NRHEG finishes winless at state

It was a quick trip to state for the NRHEG Panthers, who finished 0-2 against Minnesota’s best teams in a stacked Class A tournament bracket.

The Panthers were handed a No. 5 seed and squared off with No. 4 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (HLA) in their first game where they lost an 83-55 game to a red-hot Comets team.

“It’s definitely not how we drew it up. We talked about it in November. We had high goals, but in November we were also 0-2. We have rallied and shown a ton of resilience all season long. Our girls have faced more adversity than any other team in the high school league with our injuries. They didn’t give up the whole game, but kudos to the other team. They played very, very well,” said NRHEG head coach Onika Peterson.

The game against HLA was the team’s first without top scorer Camryn VanMaldeghem in the lineup, meaning the new-look Panthers would have to adjust their offense quickly to account for losing their biggest offensive weapon.  

Unfortunately for NRHEG, the first half showed the signs of struggle that could be expected of a team losing such a scoring presence.

The Maturi Pavilion was packed with spectators from both teams, but it was the HLA sideline that was noticeably louder for the opening 18 minutes as the Comets went on to outscore the Panthers 40-16.

“Obviously, [Camryn being out] shifts a lot of things. Camryn is a 30-point scorer on average for us this year. We had to adjust and have all the kids step up and do other little things. Quinn [VanMaldeghem] did a great job attacking the basket and facilitating as much as possible to her teammates,” said Peterson on the team’s strategy in Camryn’s absence.

NRHEG kept its usual identity on both sides of the ball by playing a tough zone scheme on defense and moving the ball laterally around the perimeter on offense, but HLA was prepared for both.

The Comets moved the ball quickly out of double-team scenarios with sharp, fluid passes to find open shooters at range, sniping three-point shots from the corners and finding cutting players in the lane for easy points in the paint.

The Panthers like to play a similar brand of offense, but after facing a double-digit point deficit early on, the team’s mentality shifted toward trying to find success from three-point range.

Shots that have dropped for NRHEG all season seemed incapable of finding the net at the right moments and sent the team into the locker room trailing by 24 points.

“Coach Peterson always tells us, ‘If you’re open, shoot the ball.’ It was different without Camryn, because a lot of us had become comfortable in our roles. When you play the same spot for two years, you kind of find your groove. So we all knew today that we would have find different roles… I think everyone was taking shots that they don’t always take or driving more than they usually do, but it was fun to see some of the younger girls coming back step into new roles too,” said NRHEG senior Chloe Stork.

The second half was a much better showing for the Panthers, but the team’s defense could not find the necessary answers to slow down the Comets.

NRHEG managed to score 39 points, but was still outpaced by HLA’s 43 to end the game in an 83-55 blowout loss.

“The sisters (Elin and Elsa Retzlaff) were extremely tough. They had a nice post player that did a lot of things well on the inside… We were just adjusting and talking about our defensive schemes. Being aware of their shooters and trying to get out. I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half, but then all of the sudden the wheels fell off with them hitting some outside shots as we struggled to get a hand up in their face. They moved the ball really well,” said Peterson.

The loss to the Comets set NRHEG up with a consolation bracket game against No. 8-seeded Braham.

This time NRHEG was the better first-half team by outscoring the Bombers 33-29 in the opening frame.

Quinn VanMaldeghem shined as the team’s centerpiece player and excelled at her job of running the offense.

However, no amount of offensive production could stop the second-half onslaught that Braham brought in the final 18 minutes of play.

The Bombers seemingly couldn’t miss from the floor and completely shifted the game with a 51-32 second half scoreline.

The damage was enough to turn the Panthers’ four-point lead at halftime into a 15-point loss at 80-65 to end NRHEG’s 2025-26 season.

Shooting efficiency was the name of the game for the Bombers in the comeback win.

Braham managed to connect on 55.3% of its shots from the field while holding NRHEG to just 33.3% on 21-63 shooting.

Despite the winless finish at state, there is reason for NRHEG fans to feel optimistic about the future.

The team will bring back multiple upperclassmen leaders and plenty of firepower on both sides of the ball.

“Our four seniors have done a phenomenal job with their leadership, whether it be in the classroom, weight room or gym. They’re setting the example and the standards. We’re bringing back four seniors with Izley [Boerner], Clara [Buendorf], Kylie [Olson] and Savannah [Farr] with Ezra [Boerner] coming back as a junior… We definitely have some younger kids coming up and they’ve seen the standard of the work ethic and expectations,” said Peterson.

The Panthers will benefit greatly from the return of starting center Olson, who missed all of her junior season with a torn ACL after playing a pivotal role as a sophomore in the 2024-25 team’s run to state.