Out & About: Eastview/Eden Prairie

#8 posting 1.18.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

EASTVIEW lightning 56, EDEN PRAIRIE eagles 44

In a battle for first place in the Lake Conference Eastview beat Eden Prairie to jumble the race again. Eden Prairie was alone in first but now they share it with Eastview and Chaska. Three more teams are one game behind in the loss column.

Eastview scored on three straight possessions after failing to deliver on their first. All three were on second chance points as they claimed a 6-3 lead. Eastview only trailed at 3-2 when EPs Heather Cook scored on a three. Eastview then had a 16-3 run with the last three consecutive Lightning scores all three point plays, Brittnye McSperron scoring on a rebound and foul, and Sam Mehr knocking down two consecutive 3s. The rest of the half was fairly even with EP actually outscoring Eastview 9-6, but even then EP let opportunities slip through their fingers with a 1/9 offensive scoring sequence. Eastview led at half 28-17.

EP cut the Eastview lead to 35-31 with 9:30 to go with a 14-7 run to open the half. EP used two 3s on their last two possessions to close the gap quickly. That is when Brittnye McSperron took matters into her hands. She scored 12 points on a 14-5 run over the next four minutes. She did it with a drive, behind the arc twice and at the line. After her second three it was 49-36. EP had one last run in them and used an 8-2 run to close to 51-44 on a 5/6 scoring sequence with 1:21 to go. Six of the points came at the line. Eastview made their points at the line the last four minutes with four different players converting.

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

EASTVIEW
STARTERS
DaNae Moore 4, 7, 57.1, .286 athletic and can jump. RF: hands need to improve. had foul issues. Need to finish in tight.
Sam Mehr 11, 10, 110.0, .400 cashed in behind the arc 3 times, two on consecutive possessions. RF: needs to sharpen the passing. fouled out, so defensively needs to move feet and be in better position.
Cassie Shephard 6, 6, 100.0, .500 crashes offensive boards hard. does solid work.
Brittnye McSperron 24, 24, 100.0, .458 point guard. good vision, good command/communication. took over the game when it mattered. Made money shots, can hit 3s, drives well with left & right, not afraid of getting hit and can score when hit---3 the old fashioned way. very good ups, tough rebounder on defense. nice and low on defense with knees bent and arms/hands up by her ears. on transition defense cut the angle so players coming in with the lay ups missed. RF: has a tendancy to force things on offense whether passing or shot. Passing can be cleaned up. better when feet are set on shooting. when pressed picked up the ball without options available, but that might be because teammates were drifting away.
Brittany Rud 7, 7, 100.0, .571 catch & shoot. improving defense. RF; needs to still get quicker
BENCH
Laura Siebenaller 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Jenny Wesser 4, 7, 57.1, .286 RF: passing choices/execution, shot timing--when to take the 3.
Jenna Ulrich 0, 0, 0.0, .000

EDEN PRAIRIE
STARTERS
Kjersten Bradley 10, 9, 111.1, .556 best outside shooter. RF: dropped follow through. only scored twice from the floor. needs to get open free and clear, but that might require others to help out.
Laura Weber 10, 14, 71.4, 42.9 post player. not afraid to get hit. RF: needs to get stronger, lower-wider in the post. needs to work on her hands. Needs to square up on shot
Heather Cook 9, 14, 64.3, .214 3 point shooter. point guard. RF: wasn't nailing the 3s consistently. timing on offense. size
Lindsey Sather 4, 7, 57.1, .286 full speed ahead. RF: injured ankle late in second half. goes faster than ball handling skills allow. needs more control
Tanya Hall 6, 10, 60.0, .300 strong, athletic, RF: passing choices, needs to take the right angle at the lay up
BENCH
Dani Ramsey 3, 3, 100.0, .333 hit a 3. guard,
Serenae Levine 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Natalie Stoll 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Lauren Wittman 2, 2, 100.0, .500 RF: missed off back rim, needs to keep follow through up.

TRENCH PLAYER
Brittnye McSperron

BY THE NUMBERS
Eastview 56, 62, 90.3, .419
Eden Prairie 44, 62, 71.0, .339
made 3s: Eastview 5, EP 5
made FTs: Eastview 23, EP 14
Bench: EP 5, Eastview 4
Eastview was quicker to the ball, crashed the offensive boards and converted for 11 second chance points in the first half alone, 19 for the game. They moved the ball and had better possessions on offense. Their defense kept EP spinning their wheels. Eastview also cashed in at the line.
EP's offense didn't move the ball or the players much early. It was stagnant, and the players with the ball stayed in one location bouncing, not dribbling. There wasn't much help in getting open. They didn't get the key stops necessary when McSperron & Co. went on an 8/9 scoring run. Not getting the block outs also damaged their chances.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
d rebounds, steals, forced turnovers and blocks leading to offensive possessions
EASTVIEW
Brittnye McSperron 7
Brittany Rud 7
Sam Mehr 7
DaNae Moore 5
Jenny Wesser 5
Cassie Shephard 4
totals: 35

EDEN PRAIRIE
Laura Weber 6
Lindsey Sather 4
Kjersten Bradley 4
Tanya Hall 4
Heather Cook 3
Dani Ramsey 3
Serenae Levine 2
Lauren Wittman 1
Michelle Tobin 1
totals: 28


more to follow, check back in 30-45 minutes