The 2021-2022 Mayer Lutheran Girls Basketball team capped off one its most successful seasons ever with a third-place finish at the state basketball tournament. The girls finished the season 28-5; four of the losses were to Class A Champion Hancock, Class A Consolation Champion Mt. Iron-Buhl, Class AA Champion Providence Academy, and Class AA Third Place winner Minnehaha Academy.
The Mayer Lutheran girls were led by seniors Julia Carns, Emma Lade, Abby Maetzold, Rylee Noerenberg and Lilly Wachholz. Juniors on the team included Alexa Carlson, Shelby Buhr, Madeline Guetzkow, Amber Hoese, Stella Maass and Chloe Maetzold. The sophomores on the team were Danica Martin and Avery Studer. Rounding out the squad was freshman Marley Martin.
The Crusaders found themselves in a new section this year, one that included Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, the team that had defeated the girls at last year’s state tournament. After winning the north subsection title with a win over Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, a rematch was set up for the section championship. The Crusaders put together one of their best games of the season and defeated SESM 58-45 to advance to the state tournament.
In the state quarterfinal game, the second-seeded Crusaders drew United Christian Academy, the team that captured the section from which the Crusaders left. The girls put together a solid game and defeated UCA 56-33. In the semifinals, the girls faced a hot-shooting Hancock team, who defeated the Crusaders 71-40 thanks in part to 12-18 shooting from three-point land. The girls rebounded in the third-place game with a resounding 65-44 win over Hayfield to finish of the season.
Many girls were recognized over the course of the season. Emma Lade, Abby Maetzold, Rylee Noerenberg and Lilly Wachholz were named Academic All-State, with the team receiving the Gold Academic Award for team GPA. Lilly Wachholz and Danica Martin were named Minnesota River Conference Honorable Mention, while Julia Carns, Emma Lade and Madeline Guetzkow were named All-Conference. Emma was named the Most Valuable Player of the conference. Madeline Guetzkow was Honorable Mention All-State; Emma was named to both the All-State Team and the All-Tournament Team at the state tournament.
A successful season indeed! To God all praise and glory!