Perhaps Providence Academy coach Connor Goetz's most shrewd move in the Lions' 78-40 victory over Lake Crystal-Wellcome in the Class 2A quarterfinals of the girls basketball state tournament Wednesday night was not coaching at all.
It was getting out of his team's way.
The defending 2A champions won their 27th consecutive game playing their trademark, free-flowing style, outrunning an opponent that had lost just once previously all season.
"I just want to let these guys do what they do best," Goetz said. "The more hands off I can be, the better it is. When we play at that speed and that pace, there's nothing that can stop these guys because they have such a great connection."
The Lions first flashed their flow early in the first half. Trailing 11-10, they played the final 12 minutes on a 24-8 run, taking a comfortable 34-19 halftime lead.
Lions celebrated guard Maddyn Greenway said that is exactly how they prefer to play.
"It's really fun because that's how we want to play," she said. "We had a little funk there at the start of the game — we were a little nervous. But once we start to play like ourselves, it really opens things up and makes it fun."
Providence (28-2) expanded the lead in the second half to as many as 39 points.
Greenway, one of three underclassmen in the Class 2A field to surpass 2,000 career points this season, was, as usual, the spark plug. She was officially credited with 41 points, but there were some who said she had more, believing that two of her three-pointers were erroneously credited to teammates.
Senior forward Grace Counts chipped in with 12 for Providence Academy. Olivia Harazin led Lake Crystal-Wellcome (29-2) with 17.
