Instead, it was defense that carried the Panthers' girls basketball team to a victory Thursday night -- that, and a clutch play by a ninth grader who came off the bench.
Freshman Amber Walkowaik muscled in a coast-to-coast layup with 32 seconds left and Ellsworth overcame a 2-for-20 night from beyond the arc to edge Southwest Star Concept 41-40, earning a spot in the 3A South Sub-section quarterfinals, also known as "Super Saturday."
"It means a lot, because we haven't been there for more than three years," said forward Darian Herman, who led Ellsworth with 19 points. "I'm really excited, and all the other girls are excited. ... It's awesome."
It was just as awesome for first-year head coach Curt Schilling, who has advanced Ellsworth (9-16) to the second round of the section tournament for the first time since 2006.
"We've had so many close games this year that we've come up on the short end on, and I told the girls I'd give all of them just for this win," he said. "It means so much to these girls, especially the seniors, because they haven't been to Super Saturday since their eighth-grade year.
"It's pretty important for them, to the rest of the team and myself, as well."
The two teams had met exactly one week before, when the Panthers hit 10 first-half 3-pointers en route to a 61-42 victory.
Things weren't so easy for Ellsworth this time, though.
The Quasars came out hustling in a 3-2 zone, contesting nearly every shot the Panthers took.
"That's the first time we've ever really played that defense, and we didn't have many breakdowns at all," SSC's head coach Les Knutson said. "Holding them to 41 points is pretty good."
Ellsworth didn't make its first 3-pointer until the 1-minute mark in the first half, when Herman sank one from the top of the key.
Those were the only Panther points for a 10-minute span that stretched from the end of the first half to the 13:30 mark in the second.
The Quasars took advantage and went on a 10-3 run during that dry spell, eventually stretching their lead to 30-23 and forcing an Ellsworth timeout.
"It makes it tough when our outside shots aren't falling," Schilling said. "It really came down to our defense."
Ellsworth's defense was equally as fierce as the Quasars'; at one point forcing seven SSC turnovers on eight straight possessions in the second half.
The Panthers' full-court press hampered SSC's ball handlers all night long -- Brooke Kix and Bridget Kramer had four steals apiece.
Still, the Quasars led for most of the second half, and Katey Granstra converted a three-point play to give SSC a 40-35 advantage with just over three minutes remaining.
"We were up five, playing good defense, and I don't really have an answer for what happened the last few minutes," Knutson said.
Kix drained a pair of free-throws and hit a runner in the lane, closing the gap to one point.
In between Kix's baskets, the Quasars took a blow when Post twisted her ankle on an inbounds play, leaving the team without one of its senior leaders down the stretch.
SSC also missed three front-end free throws on one-and-one attempts in the final moments.
Walkowaik, who was in the game because of foul trouble, grabbed control of the ball after the last miss.
She streaked down the right side of the court, drove the baseline and converted the layup to give Ellsworth the lead -- Walkowaik's only two points of the night and the final basket of the game.
"Amber and Bridget (Kramer), they really came up with some big plays at the end for us," Schilling said. They didn't want to see the seniors play their last game (Thursday) either, so they were playing their hearts out for them, too."
The Quasars lost the ball out-of-bounds on the next play, which meant they had to foul to regain possession. But SSC only had five team fouls, two short of the bonus.
Ellsworth threw it in and dribbled 25 seconds off the clock while the Quasars frantically chased the ball around the court.
With 5.9 seconds left, SSC finally got its seventh call.
Brooke Kix missed the free throw, the Panthers' putback attempt was no good, and SSC's Courtney Place heaved up a half-court shot at the buzzer that fell a few feet short.
SSC, which ends its season with a 9-16 record, was led by Granstra's 16 points and seven rebounds.
Post added 10 points and five boards before her injury.
Jennifer Schmidt, Luanna Henkels and Maddie Rasche tallied seven, six and five rebounds, respectively.
Henkels, usually a guard, also grabbed four steals and dished out three assists playing the majority of the game down low.
Thursday night was the last game for Quasar seniors Henkels, Post, Erin Liepold and Raisa Bonatto.
"Certainly they gave one heck of an effort this game, adjusting to a new defense and all," Knutson said. "But give Ellsworth a lot of credit."
The Panthers will move on to face the South's top-seeded Southwest Christian on Saturday in Windom.
For Schilling and the Panthers, making Super Saturday had been the team's goal since the beginning of the year. Now, they've reached it -- but can they surpass it?
