Out & About: Minneapolis South/Breck

#3 posting 2.3.2006

Minneapolis South 57, Breck 55

One for the ages.
This game featured the two best backcourts in the state. Breck with the trio of Kelly Mullaney, Emily Neal and Megan Givens--all going to DI programs next season; and South with the phenom Tayler Hill, Ephesia Holmes, and Candice Butler. Breck was #1 in AA; South #2 in AAAA and undefeated. And it was the unheralded players that made the difference in the contest.

The game started off with Hill scoring the first points. Breck immediately answered with Emily Neal. Then South failed to score in their next 8 possessions. Breck took advantage of this cold spell by going on a 16-1 run. On one possession Breck scored five points. Kara Elofson scored on a post up and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but Breck rebounded and Mullaney finished the possession with a three from the right side. Both Neal and Mullaney added 3s during this run. At this point I was questioning my decision to attend this game. As a reporter I like to see down to the wire games, and it looked like this game was going down blow out alley. With the score 18-3 South Awoke from it's slumber. They scored on 9 of their last ten possessions (the last 8 in a row) for a 19-7 run. Leading the charge was Candice Butler with 8 points including one 3, on almost 3, a lay up, and a free throw. Hill scored seven points during this stretch. Hill picked up her third foul with 1:17 to go in the half. She remained in the game. Mullaney ended the half with a driving shot for a 27-22 Breck lead.

South continued where they left off by scoring their first three possessions. That stretched the string out to 11 straight possessions. Scoring the first possession was Hannah Cheese with a three point play on a lay up and free throw off a pass by Butler. Kiswana McCloud gave South their first lead at 29-27. Megan Givens scored the next five points on a 3 and a post up for a 32-29 Breck advantage. I should point out that at 15:23 Hill picked up her 4th foul. She sat for two minutes. Then it was South's turn for two scores, both drives--one for Holmes and one for Hill. Both teams were trading leads, the last time South led was 37-36. Then Breck scored on three straight possessions with Mullaney making an exclamation point with a three for a 43-37 lead.

Then South scored on their next three possessions and Tayler Hill did the damage with drives sandwiched around a steal off a pass for a lay up. That tied the game at 43. Kara Elofson scored on a post up and was fouled, she missed the free throw for a 45-43 Breck lead. Mullaney made a three from up top for 48-43 lead. Hill started a six possession conversion string with a 3 from up top 48-46. A Breck turnover later, Hill made two free throws after missing a 3, and a McCloud rebound 48-48. The time left clocked in at 3. Givens, who had 13 second half points, scored on 3 from the right corner off an out of bounds play to make it 51-48 Breck. For the second time in the half Hannah Cheese grabbed her own miss, scored and was fouled. She added the free throw 51-51 with 1.59 left. A key point here was the fifth foul on Elofson. Mullaney delivered in crunch time with a post up move 53-51 Breck. McCloud put her first free throw in, but missed the second 53-52 Breck. Neal was fouled by Hill with 53.5 seconds left. Hill was sent to the bench with five fouls. Neal made both free throws 55-52 Breck. McCloud scored with 33.7 seconds left 55-54 Breck. After a South time out Breck worked the ball around and Givens was fouled. However she missed the front end of the bonus with 24.2 seconds left. Cheese grabbed the board and South took a time out. After the TO, Holmes drove the lane and missed. McCloud grabbed the board and missed. And Cheese, for the third time in the half, grabbed the miss, scored and was fouled by Givens with 0.1 seconds left. Cheese made the free throw. Breck threw the ball to Givens at the right side of midcourt. She turned and hurled the ball toward the basket. It was nothing but net. However catching, turning and shooting takes longer than 0.1 seconds and the shot was waved off.
The South Tigers must have used some of their nine lives in this comeback win.
It turned out I made the right game decision after all.

Height matters: Mpls South 5-8.2; Breck 5-8.6
Department of Defense: Mpls South started 2/3 went to man when buried; also pressed full court. Breck played half court man.

player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Minneapolis South Player Evaluations
Starters
Tayler Hill 24, 17, 141.2, .647 smooth, great range, great body control. With four fouls she still drove and twisted and turned without crashing into any Brecksters. quick first step. a leader, was not rattled when down. delivers in crunch time. blocked a shot late in the game when dancing with 4 fouls. another example of control. RF: fouls kept her out at ultimate crunch time.
Kiswana McCloud 10, 9, 111.1, .667 can get up, strong rebounder, ready for the pen and dish. RF: also in foul trouble. will not be able to play inside post HS
Hannah Cheese 11, 4, 275.0, 1.000 All four possessions ended up with a score and one, usually off of a rebound. Strong and gets up quick. Can get hit and score. Averages 6.9. RF: size issues post HS
Ephesia Holmes 2, 9, 22.2, .111 RF: size--hard to get shots off if she can't blow by folks.
Candice Butler 10, 13, 76.9, .385 I said it before--Best passer I have seen period. She needs to be on the floor. Deceptive and quick zippy strong passes. RF: and I'll say it again: not a good shooter. I know she scored 10 tonight (about average), but she is off to the left or right. It may be a vision problem.
Bench
no one had an end possession

Breck Player Evaluations
Starters
Kelly Mullaney 25, 24, 104.2, .417 Competitive, hustler, money player. strong. Gets shot off quickly. good range. RF: ball handling needs to be tighter. Didn't get to the line.
Megan Givens 17, 11, 154.5, .636 strong, good shooter from distance. moves with out the ball. RF: needs to get to the line more often.
Emily Neal 7, 9, 77.8, .333 coming off injury. tough, gritty. RF: wasn't as involved as I have seen her this year. I think that might be due to the injury.
Kara Elofson 6, 5, 120.0, .600 stepped up offensively. posts up. RF: foul problems. size inside at the next level
Megan Robinson 0, 5, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to convert chances to keep defense honest. Need more boards.
Bench
again, no one had an end possession

In the trench: So many to pick from. Tayler Hill has the nod tonight. I do have to give Cheese some major credit for crunch time game winner and her pp100 was 275! (perfect would be 300) The reason Hill gets the nod is she handles the ball much more, has better range, and is just as competitive.

BY THE NUMBERS
team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Mpls South 57, 52, 109.6, .519
Breck 55, 54, 101.9, .407
Bench: nada for both squads
Made Free Throws: Mpls South 14, Breck 4
Made 3s: Breck 8, Mpls South 3
The Backcourt: Breck 49, South 36
The Unheralded Two: South 21, Breck 6
Second chance points:South 13, Breck 6 (9 of South's second chance points came with less than 4 minutes to go. Part of that was due to Elofson's fouling out).

The atmosphere was electric and tournament worthy. The gym was packed as it usually is when I go to AA gyms. Why the administrators booted one fan who rode a stick pony to get the fans revved up is beyond me.