Two AA Quarters, plus News to Boot

#2 posting 3.16.2006

I angered the snow gods earlier in the week when I mocked them for missing us with the fearsome "tournament blizzard." We got hit Monday with 12 inches and today we have another eight. I have already made a feeble attempt at the driveway. But you want to know what happened in the AA quarters at the Pavillion. You want to know details on what is going on in the area. Buckle up, here we go.

First AA Quarterfinals
Cannon Falls 70, Esko 61

Cannon Falls survived a couple of Esko comeback attempts to play on Friday against MVL in the semis. CF lead early 27-12 in the first half, but Esko went on a 17-4 run to close the half. CF put together a 6 possession string early in the half for a 13-2 run. But they also put together an 0/9 string in the heart of Esko's comeback. Cory Montgomery had 14 at half for CF as they led 31-29.

At the start of the half CF went up 47-36 early in the half on the strength of a couple of 3s by Jackson and Anderson, 8 points from the Montgomery sisters. Esko was not done with their comeback attempts and outscored CF 21-11 to make the game 58-57 CF. Esko had a chance to take the lead, but Paulina Posti, the Finnish foreign exchange student, missed a drive down the lane and CF finished off the game on a 12-4 run.

Here is what the Duluth News Tribune had to say about the game
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/14111716.htm

player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Cannon Falls Player Evaluations
Starters
Nicole Anderson 11, 11, 100.0 RF: needs to use her left hand as well as her right
Korie Jackson 13, 8, 162.5, .625 3 point bomber, good shooter, prefers zone d
Amanda Schreyer 3, 10, 30.0, .200 value is in boarding
Alex Montgomery 14, 13, 107.7, .538 lefty inside banger of the two sisters
Cory Montgomery 29, 21, 138.1, .714, much better performance than when I saw her against Cotter in the Hiawatha Valley championship. can do damage in and out. RF: the speed at the next level may take its toll
Bench
Amanda Moen 0, 3, 0.0. .000
Julia Thompson 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Tessa Thompson 0, 1, 0.0, .000

Esko Player Evaluations
Kelli Rengo 8, 7, 114.3, .571
Sami Mattson 17, 22, 77.3, .364 worth keeping an eye on. Has some grit
Pauliina Posti 17, 16, 106.3, .500 Finnish Foreign Exchange student. handles ball well with both hands, shoots well with the left. RF: going back to Finland
Amber Ryan 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Ashley Langila 7, 7, 100.0, .429
Bench
Jessica Bergstedt 7, 7, 100.0, .429
Jade Baxley 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Ashly Ojala 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Amber Jubie 1, 1, 100.0, 1.000

BY THE NUMBERS
Cannon Fals 70, 71, 98.6, .479
Esko 61, 71, 85.9, .408
Bench Esko 10, Cannon Falls 0
Made Free Throws Cannon Falls 16, Esko 8

Second AA Quarterfinals
MN Valley Lutheran 74, Winona Cotter 63

It was tight most of the first half as both teams were tied at 16. But MVL put together a six possession string and 12-2 run to take a 28-18 lead. That was the deal breaker. Also in the first half Cotter had a 0/9 drought right before halftime. MVL did not fare much better during that stretch going 1/10.

Some drought residue hung on to Cotter with an 0/5 stretch in the early second half, but then they caught their second wind. After trailing 43-31 they put together a 21-9 run to cut the lead to 54-52. They hit three 3s in that stretch, not to mention getting their running game going. MVL stopped the bleeding and went on a 7-0 run to get that lead back up to 61-52. Cotter again was able to whittle the lead down to 64-61 with 3 minutes to go, but MVL again answered with a 7-0 run to make it 71-61.
Here is what the Winona Daily News had to report
http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2006/03/16/highschoolsports/00lead.txt
The Mankato Free Press tells it from an MVL perspective
http://www.mankatofreepress.com/sports/local_story_075002430.html?keyword=topstory

MN Valley Lutheran Player Evaluations
Starters
Karissa Kramer 14, 19, 73.7, .474 decent speed. RF: keep head up/vision up
Kristin Patterson 21, 13, 161.5, .846. able to run the floor and make lay ups. RF size
Amanda Dettman 7, 13, .538, .231
Kelsey Krohn 8, 6, 133.3, .667
Laura Hunter 5, 11, 45.5, .273
Bench
Cara Hanson 13, 13, 100.0, .462
Kara Black 2, 3, 66.7, .333
Kristin Becker 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000

Winona Cotter Player Evaluations
Starters
Devin Bowlin 8, 16, 50.0, .250 RF: tried too hard, forced issues instead of letting game flow. foul issues
Brooke Beyer 13, 13, 100.0, .385 hit some 3s, strong
Laura Erickson 14, 21, 66.7, .333 RF: missed some great set plays out of bounds. got the shot they wanted, didn't drop
Allison Kirkvold 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Jenny Gilbertson 16, 18, 88.9, .444 big strong runs floor, can play outside and score outside. injured ankle and returned to battle. RF: needs to square on all shots close to the basket. rushed things
Bench
Renee Peacarina 2, 2, 100.0, .500 RF: size
Jessi Larson 3, 2, 150.0, .500
Whitney Wisecup 5, 4, 125.0, .500

Here is the listing of what other newspapers were saying about the action yesterday.
AAA
St. Michael-Albertville vs Hermantown with the Duluth News Tribune's take on the action http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/14111720.htm
Here is a letter to the editor about the the Hermantown/Hibbing fiasco in the section finals again in the Duluth News Tribune http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/14111761.htm
#1 Marshall beat New Prague. Wonder what was said in the Marshall Independent? Quit wondering and start reading. http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=1653
Benilde-St. Margaret's took care of Rogers. Here is what Bruce Strand wrote in the Elk River Star News http://www.erstarnews.com/2006/March/153-15roggbb.html
Willmar vs DeLaSalle a la West Central Tribune http://www.wctrib.com/articles/index.cfm?id=5642&section=sports

AAAA
Bruce Strand was busy going back and forth from the Target Center to the Pavillion. Here is what he said about the Elk River vs St. Paul Central game http://www.erstarnews.com/2006/March/153-15elkgbb.html

AA
Here is what the Fargo Forum wrote about the Crookston vs MACCRAY game.
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=120707&section=Sports
from MACCRAY'S perspective in the West Central Tribune http://www.wctrib.com/articles/index.cfm?id=5643&section=sports
Here is the Albany vs Eden Valley-Watkins battle covered by the St. Cloud Times http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/SPORTS/103160017/1002

COACHING NEWS
MN
Minneapolis Washburn is looking for a new coach. Leah Frazier-Dixon stepped down after one year.
SD
Harrisburg is undergoing some problems according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Terry Fisher, coach for 28 years, was asked to step down . Read for yourself. http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/NEWS/603160323/1001/NEWS
WI
Dave Janssen, Hortonville's basketball coach, resigned with sexual investigations being conducted. Here is the Appleton Post Crescent story http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/APC0101/603160653/1003

MISS BASKETBALL
IA
Shelle Mosman, Carroll
ND
Rebecca Feickert, Sheridan County
Add these two players along with Wisconsin's Mariah Dunham as correct calls from my publications in October. Now we are waiting from SD and MN to see if I get a clean sweep of selections.

And on that note I will go to today's games
Next up: after the AAA semis. I'm bringing my computer, so I'll be able to tell you from the Target Center what happens.