Stars 9th Hersch roars back to win 2021 title

<strong>Kindseth, Borowicz 3s do the trick</strong> &nbsp; With 9 minutes remaining in their Freshman Division 1 championship matchup, North Tartan Sinn led Stars 9^th Hersch 37-31. The 2 had gone back and forth in the 1^st half but a pair of Johanna Langbehn buckets helped Tartan ease out to a 27-24 halftime lead. 3 1^st half 3-pointers by the Stars’ Paige Kindseth kept things from getting out of hand, and it took another 3 by Kindseth to keep the Stars within 6 in the 2^nd. “We played hard in the 1^st half,” coach Josh Hersch said, “but we didn’t play smart. Credit North Tartan, they played great defense. We would take a drive and there were 2 bodies waiting and we didn’t adjust.” Katie Borowicz, who scored 31 in the semis for the Stars but had just one previous FG in the finals, finally got untracked with a 3 at 8 minutes. Kindseth tied it up at 39 with a 3 at 4 minutes, then scored off a steal to give the Stars their 1^st lead since 22-20. Borowicz quickly hit another 3, and Adalia Mackenzie scored on a dribble drive at the 1 minute mark. The Stars led 49-43 after an 18-6 run. “We freed up some of our shooters just enough,” coach Hersch said. “Kindseth has hit big 3s for us before, but not multiple 3s like that. This was kind of her coming-out party.” As for Borowicz, Hersch said, “We come and go with what she does. She makes plays kids can’t make and she makes such a difference.” Amazingly, Tartan came back for a shot to win as Caroline (CJ) Adamson got a steal-and-assist (to Timmer) for 2 and then a 3 at :07. A McKenzie offensive board off a missed FT iced it for the Stars. The final was 49-48. “I consider us to be a defensive team,” Hersch said. “Second half we were able to get some stops when it mattered.” Kindseth finished with 17 points, 15 of them on 3s, while Borowicz scored 14 and McKenzie 8. Borowicz and McKenzie were 2 of the top scorers in the tournament, all classes, with 68 and 71 points apiece. Timmer scored 9 for Tartan, and Langbehn and Jenna Johnson 8 each. Kendal Cox led Tartan’s balanced scoring approach with 41 points in 4 tournament games. She had 5 in the final. &nbsp;