MINNEWASKA, Minn. — Despite a thrilling comeback that saw Piper Jaehning force overtime with a driving layup in the final seconds, top-seeded Breckenridge (23-6, 11-1) fell to second-seeded West Central Area (23-6, 10-1) Tuesday evening in the Section 6A Semifinals, 74-71.
Breckenridge trailed by nine with 3:27 remaining in the second half, before Ava Jaehning hit a three and Piper Jaehning got to the cup to tie the game at 63-63 on a 14-5 run to close out regulation. Ana Spear also stepped up with a big three down the stretch.
In a battle of top-10 teams in Minnesota’s Class 1A, the Knights avenged their only section loss on the campaign, a 55-46 home setback to the Cowgirls back on Jan. 7.
It was the second straight year losing in OT of the semifinal round for Breckenridge, who fell to the Hancock Owls at Minnewaska Area High School in 2024.
Johnica Bernotas was a frequent visitor to the free-throw line with a team-high 21 points, including a highlight-reel, step-back three that gave Breckenridge one of its only leads at 8-6. Piper Jaehning followed with 17 and Parker Yaggie also hit double figures with a dozen.
The Knights were led by the hot shooting of Mya Foslein with 24 and Macie Grosz with 19.
West Central Area (23-6, 10-1) will face Underwood (24-5, 23-4) for the Section 6A Championship at Concordia College in a battle of No. 2 seeds. The Rockets are back-to-back section champions heading into Friday’s 6 p.m. title tilt.
