Manitowoc Lutheran's Marissa Mehlhorn knocks off Mishicot on buzzer beater
MISHICOT — Manitowoc Lutheran Lancers’ sophomore Marissa Mehlhorn would have preferred to sneak off quietly following the thrilling come-from-behind victory over Big East rival Mishicot on Thursday.
Problem was her steal and lay-up beat the buzzer and host Mishicot so there was no escaping the crowds following the 49-47 win.
“I have so much support cheering me on,” Mehlhorn said. “I don’t really like the attention but I thank God for my abilities.”
As the clock was rapidly ticking down, Mehlhorn has a very simple thought as she ran towards the open basket.
“Just make it,” Mehlhorn said with a smile. “Just make the shot.”
She was also trying to be cautious.
“Just in case there was someone behind me I didn’t want to get blocked,” Mehlhorn said.
A turnover by Manitowoc Lutheran almost gave Mishicot the opportunity to close the game before Mehlhorn’s heroics.
“I thought it was a great game,” Lancers coach Mike Behnke said. “Mishicot is a great team but our kids battled well. When we made mistakes tonight we didn’t let them snowball.”
Mehlhorn agreed.
“We’re learning to teach ourselves to keep a positive attitude so not to get down over the little bad plays and that got us through it,” Mehlhorn said.
Down multiple possessions late in the second half, Behnke knew his players needed to force the issue defensively.
“What we want to do was play up defensively and force them to throw longer passes,” Behnke said.
That pressure but Mehlhorn in place, which helped everyone.
“We can all believe in each other,” Mehlhorn said.
It was the second big performance of the week for Mehlhorn, who scored 19 points for the Lancers on Tuesday in a 73-48 loss to St. Mary Catholic.
“Marissa plays hard every night,” Behnke said. “I know she puts a lot of expectations on herself so we talk about keeping her grounded, talking about balance.”
Against Mishicot, Mehlhorn finished with 10 points.
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“She is someone who can score a lot of points but when she is getting double-teamed, we need her to facilitate our offense which she did a great job of tonight,” Behnke said. “She was talking to her teammates, telling them what they needed to do.”
Coming off a first team all-Big East as a freshman, Behnke appreciates what Mehlhorn has accomplished in such a limited time on varsity.
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“It’s not something you see very often,” Behnke said. “I’m proud of Marissa, how hard she’s working because this is what she’s working for.”
Mehlhorn knows the better she gets, the better Manitowoc Lutheran will be overall.
“Fixing the little things so I can improve to help the team,” Mehlhorn said.
Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc Lutheran girls basketball beats Mishicot on buzzer beater
