Heritage snaps Maranatha’s epic win streak to capture a title

It’s only February and the school year is far from over. That didn’t stop Heritage Christian Academy senior Taylie Scott from throwing herself one heck of a graduation party on Saturday night. It certainly felt like a shindig as Scott and her Heritage teammates made history by breaking Maranatha’s epic conference winning streak with a 70-64 victory. Even better, they did it in the championship game of the Minnesota Christian Athletic  Association to win their first league title. The other Big Game may have been played a couple of weeks ago but this was the Super Bowl, World Series and Olympic gold medal game all rolled into one for the Eagles.

“It’s crazy!” Scott said when it was all over. “I don’t think it has sunk in yet. I’m not sure yet how it feels because we have never beaten them, but it was super fun and I’m excited… We were ready. All throughout the week we have been practicing, we have been preparing, we have been watching film and keying in on their players. We were sick of losing to them. We were ready to win, and everyone stepped up.”

The 5’7 Scott, who is one of the toughest, most physical players in the state, was an AAU standout with both Crossfire Theisen and North Tartan EYBL. She has been a varsity star for six years, and Heritage coach Lori Crellin could not have been happier for her be-all, end-all player. But it is what the win means for the program that was at the forefront of discussion during Saturday’s post-game conversation. “I mean, we stopped a 117-game win streak I think,” Crellin said. “This was Maranatha’s last game in the MCAA, so for us to beat them in their last game in the conference on our home court was pretty special.”

Located in Maple Grove, Heritage (19-2) has endured years of frustration against Maranatha (17-7), their neighbors from Brooklyn Park, and have never been able to get over the hump. It was only the Mustangs’ move up to Class AA last year that altered the equation and enabled Heritage to reach the state tournament.

One hot start, one cool comeback

The game was tied at 11 early when Maranatha buried a pair of quick threes that sparked a 17-2 run in the next four minutes. That’s when Crellin called a time out midway through the first half to try and settle her team down. At that point, Maranatha had already made 6 three-point baskets and were shooting 85 percent. “It felt like 100!” Scott said.

“We knew at some point they were going to cool down,” Crellin said. “Defensively my strategy was if we could hold them to 10 we’re in it because I knew it was going to be tough to keep up that pace in the second half. At that point I was just trying to tell the kids it was one possession at a time, to not panic and not look at the scoreboard.”

Scott, who will play collegiate soccer in California next year, said she wasn’t surprised by the circumstances. “We knew coming in that this was a game we were going to have to grind it out the whole time. We knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty one,” she said. “Coach said, ‘You have got to want this more than them.’ We dug down deep.”

When play resumed Heritage forged a 9-0 run before Scott nailed a three as time expired in the first half to cut Maranatha’s lead to 6 points. Heritage finally pulled ahead for the first time about 6 minutes into the second half on a nice shimmy shake move by sophomore guard Taylor Schuck. The Eagles were ahead by 4 entering the final minute before junior Kirstin Robbins made 5 of 6 free throws and Scott added 3 of her own to seal the deal.

It was a high-quality performance from all five Heritage starters – Scott, Schuck, Robbins, junior post Jordyn Allen and senior forward Emily Tostenson. Four of them were on the floor for the entire game while Schuck sat down for less than two minutes after picking up her fourth foul. “I knew with the kind of pressure that they could put on that I needed to keep my starting five in,” Crellin said.

Scott, who averages 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals per game, finished with 23 points on the night. It was the finest performance we have seen from Schuck, who had 13 points, while Robbins contributed 15 including 9 of 10 free throws. Tostensen had 10 while Allen had 9 and a ton of big rebounds.

Maranatha has maintained its excellence

It seems like Maranatha has been great forever but, of course, this wasn’t quite the same Mustangs’ lineup that has been so dominant in recent years. Although new coach Mike Willman has done a great job of maintaining the tradition of excellence built by previous coach Chris Buerman he has had to do it without the services of two outstanding 2018 graduates – Kylie Post of Minnesota-Crookston and Jaclyn Jarnot of North Dakota – along with starting guard Desiree Ware, a top 10 freshman who transferred to Minnetonka.

Still it’s not as though Maranatha’s cupboard is bare. The team is led by seniors Breianna Smestad (Minot State), Kae Seana Barth-Lofton (Lewis) and Isabelle Florey (Jamestown), who combined for 33 points on Saturday. Senior guard KJ Davis is the defensive stopper while talented sophomore Macy Smith offers explosiveness and athleticism. They also have a trio of gifted 8th graders who garner big minutes – starting point guard Chloe Jarnot and athletic guards Nicole Lillard and Kennedy Klick.

Maranatha will finish its schedule on Thursday against DeLaSalle before embarking on another run at a state tournament berth. Heritage is scheduled to play five games in the final seven days of the regular season beginning with Minneapolis North on Tuesday and including a two-game excursion to the Iron Range where they will face Mountain Iron-Buhl and Cherry.

Top photo: The Heritage starting 5 includes (left to right) Jordyn Allen, Taylor Schuck, Kirsten Robbins, Emily Tostenson and Taylie Scott.