Minneapolis Upset Bid Falls Short

Minneapolis’ upset bid to take down rival, Beloit in the opening round of the 3A Girls Sub-State on Tuesday, fell just short. Literally.

The Lady Lions at the foul line down by one with 0.5 remaining had a free-throw fall off the rim, shy, for what would have sent the game to OT.

No. 2 seed Beloit held on for the 51-50 win over No. 7 seed Minneapolis to end the Lady Lions’ season.

Minneapolis came out throwing hay-makers and playing with nothing to lose as the major underdog on Tuesday at Beloit. The Lady Lions came out red hot from 3 as both Kersti Nelson and Cameron Cleveland made 3-pointers to start out the game.

Minneapolis led after one, 14-9.

The Lady Lions continued to dominate in to the second quarter, as Zoie Shupe got in to the act by tallying 11 points in the first half, including two 3-pointers in the second stanza. This led MHS to a 25-16 lead with a little less than three minutes remaining before halftime.

Beloit would use a huge run to tie the game at 28-28 at halftime, and open the second half on a 7-0 run. After the 19-3 extended run, Beloit led 35-28 midway through the third.

The Trojans appeared to be running away with the quarterfinal sub-state win after leading 43-35 at the end of the third. Minneapolis was not done, however.

Shupe continued to will the Lady Lions. While she couldn’t find the range from beyond the arc, no Trojan defender could keep Shupe in front of them. Shupe got to the rim at will, pulling Minneapolis to within one point late in the game.

Ultimately, the game came down to the foul-line. Minneapolis was fouled with 0.5 left in the game and down 51-49. The Lady Lions made the first free-throw. However, after a Beloit timeout, the second free-throw to tie the game fell of the front rim.

Beloit (15-6) beat Minneapolis three times this year in as many matchups. Shea Larson led Beloit with 23 points and Jessica Meier scored 12 points.

The Trojans will host No. 3 seed Norton on Friday night in the sub-state semi-finals.

Minneapolis (5-16) ends its season competing in many games, but ultimately not being able to get over the hump. Shupe had a career-best 24 points on Tuesday night, while Cleveland tallied in 10.

Two seniors, Nelson and Shupe, played their final game in red and blue on Tuesday night.