Armstrong girls hoops end season with nail biter at Southwest

Robbinsdale Armstrong girls basketball lost a nail-biter 58-56 to Minneapolis Southwest in the Section 6AAAA tournament last week as the sixth seed.

Third seed Southwest finished second in the Minneapolis City Conference with a 10-2 record, 22-4 overall. Southwest entered the tournament on an eight-game winning streak stretching back to Feb. 1, which included a 61-51 win over Armstrong.

Armstrong did well in the first half to set a tone, taking an early lead and expanding it as far as 28-9 with six minutes before halftime. Peyton Erickson and Anna Sheppard both contributed pairs of statement three-pointers in the first half, which proved key in helping keep Southwest at bay when they surged back into the game, closing the gap with just a few minutes before intermission. Armstrong held strong and led 34-19 at the break.

Southwest positively started the second half, finding points far more fluidly than they did in the first. Armstrong eventually found its rhythm offensively and the likes of Madison Fondow, Marin Wilson, and Jade Peterson helped maintain the lead with respective runs of the scoring.

With eight minutes to go, Southwest was struck with a surge of synergy that unlocked their scoring potential. Within a matter of minutes, the game had gone from 43-25 to 47-40. Southwest made use of a series of fouls by Armstrong, who had seven to Southwest’s three at this point in the second half.

Armstrong narrowly held on for the next five minutes, not allowing Southwest to pass but struggling to create a real lead.

Southwest finally found its storybook ending with less than a minute to go, taking a 56-55 lead, which then adjusted to 57-56 and finally 58-56.

Sheppard was the top scorer against Southwest with 11 points, while Wilson scored 10. Erickson scored nine.

Armstrong hoops will graduate five senior girls this summer, consisting of Haley Iman, Peyton Erickson, Madison Fondow, Anna Sheppard and Jade Peterson. The team also included six juniors, one sophomore, and three freshmen.

Junior Marin Wilson was the team’s top earner in the regular season with 217 points. Junior Emalee Fisher was next up with 177, while Peterson and freshman Anna Smelser added 165 and 141 each in the regular season.

Falcon boys

Armstrong boys basketball opened last week with a 79-61 loss to Cretin-Derham Hall on the road on Feb. 26. Charles Duncan led with 19 points for the Falcons, while Lucas Priem and Fitz Freeman added 10 each.

The Falcons ended the regular season on a high note with an 87-84 win over Kennedy on the road on Feb. 29. Seth Newbern led the scoring with 27 points, while Desmond Ware added 22.

Armstrong boys basketball will take part in the Section 6AAAA tournament as the fifth seed next week, playing fourth seed Edina at Edina on Mar. 6.