BEMIDJI -- Alyssa Huseby stood under the basket, her hands on her hips.
Breathless, out of breath, stunned.
The 17-year-old Pelican Rapids senior had, just seconds before, found herself wide open under the basket for an easy shot. It went in, and the buzzer sounded.
Or so half the crowd at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse thought.
"I just wanted it to go in," she said. "I thought 'that's so in, that's so in.' And everyone just went ballistic."
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It went in, but the shot came a little too late, meaning Pelican Rapids and Crookston were headed to overtime in the Minnesota Section 8AA championship game Friday night.
But there were no tense final seconds in the extra session as Pelican Rapids beat Crookston 61-56 to win the section title and advance to next week's state tournament.
Crookston coach Lon Boike held his own celebration near midcourt after the shot was waved off. Then, it was back to the bench.
The overtime was one of ball control for the Vikings. Time and again Mackenzie Korf (12 points) held the ball above the key. More than 45 seconds went by with almost every Vikings possession, and more than a few ended with Pelican Rapids headed to the free-throw line.
"We just wanted to run the clock," Huseby said.
The Pirates finished the season 21-6 while Pelican Rapids advances with a 21-6 record.
The teams hadn't faced each other this season and both came in on five-game win streaks.
Huseby, who finished with nine points, said she received words of encouragement from Brian Korf.
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"Four minutes. We got four minutes to go," she said. "Coach always says 'don't look back, always look forward.'"
Mackenzie Korf led Pelican Rapids with 12 points. Sommer Haugrud and Lincoln Haiby each added 11 for the Vikings while Kendra Weinrich finished with 10.
Crookston was led by Brooke Heggie and Sydney Boike. Each had 14 points. Kenzie Klatt finished with 11.
