That ended up being the final score as Nicollet drained the clock to come away with the close victory.

“We’re a young team, playing all the freshmen and sophomores, so that’s something we have to learn,” Nicollet head coach Dustin Wright said about his team’s late-game execution. “But I thought overall, we were very composed down the stretch. We executed the play where Cheyenne scored there at the end, so I’m proud of our execution.”

Shelby Beyer led the Raiders with 14 points, while Jazmyn Goettlicher had 13 points. Zoie Rengstorf finished with 11 points, and Klockziem had 7.

Kiara Benck led the Jaguars with 15 points, three rebounds, four assists and six steals, while Londyn Bowers had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Nicollet’s Jazmyn Goettlicher drives into the lane during a Valley Division girls basketball game against Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Thursday at Nicollet High School.

After Klockziem’s layup, GHEC/T/ML turned it over with 22.5 seconds to play. The Jaguars still had three fouls to give, so the Raiders took an additional 7.5 seconds off the clock before the first bonus free throw. While Nicollet missed both its chances at the line in the final minute, the Raiders defense forced another turnover and Beyer grabbed the final rebound to seal the victory.

Rebounding was an advantage for the Raiders all game, gaining second-chance opportunities and shutting down defensive possessions frequently.

“We’re not a big team, obviously, but we talk all the time about it,” Wright said. “Just our rebounding effort, boxing out, going for the ball. Granada is an older team, they have a bunch of seniors, they’re strong, they’re physical, so we knew that taking care of it on the glass was going to be a big key for us.”

That rebounding was especially key as, while Nicollet found open shooters on the perimeter frequently, the Raiders had a tough time of hitting shots relative to the volume of 3-pointers outside of Beyer, who made four 3s on the day.

“During shootaround this morning, we told the girls that with the zone they play, they’re going to give us a lot of corner and wing 3s,” Wright said. “We’ve got to be ready to shoot it with confidence, and obviously it wasn’t our best shooting night, but a kid like Shelby Beyer stepped up and made a few big ones for us tonight.”

GHEC/T/ML started the game with a 6-2 advantage after a 3 by Bowers, but Nicollet responded with a mid-range shot by Beyer and a layup after a steal from Goettlicher to tie it up. The teams went back and forth, with the Raiders holding a 12-10 lead after an early 3 from Rengstorf. GHEC/T/ML tied it with a layup from Ava Donohue, and the teams continued to battle. An and-one from Goettlicher gave Nicollet a 22-18 lead, but the Jaguars cut the lead back to 25-23 with a 3 by Addison Nowicki. Nicollet responded with a 3 from Kamryn Truebenbach, but GHEC/T/ML got one last layup from Bowers before halftime to put the score at 28-25 Nicollet.

The Raiders opened the second half with a layup in transition from Rengstorf, and the teams were once again in lock step. Nicollet found some heat from beyond the arc midway through the half, hitting four out of five shots as Beyer and Rengstorf each hit two 3s to extend Nicollet’s lead out to 47-36. However, GHEC/T/ML continued to push, and with Klockziem heading to the bench with her fourth foul with seven minutes to play, the Jaguars went on a 15-3 run that continued through Klockziem’s return, with Bowers and Donohue both scoring 4 during the stretch, to take a 51-50 lead. Nicollet called a timeout with one minute to play and drew up a play for Klockziem. Klockziem hit the shot, and the Raiders held on for the win.

Nicollet (11-6, 7-1) plays at Cleveland on Thursday, while GHEC/T/ML (8-5, 5-1) hosts St. Clair on Saturday.