7th seed Cretin-Derham Hall takes center stage on day 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Little girls across Minnesota grow up attending the State Tournament every year and dreaming that they, too, might have an opportunity to play in it some day. For 8th grader [player_tooltip player_id='897060' first='Madeleine' last='Hamiel'] of Cretin-Derham Hall, the annual event wasn't even on her radar until recently. Yet here she was on Wednesday taking center stage at the Maturi Pavilon and helping her team pull off a 7 vs 2 upset on opening day. Hamiel, who transferred in from Canada last fall, was soaking it all in after the contest as a gaggle of media folks peppered her and teammates [player_tooltip player_id='1164957' first='Sage' last='Gilbert'] and [player_tooltip player_id='939003' first='Isabella' last='Deleeuw'] with questions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How was her first taste of tournament play? “I loved it!” said Hamiel, a Division 1 prospect with an advanced skill set and sizeable basketball IQ. “It's very different. There was nothing like this where I played last year in Canada. I mean, there are opportunities to go to nationals but there's nothing like this. I like this a lot better.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No wonder after the way things went in CDH's 59-50 win over previously undefeated Monticello in one of four Class 3A quarterfinal games. Hamiel, Gilbert and Deleeuw (also an 8th grader) combined for 44 points to spark the 7th-seeded Raiders to an upset of the 2nd-seeded Magic. Cretin coach Tara Gunderson lauded her players for executing the game plan in detail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It was in our game plan to try and keep it as close as we could,” said the coach, who previously led Chaska to a Class 4A championship. “We knew that they have been a dominant team all season and haven't had a lot of tight games. We've been playing well the second half of our season. We've been in some tight games and have found a way to win. The kids just battled all night. I'm super proud of them. It was a great environment to be in and I'm so glad we came out on top.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The contest was a dead heat nearing the midway point of the second half when Gilbert nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to put CDH up by 2 and draw the foul. Just 30 seconds later the junior buried another from long distance and the Raiders stretched the lead to 6. “I was kind of feeling it,” Gilbert said. “I practice that little jab shot. She was backing off me and I was feeling pretty confident. I just trusted my shot and it went in.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Monticello did close the gap again, the Raiders amped things up to restore the margin and earn a 9-point victory. The Magic's collective effort was impressive given the adversity they were handed in their biggest moment of the season – the absence of their premier player. Point guard [player_tooltip player_id='515676' first='Samantha' last='Voll'], a top 20 junior who led the team in scoring at over 22 points per game, was unavailable to participate in the State Tournament. Although others did step up and everyone battled hard, it was not the same. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='677614' first='Parker' last='Haffeman'] led the Magic in scoring with 12 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1035274' first='Madelyn' last='Barrow'] and <strong>Reese Hausmann</strong> had 10 apiece. Twins [player_tooltip player_id='676689' first='Addison' last='Ruda'] and [player_tooltip player_id='676690' first='Abby' last='Ruda'] combined for 13 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1215219,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/CDH-2024-25-team-photo-crop-1831x1202-1741840786-crop-780x512-1741840874.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1215219" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: <a href="https://www.cdhraiders.org/" target="_blank">CDH Athletics</a></figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To say the Cretin youngsters were impressive would be an understatement. Deleeuw has been dealing with a back injury and has been in and out of the lineup. That enabled 9th grader <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='852805' first='Anna' last='Buri'] </strong>to gain minutes over the past couple of weeks and she took full advantage of the opportunity. On Wednesday, both played well. Despite their inexperience, Cretin executed with poise and confidence, looking very much like they belonged on the big stage under the bright lights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the keys to Cretin's success is their depth. Monticello used just six players for the most part while the Raiders employed a 10-player rotation. Senior post [player_tooltip player_id='778885' first='Emma' last='Dornan'] did a terrific job defensively down low. Another 8th grader <strong>Teagan</strong> <strong>Jacobs</strong> had 5 rebounds. The difference in energy level down the stretch was palpable. Clearly CDH is fast and fit and athletic and it showed. What's also obvious now is that Cretin-Derham Hall has developed the type of self-belief that can carry a team far in the post-season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“In the Suburban East Conference, we are a small school playing with all of the big schools,” said Gunderson. “We found out that we can compete with these big schools, we can make a run at the end of the season. Especially with younger girls, the more confidence you have the better you are going to play. We really saw a jump in confidence. I have to give a lot of credit to our upperclassmen. They've really encouraged these 8th grade girls, they've accepted them playing varsity, and our overall team chemistry just kept growing as the season went on.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cretin's prize for the win is a semifinal date with the Marshall Tigers coming up on Thursday at 2 p.m. at Williams Arena. The other Class 3A semifinal will feature top-seeded Benilde-St. Margaret's against #5 Alexandria.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->