Luverne 34-45 = 79
Windom 36-40 = 76
For the second straight year, the Windom Eagle girls basketball team’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion.
Luverne’s Briella John hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, capping a rally from an 11-point deficit to give Luverne a 79-76 victory over the Eagles in the opening round of the Section 3AA playoffs at Windom.
Early in the contest, the Eagles saw a major milestone set when Haidyn Sammons became the all-time career scoring leader for Eagle basketball, girls or boys, surpassing the mark of 1,948 set by 2012 graduate Jake Holt.
The Cardinals rallied from large deficits three different times in the game. Windom led 27-16 in the first half before Luverne closed the gap to 36-34 at halftime.
Then, early in the second half, the Eagles stretched the lead to 46-37 before Luverne used a 13-0 run to take a 50-46 lead.
Windom answered, going up 74-63 with under four minutes to play, but the Cardinals answered, chipping away at the lead with a pair of three-pointers and a string of inside buckets.
A basket by Adison Hogan gave the Eagles a four-point lead with under a minute to go, but Luverne erased the deficit with a pair of buckets, then forced a missed shot to gain possession with 20 seconds to go.
Luverne tried to work the ball inside, but with time running out, John caught the ball on the right wing and hoisted a shot that rattled home as time expired.
Sammons finished with 32 points in the loss. Alivia Letcher added 20 points and eight rebounds. Anja Nielsen finished with 11 points.
Next games: Check for updates after each game.
MLAC: vs. New Ulm Cathedral (at Mt. Lake), Feb. 23
