CLOCK RUNS OUT ON WOLVES
JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER
It should come as no surprise that Jesse Munkvold made a B-line in the direction of teammate Morgan Edelman immediately following Menno’s heart-wrenching loss to Herried/Selby Area in last week’s SoDak 16. The seniors started playing basketball together when they were in the third grade and quickly developed a relationship on the hardwood that went beyond their friendship off the court. So when Edelman collapsed in a wave of emotion after the buzzer sounded on a 49-47 loss to the Wolverines at James Valley Christian, Munkvold knew where she had to be — right alongside her basketball soulmate.
“We’ve always had a really special bond — a really good connection,” Munkvold said Friday afternoon, March 5, less than 24 hours after the crushing SoDak 16 loss. “We’ve always known how to work really well with each other and be there for each other.”
“It’s always been there starting in junior high,” Edelman said her relationship with Jesse. “We always pushed each other; in practice we were always partnering up because we knew we could push each other.”
Given all of that, why wouldn’t the two walk off the court, wrapped in each other’s arms, overcome by emotion at the conclusion of what was the final game of their prep careers?
And so they did.
“I can’t put it into words,” said Edelman, who managed to steal the ball on the Wolverines end of the court with just seconds left and her team down two points and get off an impossible desperation heave from well beyond half court. “It’s a game I will never forget; it was just hard because we all worked so hard. This was one of our goals. Playing all those years, it would have been a great way to end our season.
“Very hard,” Munkvold said softly. “I turned around and saw there was 2.3 seconds left and I saw Morgan steal the ball and throw it …”
She doesn’t finish.
She doesn’t have to.
OH, WHAT A GAME!
Menno’s March 4 contest against the Wolverines was a cocktail of energy, thrills, excitement and heartbreak that put Wolves fans through a ringer of emotion. Taking the court in a hot and loud James Valley Christian gymnasium last week Thursday, the atmosphere was electric, starting with the 6:30 p.m. tip and didn’t subside for the next 90 minutes — no surprise given that a trip to the State B Basketball Tournament was on the line, a place Menno hadn’t been since 2000.
And it didn’t start well for the Wolves.
After a scoreless first 2 minutes, No. 6-seed Herried/Selby Area struck first against No. 11 Menno, scoring the first six points of the game and building a 14-3 lead on a three-pointer by senior guard Rachel Fiedler, a standout who was a priority for the Wolves’ defense, and who connected twice from long range in that first quarter. The Wolverines continued to find success on the offensive end and built a 20-7 lead with 1:30 left to play, but Menno finished the quarter on a 5-0 run capped by an Edelman field goal inside that made it a 20-12 game.
“It felt like we weren’t quite on top of our defense right away,” said Munkvold. “It didn’t seem like we were really focused.”
“And our defense usually leads to our offense,” added Edelman, “so that didn’t really work out for us.”
There were several elements at work that may have contributed to Menno’s slow start. It was warm inside a gym the Wolves had never played in, the bleachers were packed with fans on both sides and two loud student cheering sections on one end, and the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
“I think nerves probably had a little bit to do with that, too,” said Edelman. “We were nervous and just needed to calm down and play like we know how to play.”
Still, Munkvold said the vibe in locker room before the game was calm, with excitement and energy ruling the day.
“We were ready to go,” she said. “We all sat in a circle and were talking, singing, doing our own thing.”
And what were they singing? Church songs from their days at Swan Lake Christian Camp, inspired by their game location at James Valley Christian and a quote on the locker room wall.
Menno may have started slowly, but it didn’t take long for the Wolves to settle into their game in the second quarter. A defensive adjustment by head coach Doug Hall slowed the Wolverines down — he switched from a 1-3-1 chaser to a man-to-man chaser, something he says he wish he had done sooner — while the team’s offense started coming alive. Back-to-back three-pointers by Edelman and Munkvold at the 6:57 and 6:09 mark cut the Herried/Selby Area lead to 20-18.
“Once we got (Fiedler) stopped and our defense settled down, it calmed us so we weren’t so nervous on offense — like we need to score,” said Edelman. “We got a few stops that gave us some momentum.”
“I told them just to grind it out,” Hall said. “Take it one possession at a time and win every possession. And they responded and played hard. Herried/Selby Area scored 20 in the first quarter and 29 the rest of the way.”
Despite a better second quarter, Menno still trailed 26-20 at the half and fell behind 29-20 early in the third, when the Wolverines connected on their fourth three-pointer of the game, and then went up 31-20 on the first points of the game by 6 foot, 4 inch center Rylee Rossow. But the Wolves hung tough and outscored Herried/Selby Area by two the rest of the quarter, trailing 38-29.
Asked what he saw during those first three quarters, Hall said “a little bit of everything. A hard-nosed team that fought back seemingly against all odds and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end.”
The fourth quarter was wild.
Herried/Selby Area extended its lead to 40-29 with 6:15 to play on another field goal inside by Rossow, but two free throws from junior Paityn Huber kept it a nine-point game. The Wolves cut the lead to 40-33 on a shot inside by freshman Ashton Massey, courtesy of a sweet Edelman assist, and two Edelman free throws made it 40-35 with 4:40 to play.
Two minutes and a Munkvold field goal from the perimeter later, the Wolverines’ lead was trimmed to 42-41, and with 1:40 to play, the Wolves took their first lead of the game when Edelman got through a collapsing defense and scored from close range to make it 45-44.
Several from Menno said after the game that they thought that was the watershed moment that would put the Wolves over the top and into the State B Basketball Tournament.
“That was crazy; I definitely was feeling the game at that point,” said Edelman, whose 21st and 22nd points of the game that gave Menno the lead would end up being the final of her prep career. “Just taking it all in. That’s when it hit me that we might get to state. I really believed we were going to win that game.”
But it wasn’t to be.
Rossow scored again on Herried/Selby Area’s next possession as they reclaimed a 46-45 lead, and the Wolverines benefited from one of two free throws with 1:06 to play that made it a 47-45 game. But Munkvold, who finished with 15 points, answered with another field goal and, with 28 seconds to play, it was 47-47. That’s when an official got involved.
With Herried/Selby Area in its half-court offense and the clock ticking down, Fiedler, the Wolverines’ best player, drove the baseline against the defense of Edelman, who was called for a body foul with 2.3 seconds to play. Fiedler connected on both of her free throws for the game’s final points; Menno was unable to get the ball inbounds against the press and threw it away, and there wasn’t enough time on the clock for Edelman to take advantage of that last-second steal. Game over.
Hall questions the foul called on Edelman, especially in that situation, late and with the game on the line.
“Any basketball fan that has watched the game knows that 99 percent of the refs don’t want to be involved in the outcome,” Hall said. “Normally it doesn’t happen; I don’t know any ref that wants to make that call. The game was tied. Let the teams go and decide the game in overtime.
“Obviously that was extremely frustrating.”
All of it added up to a tough locker room following the game, but Edelman said words from the coach helped soften the blow.
“He told us he was proud of us,” she said. “Proud of our leadership and us being able to stay in that game after we got down, because we worked our butts off.”
“I think our team did really good; I mean, we never gave up,” said Munkvold. “It was at times a very tense game and I think we held our composure together really well.”
Hall took a “it is what it is” approach as he reflected on the game several days later and carries with him some of the blame for the loss.
“We made mistakes as a team and I made mistakes as a coach,” he said, specifically regretting not making the switch from a 1-3-1 to man-to-man defense earlier. “I feel like I let the team down.”
But Menno had multiple missed opportunities, be it a scoring drought when they could have taken the lead earlier, giving up too many offensive rebounds throughout the game or shots that just didn’t fall.
Menno finished 13-for-19 from the free-throw line, gave up 12 offensive rebounds and 16 points off turnovers.
“Investment doesn’t always pay off, but you should do it anyway,” said Menno Superintendent Tom Rice, who sat in on the tail end of last week’s interview with Edelman and Munkvold. “But that game was about so much more than a win or a loss. It was about being proud to be a Wolf.”
Menno ended its 2020-21 season with a 15-7 record while the Wolverines take a 20-3 record to the state tournament in Huron this week.
It’s interesting: The Wolves played four of the teams in this year’s state tournament tough, losing to Hanson, Ethan, Corsica-Stickney and Herried/Selby Area by a combined 11 points.
MOVING ON
Edelman and Munkvold aren’t the only ones saying goodbye to Menno basketball. Carly Herrboldt, Victoria Lehr and Adrian Nusz will also graduate in May, making for a class of five on this year’s team.
All of them, Hall said, played a part.
“I know it’s frustrating for those other girls who don’t get the minutes, but their role matters,” he said. “I told them, ‘We’re not going to this without you. We need everybody to help push us every day.’”
As for his two standouts, Hall says he has been blessed to have them as part of the program.
“They did so many positive things on both ends of the floor,” he said. “They’re a coach’s delight — athletic with a want to be there. I appreciate how far they’ve taken this program and wish them well in future endeavors.”
Edelman and Munkvold brought two simple gifts to the game: a love for basketball and a hard work ethic.
“At the end of the day, basketball really isn’t complicated,” Hall said. “Enjoy the game, work hard and be a good teammate. It really is that simple.”
“Take it all in,” said Edelman in offering advice to her returning teammates and to younger players on their way up. “Go out there and play your hardest every game, because you’ll regret it if you don’t. For me, basketball has been amazing and my favorite part of coming to school.”
Munkvold agrees.
“For me, it has made me the person I am and helped me grow — just through interacting with the girls and being part of a team. Basketball has taught me that even if you get knocked down, you can always bounce back.”
“Basketball became a second home for me; going to practice and just being in that atmosphere is something I look forward to every day,” she continued. “I can have a bad day at school and come to practice and let everything go.”
And her advice?
“Enjoy every minute of it, even when things get tough and practices get long,” she said. “Don’t take it for granted, even through the bumps and bruises. Those are going to heal, so soak it all up.”
