FULL REPORT: TORNADOES SHOOT DOWN FLYERS

The scouting report on Centerville is quite simple: The girls can shoot.

On Saturday night, Freeman got an up close and personal look at just how well.

Playing in the third and final round of the Region 4B Tournament and for a spot in the SoDak 16, the second-seed Tornadoes torched the third-seed Flyers with nine three-pointers that carried them to a 77-62 win. Five of those bombs came in the third quarter and helped turn a 33-31 Freeman lead into a 59-49 Centerville advantage going into the final period. The Flyers were within nine points with 5:50 to play, but the hot-handed Tornadoes finished the game on a 14-8 run to emerge with a 15-point win in a game that was really much closer.

“I’m really proud of the effort,” said second-year head coach Jenny Peters, who watched her team play Centerville even in the first quarter and cling to a 32-30 lead at the half. “That’s one thing with this team; it’s never a lack of effort ever, whether it’s in practice or in games. They always come out and play as hard as they absolutely can and give four quarters of energy and effort.”

Freeman junior Ashlin Jacobsen finished with a game-high 22 points while Centerville had four players in double figures: junior Lillie Eide had 17 points, sophomore Thea Gust tallied 15, senior Mackenzie Meyer went for 14 and junior MaKayla Heesch scored 13.

“When four of their players have 12, 13, 14 points or whatever, that’s hard,” said Kate Miller, who along with Erin Uecker and Alyssa Dent share senior leadership roles on the team. “It doesn’t matter how good you play.”

The Flyers finish the season 14-8; Centerville takes a 17-5 mark into the SoDak 16 on Thursday.

On the other side of the Region 4B bracket, top-seed Viborg-Hurley (19-3) toppled fourth-seed Scotland (12-9) by a score of 60-22 and will also represent Region 4B in the SoDak 16.

Flying into the tornado

As expected, Freeman Public advanced to its third-round showdown with Centerville in Irene thanks to a 62-36 win over sixth-seed Alcester-Hudson two nights before, and the Flyers and the Tornadoes took fans on a ride as they played toe-to-toe in a thrilling first half.

A Kate Miller and Cami Fransen three pointer helped give Freeman an 8-4 lead, and the Flyers responded to Centerville’s answers with answers of their own, be it a field goal inside from Erin Uecker that put the Flyers up 13-12 or a nice cut and layup from Fransen that made it 15-14 — the score at the end of the first period.

Five different girls from Freeman scored in that opening frame.

“We really came out strong,” said Uecker. “Our defense — just everything — was really good. We were ready to go.”

“It was fun,” said Miller. “The gym was packed, everyone was into it. There was a moment where I just had to stop and take it all in since it was so fun to be out there with everyone.”

Freeman and Centerville exchanged baskets throughout the second quarter, as well, with a Kate Miller field goal inside to give the Flyers their biggest lead of the game at 23-19 with 4:38 left in the half. But the Tornadoes responded on their next possession when Thea Gust tied the game with a three-pointer — a sign of things to come. Still, Freeman maintained the edge thanks largely to the shooting of Ashlin Jacobsen, who connected on two free throws in the final 1:50 of the half to give her team a 32-30 edge at the break.

Jacobsen had 10 points in the first two quarters and Freeman shot 13-for-22 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.

“It was a really good first half,” said Peters. “We executed our offense well; we were making our shots. We knew they are a high percentage shooting team from the perimeter, and they can dribble-drive, and I thought defensively our girls did a good job of stopping them from getting to the hoop and just communicated really well.”

Peters’ message to the girls at halftime was simple: Keep executing and keep doing what they were doing, stay focused and stay sharp.

“Just hold steady,” she said.

And, in fact, the Flyers struck first in that third quarter thanks again to Jacobsen, who found her way to the free-throw line and connected on both attempts to give Freeman another four-point lead at 34-30.

Centerville answered with three-pointer from Meyer and then regained the lead with 5:50 left in the third when senior post player Bailey Hansen got free underneath for an easy score, but as was the case in the first half, the Flyers answered. Another Jacobsen three-pointer and a Miller field goal had the Flyers ahead 39-37 midway through the period, and Freeman maintained the edge when Peyton McCune found a cutting Rylee Peters for a layup that made it 41-40 with 3:43 left.

But Centerville closed out the third quarter on a 19-8 run, with 12 of those points coming from three-point range. Not only did that give the Tornadoes a 59-49 lead going into the fourth period, it also fueled them with momentum.

“That’s the team they are,” said Peters. “They don’t just have one or two shooters, they have three or four. You try to cover them the best you can, but with that team it’s hard because if you defend from the outside they just dribble-drive inside.

“They just do a good job of ball movement and finding that girl who can spot up and shoot,” the coach continues. “It’s hard to come back when a team has four three-pointers right in a row — 12 points just like that.”

“They just were hitting everything,” said Uecker. “Our defense started to lag a little bit and we weren’t communicating as much, but it’s hard to beat a team when they’re making everything.”

Freeman was as close as 63-54 with 5:50 to play, but three more Centerville three-pointers were yet to come — another from Meyer and two from seventh-grade sharpshooter Izzie Eide, which contributed to the Tornadoes’ biggest lead of the night at 77-60.

A Miller field goal from the paint in the closing seconds brought the game to its final score — a fitting final two points for a senior who says she will forever cherish her time with the program.

Like Uecker, Miller has been part of the varsity program since she was an eighth grader.

“My team is amazing; the community is amazing,” Miller said after the game. “Just to be able to wear the Freeman Flyers jersey and represent my school — it’s something I’ll never forget.”

“I’m really going to miss it, and it’s more than just playing basketball,” said Uecker. “I just love everyone I’ve played with over the years. It’s hard to think that I’m not going to be back.”

Moving forward

For Peters, it’s a bittersweet goodbye.

“Those seniors — I’m going to miss them so much,” she said. “That was one thing last year; I knew I had everybody coming back. This year I have to give the ‘goodbye seniors’ speech and it’s hard. They are the heart and soul of this team; their work ethic is phenomenal — they show up at practice every day and work hard every day, and you see them out on the court in games giving everything they can. It’s 100% all the time. And they’re good teammates and will be really missed.

“I told these girls that I got to coach the same team for two years, and this is my first team, so I’ll never forget them,” Peters continues. “This team will always have a very special place in my heart. I told them that, down the road, if there’s ever anyone who needs anything, just reach out. If I can help I will. If I can’t help, I’ll find somebody who can.”

As for the season, the coach recognizes just how much growth there was. After starting 2-4, the Flyers finished 13-3 — but it was really the development in the second half of the season that helped make this a season to feel good about.

“The last 10 games or so we really started clicking and coming together, and not just on the court,” Peters said. “Even off the court, the girls really started supporting each other even more than they were and became a true team. As a coach that’s one of the things I strive for — to form a family atmosphere, and I felt like we did that. And when you do that, things tend to work themselves out on the court.”

“I’m proud of us,” said Uecker. “We’ve come a long way.”

While the seniors will be missed, Peters is excited for what’s to come. She says Fransen and Jacobsen are well suited to step into those senior leadership slots, “and we have some younger girls coming up. We had a phenomenal JV team this year, so I’m really excited to see what happens next year.”

Those underclassmen include starting sophomore McCune; Vaida Ammann, a freshman; and Peters, an eighth grader. All saw considerable varsity playing time this season.

And just because it’s now the offseason doesn’t mean the Flyers can take their eye off the ball.

“We’ve just got to keep working hard,” Peters says. “We’ve got to put some time in the offseason, and hopefully the success they had this year will fuel their fire to be better — to be the team that everybody is scared to play. I think we can get there.”

Erin: