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EspañolMar. 3---- The way Maddison Molacek sees it, the Willmar girls basketball team isn't ready for family time to end yet.
That was the motivation the third-seeded Cardinals used in their 56-53 overtime win over No. 2 Fergus Falls in the Section 8AAA semifinals on Saturday. And that's the prevailing thought as Willmar prepares to play in its first section championship game since the 2018-19 season.
"In the locker room before (the Fergus Falls game), usually it's like, 'Here's the game plan,'" Molacek said. "But it was more like, 'This is our family and we cannot let this be the last time that this family's together. Fergus is trying to kill our family and we don't wanna die."
Willmar faces off with top-seeded Little Falls for the 8AAA championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Little Falls Community High School.
The Cardinals (17-11) are hoping for their first state trip since back-to-back appearances in 2017 and '18. The Flyers (22-6) are trying to make their first state tournament since 1991.
"Little Falls, I feel, plays very similar to Fergus," Molacek said. "If we can play exactly how we did on Saturday, then we'll be in pretty good shape for Thursday."
The two teams met in the regular season, with Little Falls earning a 46-35 victory over Willmar on Jan. 17. The Flyers held the Cardinals to 25% shooting. Likewise, Willmar limited Little Falls to 30% shooting.
The goal right away for the Cardinals is shutting down star guard Malin Youngberg. The 6-foot sophomore is verbally committed to play at Division I South Dakota State University. A combination of Telilie Lange, Madelyn Swierenga and the team's zone defense will try to slow Youngberg down.
"Some would say she's probably the best player in the section," said Willmar head coach Brendan Hedtke. "She's really good with the ball in her hands, she's a really good shooter and a really good passer. Incredible defender. She's a tough out. And they got shooters around her and that's really what the tough thing is."
Willmar held Youngberg to 14 points in the regular-season match-up, down from her mid-20s average, according to Hedtke. But, the secondary players found success in the scorebook. So the Cardinals will have to slow down shooters like sophomores Khloe Schlagel and Reese Becker, junior Samantha Pint and Malin's younger sister Ehlin. She's an eighth-grader.
"If (Malin's) sharing the ball and willing to get her teammates involved and they're knocking down their shots, it's really hard to defend," Hedtke said. "If it's an off night, then that makes things a little bit easier. But it's gonna be a team effort to guard her."
The Cardinals have battled through adversity throughout the season. They lost starting guard Isley Ripperger to a torn ACL in the season's third game. In mid-January, the team went through a five-game losing streak, with the Little Falls game in that stretch. Sickness and nagging injuries popped up.
Willmar came through it all. And the semifinal win was a prime example of that.
Down by seven in the final 90 seconds, Lange scored the Cardinals' last eight points in regulation, including the bucket that sent the game to overtime tied at 50-50. Willmar held Fergus Falls to three points in overtime. The Otters' last possession came to an end when Molacek jumped the passing lane and came up with a game-clinching steal.
It was Willmar's first win by one possession since beating Little Falls last season, 50-47.
"We've had a bunch of close games against some really good schools," Hedtke said. "Brainerd twice, Alexandria twice and Fergus Falls both times. But we just hadn't been able to get over the hump of winning those close games."
Said Molacek, "Us winning on Saturday was because we played as a family."
Now, Molacek wants to help set up a family trip to the state tournament in Minneapolis.
"Pressure is a privilege," Molacek said. "It's a privilege to be in this position and be with this team. This is a very special group of girls and we have every capability to win this game on Thursday."