Out & About: Spring Lake Park/Mahtomedi

#3 posting 3.1.2006

Everything went according to plan in the bottom bracket in the 6AAA Tournament as #3 Spring Lake Park defeated Mahtomedi 56-52 and #2 North Branch took out Fridley 48-26.

#3 Spring Lake Park 56, #6 Mahtomedi 52

The game opened with three straight scoring possessions and I was thinking this will keep me hopping, but then the next 14 possessions were dry. Mahtomedi led early 4-2 when the drought hit. SLP had 4 turnovers to 3 missed shots during the drought; Mahtomedi was 6 missed shots and 1 turnover. Neither team led by more than two points in the first half. Mara Hjelle was the force for Mahtomedi with 10 first half points. She had 8 of Mahtomedi's first ten points. Mahtomedi led at half 19-18.

The game was decided early on in the second half as SLP scored on seven straight possessions breaking open a tight contest into a route. SLP had a 17-0 run during this three minute stretch making it 35-19. Tiana Hallberg started it off with a 3 pointer, but it was the eruption of Kristen Senftner with 12 points during this stretch that broke it open. She had two old fashioned three point plays during the stretch. Mahtomedi had an 0/8 opening, but finally got it together with a three possession mini run to get back to 37-27. Heather Smith cashed in two 3s at this time. SLP had another run, but not with the consecutive nature of the first run, this time 11-2 to make it 46-29 for their biggest lead in the half. Mahtomedi again had a mini run of three and cut that margin to 46-35 with 5:30 to go. Mahtomedi started playing with more urgency and cut the SLP lead down to 50-41 with two minutes to go. In the last two minutes Mahtomedi had chances because SLP missed 12 free throws during crunch time. Even though the door was open, Mahtomedi did not seize the opportunitiies. The closest Mahtomedi got was 52-47 with 52.5 left. SLP answered with Gina Dudley's two free throws. Mahtomedi scored at the buzzer with Molly Bethke's 3 to make it 56-52.

Height matters: Mahtomedi 5-9, SLP 5-8.6
Department of defense: Both opened 2/3. SLP used a 1/2/2 3/4 press. both also played man.

As always strength is always an issue. You can RF that. Also Ball handling, passing and decisions were questionable. You can RF that. Shot selection and form were issues. RF. If you don't see any evaluation by a player, come back here for a reading.

player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Spring Lake Park Player Evaluations
Starters
Tiana Hallberg 9, 15, 60.0, .333
Gina Dudley 8, 11, 72.7, .364
Katie Walsh 5, 10, 50.0, .300
Audra Stevenson 6, 8, 75.0, .375 point guard
Kristen Senftner 22, 18, 122.2, .611 post player, good touch, can score as she is getting hit.
Bench
Shantelle Grosse 6, 6, 100.0, .500 wide body, inside lane. isn't moved. RF: quickeness
Emily Kaup 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Amanda Hallberg 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Rachel Norlien 0, 2, 0.0, .000

Mahtomedi Player Evaluations
Starters
Heather Smith 14, 17, 82.4, .353 their best ball handler. point guard. good passer. when down took over. RF: shot needs to be consistent. Didn't score in the first half--consistency
Molly Bethke 8, 9, 88.9, .333
Jordyn Strege 0, 8, 0.0, .000
Lauren Caswell 6, 5, 120.0, .800
Mara Hjelle 14, 16, 87.5, .438 good first half. RF: too many fouls put her on the pine.
Bench
Josie Solie 5, 8, 62.5, .375
Katelyn Anderson 3, 10, 30.0, .200
Chelle Johnson 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
Trench Player: Kristin Senftner

BY THE NUMBERS
Spring Lake Park 56, 73, 76.7, .397
Mahtomedi 52, 74, 70.3, .351
Bench: Mahtomedi 10; SLP 6
made free throws: SLP 21, Mahtomedi 8

As you can see these numbers are pretty low. Ball handling, and shooting were issues. Outside shooting needs work. When teams looked inside (Mahtomedi in the first half, SLP in the second) they had success.

Next up: North Branch/Fridley