Baraga girls basketball topples Division 4 defending champ Fowler in state semifinal

How close was Thursday’s Division 4 semifinal between Fowler and Baraga?

For the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, every scoring play represented a lead change, and the teams were never separated by more than two points.

But Baraga eventually took advantage of Fowler’s high foul count at the free-throw line to eke out a 46-44 victory over the division’s defending state champion.

The pivotal play came with 9.5 seconds to play and the teams tied at 44. Fowler inbounded the ball from its own base line to Emma Riley. When Riley caught the ball and pivoted, she hooked her arm around defender Corina Jahfetson and was called for her fifth foul.

Jahfetson hit both free throws, which proved to be the difference.

“I just knew that they were going to get the ball in to Riley, so I just had to stay on her and maybe draw a foul,” Jahfetson said. “Obviously, I had to put these (free throws) in. It was going to be our last chance to get these points. We pushed through.”

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Baraga (23-5) was in the double-bonus with 2:30 to play and had made 14 of their first 15 free throws. But when they went to the line on their next six trips upcourt, the Vikings cooled off considerably, sinking just 5 of 12, and giving Fowler a chance to hang close.

“We don’t shoot the greatest percentage, but it’s good enough” Baraga coach Tyler Larson said. “Last week, we shot two free throws and missed them both, zero percent. The game before that we were 22 of 26. We’re streaky. It seems like when the crucial free throws are happening, they make them.”

Baraga held a 42-37 lead with 1:31 to play, but Fowler (20-8) couldn’t be counted out. Avery Koenigsknecht made both ends of a one-and-one, Riley added a three-point play, and Taylor Weber got a breakaway layup to knot the game at 44 with 32 seconds left. Baraga had the opportunity to take the lead on the ensuing possession, but was called for an illegal screen, giving Fowler the chance to inbound.

“It seemed that every time we tried to take a timeout and draw something up, it never worked out,” Larson said. “They persevered, and they took on an unbelievable basketball team right there. You’ve got to play all 32 minutes, and tonight was a prime example of that.”

The two teams also met in last year’s semifinals (Fowler won by 6) so Baraga knew what to expect. Still, the Eagles came out with a lockdown defense, forcing Baraga into several turnovers early and building an 8-0 lead.

“I believed that they were going to face-guard me pretty well, but I just kind of had to push through it,” Jahfetson said.

But Baraga eventually learned how to deal with the pressure, and chipped away to take a 17-15 by halftime. The Vikings’ lead was 26-25 at the end of the third, and the first five minutes of the final quarter produced eight lead changes and four ties.

“We had to stay locked in mentally,” Baraga’s Jaycee Larson said. “They were a tough team out there and we just kept grinding. We didn’t have too many turnovers and we kept it strong.”

Makenna Hendrickson led Baraga with 17 points while Kylie Michaelson had 10 and Jahfetson added nine. Riley scored a game-high 21 for Fowler.

“It was not the prettiest game,” Fowler coach Nathan Goerge said. “I thought we worked hard in the second half and battled. From the offensive end, I thought we did what we wanted to do and we executed it pretty well, but give them credit, their role players made shots and made free throws down the stretch, and we just couldn’t capitalize.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Baraga girls basketball beats Division 4 champ Fowler in semifinal