Out & About: Edina/Mpls Southwest

#3 posting 2.2.2006

Edina 49, Minneapolis Southwest 40

Tonight's matchup was between two neighboring schools in two different AAAA sections. SW was just coming off a one point loss to undefeated Mpls South, while Edina had won five in a row. Now it is six as both teams lived up to their defensive averages in Edina's 49-40 win.

SW struck first in the game with Desiree' Driver's basket after SW's third possession. They were up 4-1 for their biggest lead of the night. But Edina went on a four possession run, outscoring SW 8-0 to go up 9-4. Starting the run was Natalie Pastor with a shot from the left side. Four different Hornets scored on the run. SW took a time out to regroup. SW's Melissa Fitz drove, scored and was fouled. She added the free throw to cut the lead to 9-7. The rest of the half see sawed between Edina up 4 and 2. Edina put together another string of three straight scoring possessions with the last two a high/low combination between Katie Gilligan (high) and Laura Olsonoski (low). Megan Gaard for Edina made the only 3 late in the half to push the lead to six 23-17, but Laura Miller of SW finished the scoring with a drive and the score was 23-19 at half. Miller had 8 of her 11 points in the first half.

The first half of the second half belonged lock, stock and barrell to Edina as the went on a 15-3 run. Their 16 point lead was to be the high water mark. During the run Lauren Young provided six points; she scored twice on out of bounds plays. Natalie Pastor provided four points during the run with drives and a steal and a lay up. SW during this period had a drought of 10 straight possessions with six resulting in turnovers. But after the Hornets held that 16 point lead SW's offense awoke from it's slumber. They scored in 4 of their next five possessions on the start of an 11-2 run to cut the margin to 40-33. Trina Pastarr scored the first four points during this run on two drives to the glass. She also scored on a drive to close it to 40-33. Edina's offense turned ice cold at this point with a 1/10 possession ratio. They only scored on a Katie Gilligan put back. Six of these possessions were plain missed shots. At this point there was 1:54 left in the contest and Edina went into shut down mode. In five of the Hornets' next six possessions they went to the line. And they cashed in to the tune of 9/10. So SW never could close the gap.

Height matters: Edina 5-10, Mpls SW 5-9.2
Department of Defense: Edina man, with full court trapping at times. Mpls SW: relied mainly on 2/3 zone.

player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Edina Player Evaluations
Starters
Megan Gaard 7, 7, 100.0, .429 provided the only 3 on the night. RF: size post HS
Jenny Greig 4, 6, 66.7, .333 main point guard, active defensivley. RF: didn't look to create offensively as she did the first time I saw her.
Luaren Young 12, 16, 75.0, .438 moves well, rangy, long wing span effective for defense. Prefers to play on the outside. RF: needs more strength. Miller ripped the ball from her hands after a rebound.
Laura Olsonoski 9, 16, 56.3, .313 strong upper body. has a litte hook going. worked the low end of the high/low with Gilligan. RF: size post HS for position.
Katie Gilligan 6, 6, 100.0, .500 crashes boards, good post passer. RF: too many fouls.
Bench
Natalie Pastor 10, 8, 125.0, .625 fast, energetic, gave a kick start to offense. active and alert on defense. RF: puts the ball on the floor almost every time she touches it. Needs upper body strength
Emily Warner 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Elise Biewen 1, 2, 50.0, .500
Taylor Young 0, 1, 0.0, .000 youngster didn't see that much time

Minneapolis Southwest Player Evaluations
Starters
Melissa Fitz 11, 17, 64.7, .353 can change pace in explosive move. main ball handler. RF: dropped hand on shot from distance. needs strength and needs to take over game. A crouch dribbler, I don't know if that is by design, but just blow by some of these kids.
Kelly Linnihan 0, 3, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to play with authority, not with question marks over her head.
Britta Syverson 0, 3, 0.0, .000 youngster RF: need more experience, more strength
Trina Pastarr 10, 12, 83.3, .417 has ball handling skills. should be perimeter player post HS. scores on drives to the glass. rebounds. RF: I would like to see range. Needs to keep elbow tighter on dribbling.
Desiree' Driver 4, 5, 80.0, .400 designated screener. hard to move. RF: needs to get in position on offense where she can do some damage.
Bench
Laura Miller 11, 14, 78.6, .429 athlete, sets ball screens. Scored on drives; RF: need more consistent shooting.
Rebecca Schouvieller 2, 4, 50.0, .250 RF: needs strength
Carly Jaffee 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Allison Flores-Joles 2, 2, 100.0, .500 RF: mousey, needs strength
Trench Player: A Bench Player--Natalie Pastor of Edina

BY THE NUMBERS
team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Edina 49, 63, 77.8, .413
Mpls Southwest 40, 61, .344
Bench: Edina 15, Mpls SW 15
FT made: Edina 14, Mpls SW 10
3s: Edina 1, Mpls SW 0
Put Backs: Edina 8, Mpls SW 3 (one point off the free throw)
Edina shut SW down to one shot most of the evening, and controlled their own offensive misses.
Both teams were quite deliberate on offense. Even with the Edina press the game flow was under the average possessions.

At this point I need to see two more AAAA teams with winning records.

next posting tomorrow morning.