By Reagan Hoverman

Prescott’s girls’ basketball team made a bit of history on Thursday, Dec. 29, as the Cardinals won the first girls’ Hastings Holiday Tournament with a 55-50 victory over the hometown Hastings Raiders in the championship game.

While the Hastings Holiday Tournament has always been a boys’ event, the 2022 iteration featured the first-ever girls’ tournament which ran simultaneously with the annual boys’ event. Prescott earned a 68-58 win over Maranatha in the semifinal on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and then defeated Hastings in the title game the following day.

With the title and two victories, Prescott extends its win streak to seven games. The Cardinals haven’t lost since the season opener at home against Elk Mound on Nov. 15. Prescott head coach Owen Hamilton spoke about winning the tournament and extending the heater to seven games.

“This was the first-ever Hastings Holiday Tournament for the girls’ side, so winning the first one is something that we are pretty proud of,” Hamilton said. “On the other end of things, the seven-game win streak is something that we are even more proud of. As a coach, I couldn’t be more proud of the girls for how they’ve played and grown.”

Prescott’s tournament began Wednesday afternoon in that semifinal against Maranatha Christian Academy, a team that entered the holiday event with a 5-4 overall record and scoring just over 50 points per game.

While Hamilton was expecting more of a shootout, the first half against the Minnesota- based private school was anything but. The Cardinals took a 24-18 lead into the halftime intermission after battling through a low-scoring defensive affair in the opening frame.

Both teams figured it out offensively in the second half as Prescott and Maranatha combined to score 84 points in the final 18 minutes of regulation. The Cardinals ultimately came out victorious, as they claimed 44 of those 84 second-half points and cruised to a 68-58 victory in the semifinal.

Prescott’s victory was in large part because of its many offensive contributors. Three players reached double-digit figures including junior forward Lila Posthuma with 19, senior Katrina Budworth scored 14 and freshman Violet Otto had 12 points in the winning effort. Coach Hamilton spoke about Otto being a leading contributor in a big game as a freshman.

“Violet just keeps getting better and growing with the rest of the team,” Hamilton said. “I think she’s getting more comfortable with each game too and playing like an upperclassman and not the freshman that she is. Like I’ve said before, there aren’t enough great things anyone can say about Violet.”

After defeating Maranatha in the semifinal, Prescott advanced to the Hastings Holiday Tournament championship game where they met the aforementioned Raiders. Prescott’s offense struggled against a Hastings defense that gave it fits throughout the first half.

However, Prescott hung around and trailed by just five points, 27-22, going into the second half. Coach Hamilton spoke about how an important locker room conversation with a star player turned the game around.

“I told Lila (Posthuma) at halftime that I needed her to go be the best player on the court,” Hamilton recalled. “I think she took a big step in that game in responding to that and being someone we could really go to down the stretch.”

Posthuma responded to Hamilton’s request and took control of the game throughout the second half. Not only was she the best player on her team, but she was also the best player on the floor. Posthuma and the Cardinals outscored the Raiders 33-23 in the second half to mount the comeback and secure a 55-50 win and claim the title.

Although the Cardinals ultimately left with hardware, it didn’t always look like they would. At one point in that championship game, Prescott trailed Hastings by more than 10 points. The Cardinals faced adversity throughout the contest and still found a way to get the job done.

“I think at one point we were down double digits at a point where we could have folded and let the game get away from us, but we locked in and took control of the game,” Hamilton said. “I thought that Hastings played pretty well and gave us some fits. We had to deal with some adversity in the tournament that really helped develop some character as well.”

Most of Prescott’s offense ran through Posthuma, who led all scorers in the championship game with 22 points. Other notable scoring included Budworth with nine, sophomore Leah French and senior Izzy Matzek each had six and Otto had five.

Throughout the next two weeks, Prescott will play a slate of games that will likely define their 2022-23 season. Some of the notable games include the Tuesday, Jan. 3, contest on the road against Saint Croix Falls, a non-conference rematch of last year’s section semifinal game which the Saints won.

Prescott is also slated to play Baldwin-Woodville on the road, the rival Ellsworth Panthers at home and then round out the stretch with a non-conference game against the 8-2 Hudson Raiders at their place. Hamilton spoke about the upcoming gauntlet of games.

“The way that I look at the upcoming stretch is another opportunity for us to prove ourselves, grow, and really just see what we’re made of,” Hamilton said. “This season has been anything but normal with all the cancellations and snow days and I think the way we’ve handled that has proved a lot, but the stretches that we have coming up give us another chance to do the same thing. I’m excited for it and I know the girls are too.”

The first game on the slate is on the road against Saint Croix Falls on Tuesday, Jan. 3. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.

Prescott senior forward Madasyn Rundquist shoots a free throw during the inaugural Hastings Holiday Tournament. Photo by Bruce Karnick