Out & About: Cedar Mt-Comfrey/Winona Cotter

#2 posting 8.8.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

this game took place on Saturday, August 5, 2006
St. Benedict's College, St. Joseph, MN
Sweet 16 Quarterfinals
Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 69, Winona Cotter 63

Cedar Mountain and Comfrey are joining forces this year and the two schools and three towns--Cedar Mountain is made up of Morgan and Franklin--made a statement as the Class A school beat a 2006 state entrant in the AA WC 69-63. They did it with an outburst at the start of the fourth quarter. Jenny Gilbertson's 28 points, including four 3s, weren't enough to lift the load for WC.

WC had the early lead 9-2 scoring on four of their first five possessions. Gilbertson opened the scoring with a three and later added a scoop shot for five points in the run. CMC then scored on four of five possessions on a 7-4 run to make the score 13-9. Shana Grejtak had four points in the run for CMC. WC led 19-15 at the break.

CMC scored on four straight possessions going back to the first quarter to take their first lead at 21-19. Brittany Kokesch opened the quarter with a three and Grejtak scored on a transition layup and was fouled. She made the traditional 3 point play. So in two possessions CMC dropped in six points. Whitney Seifert added another traditonal 3 point play for CMC. CMC pushed the lead up to 29-23 when WC went on an 8-1 run. Emily Cooper provided the field goal for the lead. CMC regained the lead on the next possession on Kokesch's two free throws. CMC led 34-32 at half, but one factor was going in their favor. Devin Bowlin, WC's point guard had picked up her fourth foul before halftime.

Kokesch continued her hot shooting with a transition lay up after a missed 3 by Gilbertson. That made it six points in a row for Kokesch. It was nip and tuck throughout the third quarter. WC's Renae Pecarina hit a jumper from the corner to make it 42-40 WC. CMC regained the lead at 43-42 on Seifert's basket. WC went up 45-43 on a drive by Gilbertson, and one possession later Gilbertson made one free throw. At the buzzer Kokesch nailed a 3 from up top to make it 46-45 CMC.

With the last possession of the third quarter and the first nine of the fourth CMC went on a 9/10 scoring spree including the last five in a row. The lead balloooned out to 64-49, a 21-4 run. Kokesch again had the first 8 points in three possessions stretching back to the last second 3. Again she hit a 3 on the second possession of the fourth quarter. She had 10 points in this run. CMC looks to run on missed shots. WC had a 7 possession drought going back to the 3rd quarter. If you notice I haven't mentioned too many droughts this game because both teams were actually pretty efficient. WC trailed 64-49 when Gilbertson did all she could to keep WC close. She had 11 points to close out the game, three of them on 3s. WC had a 14-5 run to finish but the clock ran out before they could close the gap further.

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

CEDAR MOUNTAIN-COMFREY
STARTERS
Brittany Kokesch 22, 14, 157.4, .714 perimeter shooter. made big shots, sparked the big run in the fourth.
Stephanie Ochs 7, 11, 63.6, .364 knocked in six points in the fourth quarter. RF: passing needs to sharpen up quite a bit. lob passes are stared down. Likes to spin dribble.
Whitney Seifert 7, 7, 100.0, .429 solid player, plays hard, compliments others. RF: exposes the ball, needs to square on her shot
Nikki Schultz 14, 12, 116.7, .667 big perimeter, lefty, can run, can leap. 3 range. plays hard constantly. can drive to the glass with flair. another player that crashes the defensive boards. RF: can be prone to charging calls.
Shana Grejtak 15, 16, 93.8, .438 more insidish, another lefty, another that can run and jump. Very aggressive to the basket. Is not a plodder, but a thouroughbred. Has some panache in her style. scoop shots, finger rolls floating through the air. Led both teams with 6 defensive boards. Also anticipates on defense. RF: passing decisions could be better. needs to stay under control, but maybe that would make her just another girl.
BENCH
Dani Serbirs 2, 4, 50.0, .250
Haley Phillips 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Emily Mathiowetz 0, 5, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to go after it and not hesitate. needs to take better care of the ball.
Megan Madsen 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Sadie Kelly 0, 1, 0.0, .000

WINONA COTTER
STARTERS
Devin Bowlin 2, 8, 25.0, .125 point guard, the leader of the team. RF: fouls hancuffed her performance today. She is more valuable playing than sitting. 3 shot needs to be consistent.
Kelly Brandon 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Laura Erickson 9, 8, 112.5, .625 solid performer. not flashy. scored on drives and back cuts early. Six points in first quarter. RF: needs to contribute throughout
Allison Kirkvold 4, 9, 44.4, .22 RF: more consistent in shot. better decisons with the ball.
Jenny Gilbertson 28, 20, 140.0, .650 big player that is comfortable on the 3 line. when the heat was on lifted the team. drained important 3s. RF: Needs to be in better position for defensive boards. picked up two violations
BENCH
Whitney Wisecup 6, 5, 120.0, .600 another player that had a strong first quarter, but then disappeared. had two free throws in the last 3 quarters.
Chelsi Larson 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Renae Pecarina 4, 6, 66.7, .333 back up point guard. RF: smallish. passing needs to be cleaner.
Janine Englerth 8, 7, 114.3, .571 scored on a post up. steady.
Emily Cooper 2, 3, 66.7, .333

TRENCH PLAYER
Brittany Kokesch

BY THE NUMBERS
Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 69, 73, 94.5, .466
Winona Cotter 63, 71, 88.7, .437

Now these are some numbers we can talk about. Both teams were higher than any of the first four teams I charted. Both played with intensity and verve. Loose balls, rebounds were gold. CMC loved to push the ball. WC loved to push the ball. If you like breakneck basketball this was for you.

CMC was more aggressive with their offense. They made 17 free throws, WC made five. CMC had 26 possessions end in turnovers, yet still managed to survive and thrive. WC had 18 turnovers. CMC had more weapons that felt comfortable taking the shots. They have been toghether all summer winning two summer leagues: Marshall and their own. The pairing seems to be paying off.

Here are the Sweet 16 brackets from the Hopkins gbb website.

BONUS
Here are the Hopkins results for the first two games:
Hopkins 72, Nicollet 42
Caitlin Rowland 33 points (she scored her #)
Jackie Hiebert 8
Leslie Hacker 8
Ana Garcia 5
Whitney Nelson 4
Becky Eischens 4
Hanna Oliverus 3
Jenna Lillemoe 2
Rachel Johnson 2
Tori Joranson 2
Kacey Wittenhove 1
Katie Goodroad 0
Tess Komarec 0

Hopkins 67, Rogers 43
Caitlin Rowland 29 (6/7 on 3s)
Jackie Hiebert 13
Ana Garcia 9
Hanna Muegge 6
Tess Komarec 5
Hanna Oliverus 2
Becky Eischens 2
Rachel Johnson 1
Kacey Wyttenhove 0
Jenna Lillemoe 0
Whitney Nelson 0
Lesle Hacker 0
Tori Joranson 0

Thanks to all the readers that make this site the first and last source of girls basketball news. Keep up the good work. Keep me fed.

Next up: later today the 9th place game with St. Paul Central and Crookston