Red Wing's Buck ain't no Jay Cutler

Tesha Buck might be Red Wing's quarterback on the court, but don't you dare call her Jay Cutler.

With her third-ranked Wingers clinging to a tenuous 54-48 lead with under a minute to play Tuesday against a 14-1 outfit from Shakopee, Buck drove the lane and went crashing to the floor. She remained crumpled on the floor, appearing to hold her knee, as the other nine players went the other way with the turnover.

The 5-foot-11 guard didn't move until officials blew their whistle to stop play at the other end about 10 seconds later. That's when things got interesting.

Buck slowly stood up as the trainer went to check her out. With the trainer at her side, the sophomore standout began walking back to play defense. The trainer promptly grabbed her arm, attempting to steer her toward the bench. The two slowly went in opposite directions, which left the trainer visibly pulling on her left arm.

Buck shrugged her off, making the move many thought the Chicago Bears quarterback should have last weekend, as she fought to stay in the game.

The Shakopee fans howled as the two refs met to decide if she was, in fact, eligible to remain on the court after the stoppage. The large, boisterous crowd took things to another level when the refs allowed it to happen — with the home fans cheering and the visitors jeering.

Rich Buck, a Red Wing assistant coach, admitted that he thought his daughter needed to visit the bench, as did Shakopee coach Juan Mitchell. Others weren't quite as sure.

"I didn't know," Red Wing coach Kraig Ulveling said. "I don't think (the refs) knew either. I don't care. I wasn't taking her out."

It proved to be a key decision. Buck shook off the banged up knee to grab the next rebound and assist on a layup within the next 10 seconds, essentially putting the game on ice. The final score was 59-48.

She finished with a game-high 21 points — including 16 points while taking over in the second half — while adding nine boards and six assists, helping her team bounce back from an ugly loss to rival New Prague Friday night in which she struggled to find production.

More importantly, the Wingers prevented a two-game slide by knocking off the top team in the Missota Conference. It's the first time the highly-regarded Red Wing squad has been able to pull out a close game against a high-quality opponent, having fallen apart in the closing minutes earlier this season against fifth-ranked White Bear Lake and and a Farmington team that's 13-1.

It didn't take long for the biggest win of the year to turn into a discussion about a potential postseason showdown with New Prague.

"We just keep challenging our girls with all these teams," Ulveling said. "I just thought the last seven minutes (against Shakopee) was the best we've closed out a game this year. That's what the section championship is going to come down to."

-- Brett Boese