The Shakopee girls basketball team had a chance for an upset in the Section 2AAAA quarterfinals March 1.
But the sixth-seeded Sabers couldn’t get a key bucket down the stretch and had a couple offense fouls go against them in the final two minutes in a 41-35 loss at third-seeded Prior Lake.
Shakopee, the defending champions, finished the season with an 11-16 overall record (7-10 in the South Suburban Conference). It’s just the second losing season for the Sabers in the last 15 years.
Shakopee won 27 games last winter en route to a sixth-place finish at state. It was the program’s third appearance as a Class 4A program. The team was also there in 2015 and 2019.
The Sabers’ other state appearances came in 1979, 1981 an 1996 in Class 2A and in 1997 in Class 3A. Four-class basketball started across the state in the 1996-1997 school year, while Shakopee joined the top class in 2005.
Meanwhile, Prior Lake swept the Sabers in all three games this season, including a 48-39 conference home win back on Jan. 10 and a 56-51 victory on the road Feb. 14.
In the playoff win, the Lakers led 25-21 at the break, but couldn’t shake the Sabers in the second half. Both teams struggled to score in the final 18 minutes, combing for just 30 points.
Senior Cassandra Ross nailed a 3-pointer at the top of the key with 2:31 left to play to give the Sabers a brief 35-33 lead. But those were the last points Shakopee would get.
Prior Lake came right back down the court and took the lead back on a three-play play. Shakopee had the ball down 36-35, but was called for a moving screen with 1:24 left in regulation.
The next time down the court with the score the same, Shakopee was charged with an offensive foul beyond the three-point line. The Lakers made 5 of 7 free throws in the final 34 seconds to seal the win.
Junior Daviyana Singleton-Buchanan led the Sabers with 14 points, while junior Nicole Maenke scored seven and Ross finished with six. Senior Shyla Moore chipped in five points for Shakopee.
The Sabers will graduate just three seniors, including Yesenia Mendoza, so there will be plenty of talent back for the team next winter.
Maenke led Shakopee in scoring on the season at 12.3 points per game, while junior Olivia Pawlicki also averaged in double figures at 10.3 points. Ross averaged 7.1 points, followed by Singleton-Buchanan (6.4), Moore (4.8) and ninth-grader Sadie Hall (4.6).
The Sabers struggled to score consistently this season. The playoff loss to Prior Lake was the 10th time the team was held to under 40 points in a game. Shakopee scored less than 50 points in eight other contests.
Shakopee went into the playoffs winning just two of its last nine regular season games, so the team struggled in the second half of the year. The Sabers were 9-6 at one point in mid-January after five straight wins, but then followed that win streak with an eight-game losing skid.
