Out & About: Wayzata/Hibbing

#3 posting 2.17.2006
Temp at 10:30 pm -14.4

Wayzata 61, Hibbing 51

Wayzata dropped #3 AAA Hibbing from the unbeaten ranks with a 51-41 win at Wayzata. I was planning on going to Willmar, but the game with Bemidji was cancelled. The opportunity to see Hibbing, a team that has been beating opponents up North by 30 points, was the obvious choice since they were in town and this opponent was tougher than tomorrow's (Mpls Henry).

Wayzata scored first with a free throw by Kelly Russ. Hibbing had their only lead at 2-1 on Emma Jaynes baseline drive basket. After that it was Wayzata that kicked it into gear. Wayzata went on a 11-0 run to take a 12-2 lead. Wayzata was 6/8 on their possessions at this time. Leading the surge in this run was Katie Coughenour with five points. Then Wayzata went into hibernation for their next 7 possessions. Hibbing made up some ground at this point and closed the gap to 12-10. Wayzata again ripped it up with a string of five straight scoring possessions highlighted by five points by Kat Myers including a three. Wayzata was cooking with a 17-4 run. At half the score was Wayzata 33, Hibbing 22.

In the second half Hibbing cut the lead to 39-31 with a three by Nikki Klinck in the left corner. Wayzata then had another run, this time 13-2 to push the lead to 52-33. Dominating during this period was Krissy O'Toole who provided 10 of the points. She had two conventional three point plays on back to back possessions. Hibbing wasn't done yet and went on an 18-5 run to cut the lead to 57-51 with 5:05 left. O'Toole had picked up her third foul and sat down. Brittany Holmquist (5-7) had the responsibility of guarding Alia Cook (6-2). Cook provided 7 points in this run. Part of the run was fueled by turnovers and lay ups. Jaynes steal and lay up cut the lead to 57-51. Another Wayzata turnover on the press gave the ball back to Hibbing, but Cook's attempt to cut the margin to four went off the rim. Wayzata got the rebound and after working the ball around, Coughenour made two free throws to stop the momentum. Hibbing did not score the last four minutes as Wayzata knocked off unbeaten Hibbing 61-51.

Hibbing was held under their average by 22 points. They also allowed 8 more points than average. My thinking on Hibbing: 1. They don't play the competition day in and day out up north. 2. They don't play from behind very often, or close games for that matter. Their closest win was against Mpls SW by five points in the championship of the Hibbing tournament. That was their previous low point total--54, that is until tonight. #3 Hibbing ran the flex offense and I felt their players were off balance with their momentum going away from the basket. #4 Most of Hibbing's scoring during the season, I am assuming, comes on transition and pressing, not half court sets.

Height Matters: Hibbing 5-8.6, Wayzata 5-7.8
Department of Defense: Both teams relied on man most of the night. Hibbing pressed full court man, they also tried 1/3/1 for a few possessions. Wayzata also used 2/3 very very briefly.

player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Wayzata Player Evaluations
Starters
Stacie Braegelman 0, 5, 0.0, .000 RF: does not look to score
Kat Myers 9, 11, 81.2, .364 drives, popped a three
Kelly Russ 9, 12, 75.0, .417 RF: violations related footwork. Didn't handle pressure in the back court.
Katie Coughenour 11, 12, 91.7, .417 Likes the three pointer. Also drove more than last game I saw. RF: some forced 3s.
Krissy O'Toole 24, 17, 141.2, .647 dominating force tonight. Essential player. 15 boards. can pass from the post and picked up four assists. strong frame, can get hit and make the basket. competitive and intense. RF: too many fouls took her out. 4th foul was a body control foul on the perimeter. When she returned, flow was off.
Bench
Kate Thompson 6, 6, 100.0, .500 extremely thin. decent instincts. RF: extremely thin.
Brittany Holmquist 0, 1, 0.0, .000 It is not the size of the dog, it is the size of the fight in the dog. Holmquist has a lot of fight giving away seven inches to Cook and being competitive and scrappy.

Hibbing Player Evaluations
Starters
Nikki Klink 5, 11, 45.5, .182 point guard. looks for 3s. RF: need to be consistent on shot, better ball handling under pressure.
Diana Lister 8, 6 133.3, .667 good in transition, good speed.
Emma Jaynes 13, 11, 118.2, .636 decent size on the perimeter. scored by taking ball to the glass. active on defensive press. RF: need to develop a perimeter shot
Anna Matetich 10, 14, 71.4, .357 their leading scorer. decent size on the perimeter. good shot mechanics. RF: left wrist was wrapped. I don't know if that bothered her or if it has been wrapped for the year. wasn't able to drive through
Alia Cook 9, 11, 81.2, .364 good size, good frame. RF: didn't take full advantage when O'Toole was out. Needs to be consistent for both halves. Cook had all her points in the second half.
Bench
Nicole Nyberg 4, 3, 133.3, .667
Jodi Schmitz 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Stevie Pelkey 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Amber Brant 0, 1, 0.0., .000
Lindsay Jacobson 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Trench Player: Easily O'Toole

BY THE NUMBERS
team, points, possessions, floor %
Wayzata 61, 64, 95.3, .453
Hibbing 51, 64, 79.7, .391
Bench: Wayzata 6, Hibbing 6
Made Free Throws: Wayzata 17, Hibbing 11

Of special note for family (and to get the rest of you up to speed). I graduated from Wayzata (from the third HS, not the new 4th palace school) and one of my basketball coaches was running the clock tonight--Muril Pederson. There were no issues on the clock, unlike last night in Waconia.

Other games of Note
Osseo beat Champlin Park 77-58. This is Osseo's second win against the conference leaders in the Northwest Suburban this week. They beat Centennial on Tuesday.
Champlin Park's Jenny Theissen went down with an injury in the second half. Osseo was ahead at the time.
All this throws 5AAAA and 7AAAA races into turmoil. There are no clear cut favorites. It is the wild, wild west in each of these sections.

Roseville beat Cretin-Derham Hall 49-48 in a Suburban East Match up. They split on the year and if Roseville beats Woodbury and CDH beats Hastings they will share the title.

next up: early am 9ish?