the Hawks would not go away easily. Just when it looked like the Cats were going to pull away, the Hawks would go on a short run and cut the lead back to 9-10 points. This would continue much of the 1st half. Chisago went into the break leading 38-23.

The 2nd half was similar to the 1st but there were times in this half that Hermantown was able to swing momentum in their favor. The Hawks were able to drop their deficit down under 10 points and were within only a few possessions for much of the 2nd half. While it was close the Wildcats confidence never wavered and it showed late in the game. Fouls piled up for Hermantown which sent Chisago to the line. They shot about 50% from the free throw line as a team but one player stood out. Joe Couwenhoven shot 17/18 from the free throw line, with 13/14 coming in the 2nd half alone. This certainly helped them maintain their lead, and his teammates followed suit and did their jobs from the charity stripe as well. All those free throws helped them get back the double digit lead they once had and eventually lead them to victory 83-70.

They will play in Grand Rapids on Friday in the Section Semi Final!

Scoring

Chisago Lakes:

Joe Couwenhoven 39

Cohen Underhill 25

Colton Betts 12

Will Pearson 3

Alex Johnson and Logan Senske 2