Out & About: NC Heat/MN Total Package 15s

#3 posting 5.23.2006

This game took place Sunday, May 22 in Forest Lake
MN State AAU 15 Championships
NC Heat 51, MN Total Package 46

In the battle of the Taylers (or Taylors) Tayler Hill was Queen of the Hill as the NC Heat beat the Total Package 51-46 in the closest of all the finals.

The Package grabbed the lead early with 4-0 push, with a Theairra Taylor 3. Tayler Hill provided her own trey as NCH grabbed the 5-4 lead. The last TP lead came at 7-5 on another Taylor trey. After that it was NCH leads, or a couple of ties in the second half. NCH put together two 3 possession runs in the half one to go on a 6-0 run to 11-7 and another at the end of the half with a 7-5 finish. Hill had four of those points. NCH led 26-19 at the break.

In the early part of the second half NCH went into offensive hibernation with an 0/8 dry patch. It was an equal four misses from the floor and four turnovers. At that point TP cut the lead to 28-25. The TP actually went on a 11-2 run to tie the game at 30. Johnson cast the free throw to tie it. Hill quickly asserted herself into the situation with four points to push the game back to 34-30. Johnson scored on a rebound, foul and free throw to close the gap to 34-33. Nicole Anderson tied the game with a third chance put back at 36. Again it was Hill to the rescue with two free throws as she gathered in her own rebound. Brittany Dyshaw tied it up again with a rebound basket. This time it was free throws for NCH to get them the lead again and it was Ephesia Holmes and Megan Nipe adding to the cushion. The second chance bug struck again as Johnson (it seems that name keeps coming up) scored on a put back after Anderson made the first free throw 42-41. A Hill turnover led to free throws eventually for Danielle Daniels. She made the second to tie it at 42. Hill put NCH up 44-42, and one possession later added a free throw. She then added another basket on a drive and two more free throws for a 49-44 lead. Taylor gave TP their last two points on a steal and lay up with 30 seconds left 49-46. Holmes and Hill each gave one free throw for the final margin.

AAU ROSTERS

NUMBERS EXPLAINED

player, high school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
PLAYER EVALUATIONS
NC HEAT
STARTERS
Annie Berner, Forest Lake -no numbers- a warrior, playing through pain. RF: one hand, in for the tip and that was about it.
Tayler Hill, Minneapolis South 28, 24, 116.7, .583 did a better job at the line tonight. canned three 3s in the first half. can go from 0 to 80 thisquick. creative and body control is Jordanesque. Scored even when the Total Package's total focus was zeroed in on her. RF: on shots she missed, her hand was dropping, ball was bonking off the back rim.
Ephesia Holmes, Minneapolis South 9, 13, 69.2, .385 has some moxy. RF: will need to score more than twice from the floor to relieve pressure on Hill
Brianne Edwards, Minneapolis North 3, 6, 50.0, .333 RF: will need to step up in national levels so defense doesn't just focus on guards.
Megan Nipe, Centennial 10, 12, 83.3, .417 tops at the line. RF: problems with handling TP pressure
BENCH
Courtney Johnson, South St. Paul 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Gina Lange, Forest Lake 0, 2, 0.0, .000

MINNESOTA TOTAL PACKAGE
STARTERS
Theairra Taylor, St. Paul Como Park 14, 17, 82.3, .353 First name says something about her The Air a. as in she plays in the air flying by opposition. "The Air" up There. Rarified Air. still as explosive and all this and that. however: RF: this was her first real big game since SPCP doesn't play in that many games that mean anything. She was able to get inside, the shots were not falling. so better consistency on the shots. Also maybe forced some 3s. By no means are these RFs fatal, they will be changed. If you could buy stock in Taylor I would be stocking up.
Carolyn Mobley, North St. Paul 7, 8, 87.5, .500 another good performance. RF: needs to score when hit for the chance at an old fashioned three.
Danielle Daniels, North St. Paul 5, 7, 71.4, .429 3 range. good speed despite a bothersome hamstring. RF: forced passes
Brittany Travis, Chaska 0, 1, 0.0, .000 RF: still the hands need work. Not much clock in this game
Ari Johnson, Tartan 6, 7, 85.7, .429 NC Heat couldn't keep her off the offense glass. positioned herself well. RF: not as athletic as the other starters.
BENCH
Akilah Hudnell, DeLaSalle 3, 9, 33.3, .333 speed makes me take notice. defense/pressure is right on. RF: now the shooting and ball handling need to come up to speed. Free throw shooting needs improvement
Brittany Dyshaw, Eagan 4, 3, 133.3, .667 good frame. RF: can do more
Jamelia Hudnell, DeLaSalle 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
Meghan Molitor, PACT 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Nicole Anderson, Cannon Falls 3, 4, 75.0, .500 a battler. defensive pest. RF: overall size.

TRENCH PLAYER
Tayler Hill wins the battle

BY THE NUMBERS
team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
NC Heat 51, 58, 87.9, .448
Minnesota Total Package 46, 59, 78.0, .407
For a change both teams were above .400 in floor %. However the free throw % was fatal for TP 16/32 compared to NCH 21/26. Both teams really pounded the offensive boards, and did not prevent the other team from getting those boards. Both teams are guardcentric. They may have headaches against big squads later this summer.

This game followed the 16s and the contrast is pretty stark. These teams both have the quickness and speed, but the power and muscle and strength all belong at the 16s. Perhaps that is due to the added year in experience. I think it is all due to frames. The biggest frames on these teams spent time on the bench (Berner/hands, Travis/not able to play at the speed yet). They both will need more bigger bodies to compete next year at the National Level.

Next up tomorrow: A look at the Lynx game with the Connecticut Sun. Plus some surprises. Later in the day--A look at the 14 quarterfinals with Lakeville North vs MN Summit and North Tartan vs Brighton Stars