Out & About: MN Elite Camp Action

#4 posting 7.25.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

Tonight I attended the evening session of the MN Elite Camp. It is being held at Concordia, St. Paul for the next few days. They have 12 teams and I saw four play. They have two divisions and the teams are named for the WNBA teams.

First off was the Fever vs the Liberty from the East, then Mercury vs the Strom from the West.

Liberty 42, Fever 31

This game started off like no one was ever going to miss. The first six possessions combined produced points on the scoreboard. Steph Kruggel scored the first five points for the Fever. After that reality set in and both teams were a combined 1/10. Droughts were the norm as the Fever had droughts of 5 and 9.The Liberty led 21-16 at half.

In the second half Abby Busch of the Liberty exploded for 11 points. She scored the first six points for the Liberty in the half as they built a 27-18 lead. The Liberty led by as many as 12 before the horn sounded. For the Fever Casey Christian came to life in the second half with all of her seven points scored in that frame.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

LIBERTY
STARTERS
Cassie Dorschner, Kasson-Mantorville 2, 4, 50.0, .250 point guard
Tanya Runholt, Lakeview 4, 6, 66.7, .333 RF: needs to square up/get angle.
Terin Euerle, St. Cloud Tech 2, 3, 66.7, .333 masked player.
Kendra Bornhoft, RTR 4, 5, 80.0,.400
Erica Nord, Barnesville 4, 3, 133.3, .667
BENCH
Whitney Canton, Pine Island 3, 4, 75.0, .250
Heather Cook, Eden Prairie 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000
Abby Busch, GFW 11, 10, 110.0, .500 extremely active and aggressive. transition player.
Jess Peterson, Chisago Lakes 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Jackie Hulst, Wabasha-Kellogg 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Kelly Cinquegrani, Buffalo 4, 3, 133.3, .667

FEVER
STARTERS
Stephanie Kruggel, GFW 5, 7, 71.4, .286 hot early, 3 range.
Emily DeWitt, Centennial 3, 4, 75.0, .250 3 shooter.
Lindsey Olson, Plainview-Elgin-Millville 2, 3, 66.7, .333 RF: needs to be aware of the 3 point line.
Natalie Giese, Canby 2, 2, 100.0, .500 had nice shot. RF: needs to work to create that more.
Andrea Hagberg, St. Cloud Apollo 5, 5, 100.0, .400 can score off balance. had a nice runner. lefty.
BENCH
Laura Canton, Pine Island 3, 6, 50.0, .333 drew a charge. RF: needs to get an angle on drive
Brooke Monson, Austin 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Kristin Sczublewski, Pierz 4, 9, 44.4, .222 point guard.
Brittni Hover, Clayton, WI 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Casey Christian, Shakopee 7, 7, 100.0, .429 RF: needs to be aware of lines

TRENCH PLAYER
Abby Busch

BY THE NUMBERS
Liberty 42, 49, 85.7, .408
Fever 31, 47, 66.0, .298

STORM 37, MERCURY 27

Just as in the first game scoring ruled early. Both teams combined for a 6/8 possession rate. Leading the charge for the Storm was Latasha Wittmeyer who scored the first 8 points. She was a force down low and on the boards. The Storm held the upper hand most of the first half, only trailing at 7-6 after Bri Zabel's old fashioned three point play. But the Mercury had one bad drought of six to keep them off balance. The Storm led 18-16 at half.

The Mercury took a 19-18 lead after Gina Jaroszewski's 3. On the very next possession Bonnie Albright made two free throws and the Strom never trailed after that. At 28-24 Katie Coughenour of the Strom drained a trey from the right corner. Abby Gust answered for the Mercury, but that was the last points to fall for the Merc. They finished with 11 straight no scores.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

STORM
STARTERS
Bonnie Albright, Lanesboro 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000 was active on boards.
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter 3, 5, 60.0, .600 was playing on the perimeter. nice frame. RF: I have high expectations for her. this was a flat performance.
Amber Junker, Eden Valley-Watkins 0, 8, 0.0, .000
Jordyn Sears, St. Cloud Tech 6, 7, 85.7, .429 guard, not afraid of taking it to the trees inside.
Latasha Wittmayer, Lakeville North 8, 6, 133.3, .667 even though undersized played much bigger inside. uses body well to seal defense. ferocious rebounder. RF: size may be a factor post hs. also was not playing much in the second half.
BENCH
Jenna Dolence, Moorhead 3, 2, 150.0, .500
Amber Dvorak, Hinckley-Finlayson 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000 big young center. keeps ball high. RF: still learning the game, needs to improve footwork
Katie Coughenour, Wayzata 5, 7, 71.4, .286 3 point specialist. RF: was forced into being a point guard
Amanda Kinzler, Glencoe-Silver Lake 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Bryn Erickson, Orono 0, 2, 0.0, .000

MERCURY
STARTERS
Bri Zabel, Northfield 7, 5, 140.0, .600 strong. very strong. able to get hit and it is like a fly on a horse. She uses her body well to create space and to protect the ball. She has decent range. RF: foot speed. free throw follow through too fast.
Gina Jaroszewski, Moorhead 5, 5, 100.0, .400 3 range.
Deena Ewert, Andover 6, 5, 120.0, .600 showed off range.
Kellie Schuneman, Centennial 1, 5, 20.0, .200 RF: too many spin dribbles, hand on follow through on free throws snapped back to quick, not long enough for the shooter's pose.
Kia Johnson, St. Bernard's 0, 4, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Amanda Degnan, St. Charles 0, 2, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to be aware of where she is on the floor. killed dribble to tight to mid court.
Jenna Beckner, Bigfork, 0, 3, 0.0, .000 tiny guard.
Abby Gust, St. Paul Central 3, 5, 60.0, .200 can hit the 3
Aaryn Booker, DeLaSalle 2, 6, 33.3, .167 RF: needs to have the right angle for shot.
Sarah Luse, Orono 3, 5, 60.0, .400

TRENCH PLAYER
Latasha Wittmeyer

BY THE NUMBERS
Storm 37, 46, 80.4, .413
Mercury 27, 45, 60.0, .289

Both games featured rapid scoring early. The adrenaline must have been flowing. Then in both games the offenses crashed. These teams were just put together today and are probably still learning their names.

INJURY UPDATE
Ebony Black, St. Paul Central hurt her knee and left camp.
Maggie Bauernfeind, Rosemount went home ill, but will be back when better.


Next up: general news of the day, plus the last two games from the Adidas Mid America 17u semis and finals. Plus bonus coverage of the Elite camp challenge game.