MVL, Cathedral rivalry had a classic in 1982
NEW ULM — On January 18, 1982, the New Ulm Cathedral girls’ basketball team traveled to Minnesota Valley Lutheran for a Monday night Tomahawk Conference game.
For the Chargers of MVL, the 1981-82 season was their first year in their new school and gym as Martin Luther Academy had moved to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Before that, students attended classes in portable classrooms and in the basement of St. Paul’s Lutheran grade school. They played their games in the gym there.
For the Greyhounds who were coached by then Sue Zeig, now Sue Prunty, the game was between two teams who had a lot in common.
“We were both young teams,” said Prunty, who coached her younger sister Lisa on the squad. “There was a good crowd out there at MVL.”
For MVL, it was somewhat of a new beginning.
“We had a brand new building, new gym and uniforms and a new coach in Gayle Bauer,” said Grace Wessel (now Grace Hennig) who played for the Chargers that year. “I remember her saying that we need to put MVL on the map for basketball in our conference.”
That game 35 years ago, unbeknownst to all in attendance and all who played and coached in that game, would put both schools on the map.
It was a game that lasted five overtimes, which is still tied for a state record.
But after the first quarter, the game did not take on the form of a game that would go into overtime as MVL jumped to a 16-2 lead after the first eight minutes.
“Games with Cathedral were always a highlight because of the rivalry that existed,” Henning said. “For years it was between Cathedral and MLA.”
The Greyhounds outscored MVL 17-11 in the second quarter and then 16-13 in the third quarter before knotting the game at 45-45 after four quarters.
And kept on going.
“As it went into the first through the fifth overtime, the excitement built,” Prunty said. “The atmosphere was great for the girls.”
Hennig recalled the extra sessions, especially the end of the second overtime and the last three seconds of that overtime when she stepped to the free throw line.
“I was at the free throw line because of a Cathedral foul,” she said. “We could have put the game away with the free throws. But the Cathedral crowd was loud and it threw off my pattern for shooting and I missed them both. Gayle did not get upset — she just kept coaching.”
Prunty said the overtime sessions didn’t see a lot of points being put on the board.
“We did not score a lot of points in the overtimes,” Prunty said with four points the most scored by both teams in the first extra session. “It was a fun atmosphere with a great ending.”
And it ended in the fifth overtime when Cathedral’s Carla Isberner made one free throw and Jane Ubl sank two to cap a 60-59 win for Cathedral.
“The girls were exhausted on both teams,” Prunty said. “Our Athletic Director, then Stan Wilfahrt, came over and congratulated us.”
For Hennig, it was and still is a game that is sill talked about and reminisced about.
“A couple of years ago Sue Prunty and I met when we were both serving on the board of the Grand Center for Arts and Culture,” Hennig said. “And she looked really familiar to me and after talking about a few things we got back to that game. We shared some memories.”
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