A hot start and consistent offensive performance put the Tri-City United girls basketball team in a position to upset top seeded Glencoe-Silver Lake Monday night in the Section 2AA North Subsection Championship game. However, the veteran laden Panther squad maintained their composure no matter the deficit and after trailing for over 32 minutes, managed to take the lead and pull off the 64-59 victory over the Titans, bringing TCU’s impressive season to a close.
“It was really fun to see because that hasn’t been something we’ve done the last few games,” Titan head coach Don Marcussen said of the game. “We’ve we’ve kind of let the other team kinda pounce on us and then we make our little runs a little surges, but tonight, we got some good looks and 2e knocked shots down.”
TCU opened the game with a fire as senior Gabriella Dahlke and junior Audrey Vosejpka drained threes on the first two possessions of the night, immediately getting the Titan student section and fans into the game. After a back and forth, the Titans pushed their lead 25-16 when sophomore center Ella Schmiesing put-back a rebounded ball through contact.
GSL never let the game get out of hand however and through a combination of rebounding and good ball movement, managed to routinely get good looks and keep the deficit to just 36-30 going into halftime.
TCU opened the second half getting right back into an offensive groove though with Lexi Marcussen and Emma Skluzacek scoring on the first two possessions to push the lead to 10 before the Panthers responded with a 7-0 run. The scoring difference continued to hover between two and six points for most of the second half, but when everything got tight and the pressure reached its boiling point, GSL proved up to the task.
With Just under four minutes remaining, the Panthers tied the game at 57 and after a Titan turnover, drilled a three to take a 60-57 lead., their first of the night.
Despite GSL struggling to convert in their one and one free throw opportunities as the Titans were forced to foul in the final minute, the Panthers flooded the painted area and continued to haul in offensive boards, extending their possessions and eating the clock. When the final buzzer sounded, it was GSL that had the 64-59 victory, bringing the TCU season to a close.
“Well we knew it was gonna be close and we knew we can compete with them,” said Titan head coach Don Marcussen after the game. “The the biggest statistic that we talked about and that we emphasized in the last two days and all night tonight is rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. They got the lead by getting offensive rebounds and extra possessions towards that end.”
TCU finishes the season with a record of 19-9 while earning the subsection semifinalist silver medal, but for the returning players, the hope is this experience proves to be a catalyst for the future.
“I can’t imagine that isn’t a motivator, but now everybody knows who we are,” Marcussen noted. “It’s not like we’re gonna sneak up on anybody and we’re going to join the Big South Conference, so it’s a little better basketball all the way through.”
One player that won’t be returning though is senior guard Dahlke, who suited up for the final time Monday night.
“She’s a very good student and a good friend to all these girls,” Marcussen said of Dahlke. “When I was coaching the girls in this junior class as seventh graders, Gabby was an eighth grader and was playing with them. They had nine eighth graders, and she’s the one that kinda stuck it out for the last next four or five years. So I’m glad she got a chance to be able to play competitively her senior year.”
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