“What a good player,” said Dahlman after the game. “I went up and talked to her, told her she has a bright future, that she’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”
The start of the game had Panther fans a bit worried. NRHEG could not find the basket, and turnovers led to an 8-0 lead for Braham. Then coach John Schultz called time out.
“All we talked about was defense,” said Schultz. “We wanted to make sure we got a hand in Dahlman’s face. After that she was blanketed. Our team is playing as good of defense as we ever have.”
And Wagner wasn’t bad offensively, scoring the Panthers’ first 13 points as they pulled into a 13-13 tie and took a 27-19 lead at halftime.
The Bombers’ final attempt in the first half seemed to sum up the night as Dahlman missed a three-pointer and slammed her hand on the court.
Wagner scored the Panthers’ first seven points in the second half as they pulled ahead 35-23. By the midway point it was 54-33. Both coaches cleared their benches in the final minutes.
Wagner finished with 43 points, six rebounds and three assists. Also for the Panthers: Anna Schlaak 16 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, one assist, one blocked shot; Jade Schultz seven points, nine rebounds, one assist; Raelin Schue four points, two rebounds; Katie Cole two points, five rebounds; Maddie Wagner two points, one rebound; Abby Crabtree one point.
NRHEG had a great fan following with a reported 11 buses and countless cars making the trip to Minneapolis. The Panthers had nearly twice as many fans as Braham at Target Center.
After the game, as the teams awaited the head coaches in the locker room, Braham assistant coach Nate Dahlman approached NRHEG assistant coach Grant Berg.
“It was an honor to play against your team,” said Dahlman. “Now go win the whole thing.”
Coach Schultz, when asked what happened as the Panthers blew out the defending state champions, simply pointed at Wagner.
“That happened,” he said.
