The Mavericks made a late push, but the Raiders did enough damage with their press and pace to build a lead and hang on for a 55-48 win in a Valley Division girls basketball game.

Jazmyn Goettlicher led the Raiders with 24 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals, while Zoie Rengstorf added 14 points, three assists and three steals. Cheyenne Klockziem was big in the post and on the boards for Nicollet with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

MCW was led by Maddie Carlson’s 18 points, while Courtney Anderson had 12 points and Bailey Larson added 8 points and Emily Schettler had 5 points.

Nicollet forced several turnovers in the game thanks to their pesky full-court pressure, something the Mavericks struggled to break consistently and paid for as a result.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Nicollet’s Chloe Kachelmeier defends Martin County West’s Ida Rohman (21) near the 3-point line during a Valley Division girls basketball game on Friday evening at Nicollet High School.

“Overall, I was pleased with [the press],” Nicollet head coach Dustin Wright said. “We gave up a few layups the first half, but I was OK with that … Cliff [Anderson] is a great coach [for MCW]. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the state and he wants the game to be a slower pace and we want it to be more up-tempo and fast, so that’s why we pressed to make the game like that. But I thought our girls executed it well.”

The win moved the Raiders to 14-6 overall and 9-1 in the Valley, while the Mavericks dropped to 11-9 overall and 8-2 in the Valley.

The Mavericks, who won the Valley Division last season and fell to Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s in the Tomahawk-Valley Conference title game, aren’t out of the running for a Valley title repeat this season, but Friday’s loss makes it much trickier for them.

Nicollet can clinch the Valley with wins at Mankato Loyola on Tuesday and Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Thursday, both teams Nicollet has defeated already this season at home.

“We don’t talk about winning or losing, we talk about being our best all the time, but obviously the kids know where we’re at in the standings and stuff like that and their parents tell them,” Wright said. “So, I think they were feeling a little bit of pressure to come out here and perform tonight. I thought it was a slow start, but proud of how we got it going and executed good enough down the stretch to hang on.”

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Nicollet’s Zoie Rengstorf puts up a 3 during the econd half of a Valley Division girls basketball game against Martin County West on Friday at Nicollet High School.

It took both teams a little time to get comfortable, with turnovers and missed shots making up the first two minutes of the game. A dish from Schettler to Carlson for a bucket inside ended the lull and got the Mavericks on the board first. Free throws by Klockziem tied the game up before a corner 3 from Chloe Kachelmeier gave the Raiders the lead. A quick steal off a full-court press and bucket inside by Goettlicher made it 7-2 and forced an MCW timeout. The press continued to create problems for the Mavericks as Goettlicher had another steal and bucket out of the timeout and then hit a 3 for a 12-2 Raiders lead.

A jump shot by Courtney Anderson ended the Raiders’ 12-0 run, but another Nicollet 3, this time by Rengstorf, gave Nicollet a 15-4 lead. Goettlicher stayed hot with another layup for a 17-4 advantage, but the Mavericks started to break the press and got a 7-0 run to trail 17-11, with a bucket in the paint by Ivy Olson ending the run.

The Mavericks ended up cutting their deficit to 26-23 late on three consecutive baskets, one each from Carlson, Schettler and Courtney Anderson. The Raiders ended the half with a scoop layup from Goettlicher, however, for a 30-25 halftime lead.

The Raiders opened the second half with an 8-0 run for a 38-25 lead. MCW managed to cut its deficit to 40-32 following a 3 by Addy Wolhuter and minutes later got a bucket inside from Carlson to trail 45-38.

Klockziem’s putback and a big 3 by Goettlicher put Nicollet up double-digits, however, 50-38. The Mavericks hung around and got another bucket from Carlson with 1:09 left to play, but that was the final score of the game.

Nicollet is at Mankato Loyola on Tuesday, while MCW hosts Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Friday.