The Week That Was #13: Unlucky?

#8 posting 2.18.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #13
8 games in 6 days, 1 overtime

Again this week I spent time with a conference tournament. This time the MCAA. How does that tournament compare to last year in the pp100 and floor %?
2006 73.45, .354
2007 68.68, .339
So you can see it has dropped just like the Valley last week. Why? The main problems I can see are #1. Ball handling: no vision, dribbling and spinning into traps. #2 footwork. Even at this late stage of the season I am astounded by seeing traveling calls at the start and finish of the move. #3 shot selection. I wince when I see some players fire away that have no business shooting at that distance. And I can't stand 18 footers. It is worth the same as a 2 footer and not as much as 19-9. Just know where you are on the floor. also transition breaks are mishandled by coming in at no angle or teammates crowding the field so there is no chance for a shot. #4 passing. the teams that I enjoy watching and by the way that can get into the 100s on the pp100 can move the ball crisply without trying to pass through hands. There is such a thing as a fake.
I don't believe the defenses are that much greater this season. Were the players that much more skilled last year? or smarter?

By the way it ain't only the MCAA and Valley that have dropped. Take a look at the whole
2006 A 80.82, .393
2007 A 67.95, .336

2006 AA 83.58, .402
2007 AA 77.50, .381

2006 AAA 80.55, .397
2007 AAA 71.91, .348

2006 AAAA 84.71, .412
2007 AAAA 82.00, .399

In each and every case it is lower. Some are at only 84% of last year's capability.

I am sure some of this will go up as the tournaments kick in. But I haven't been zeroing in on 3-20 vs 5-15 teams. Top level teams aren't hitting the gold standard. And that means it will be open season come tournament time.
We will look at some of the teams next week. I know three of four games isn't a full picture, but it is sure better than one.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This was a tough decision with teams razor close. But for the intense full court defense the choice is Winona Cotter. Not many teams enjoy playing against that kind of heat and #4 Hayfield's ball handling skills were exploited. Cotter had to go into a hostile gym and they did the job defensively. When it came to crunch time they took care of business.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Again this was a tight battle. But for keeping the ship floating when her team was faltering I have to go with Brianna Mastey of Becker. Just for comparisons sake look at what she did. She had a 106.7 pp100 to her team's 67.3; and floor % of .533 to .327 for the rest of her team. Her numbers were 158.5% better in the pp100; and 163% in floor %. Jenny Gilbertson, of Winona Cotter had 133.8% in pp100 and 132% in floor better than her squad. Mastey provided the key baskets, and key defensive plays in bringing Becker back to beat Rogers.

First Team
Emily Davis, Litchfield
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter
Brianna Mastey, Becker
Kiley Severson, Hayfield
Taylor Young, Edina
Second Team
Autumn Beasley, West Lutheran
Nicole Dooher, Armstrong
Raechel Long, Maranatha
Alyssa Nelson, Hayfield
Leslie Wilson, Hayfield

DEFENSIVE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Devin Bowlin, Winona Cotter
Dana Chalupsky, Holy Trinity
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter captain
Brianna Mastey, Becker
Hana Potter, Edina

PAST TEAMS & PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
1 Centennial---- Megan Nipe, Centennial
2 Mpls South---- Alyssa Karel, Cretin-Derham Hall
3 Osseo----Janessa Wolff, Park Rapids
4 St. Paul Central----Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's
5 Wayzata----Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
6 Champlin Park----Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's
7 Bloomington Kennedy---Shakila Boler, Bloomington Kennedy
8 Albany----Sam Larsen, Albany
9 Braham----Bri Zabel, Northfield
10 Champlin Park----Jenny Thiesen, Champlin Park
11 Mpls North-----Maurika Hickman, Mpls North
12 Mpls South----Tayler Hill, Mpls South

TOP SEEDS
A
1 East Rushford-Peterson; West Goodhue
2 North Cedar Mountain-Comfrey; South Springfield
3 North RTR; South SW Star---Fulda is #2 in the state, #2 in the subsection.
AA
1 East Winona Cotter; West Kingsland
2 East Hayfield; West MN Valley Lutheran
3 North West Central; South Pipestone
5 North Eden Valley-Watkins
AAAA
3 St. Paul Central

And now for the weekly seeding in AAAA and AAA
AAAA
It was a scramble this week with teams having near misses, and getting upset.
seed, team, section
1 St. Paul Central, 3
2 Mpls South 6
3 Champlin Park 7
4 Lakeville North 1
5 Eden Prairie 2
6 Moorhead 6
7 Wayzata 5
8 White Bear Lake 4

AAA
1 Becker 4
2 Detroit Lakes 8
3 New Prague 1
4 Holy Angels 3
5 Rogers 6
6 Marshall 2
7 Mpls North 5
8 Hibbing 7

A LOOK BACK--CLASS OF 2004
Here is how the 2004 class is faring in D1 ball. 11 are rostered on D1 teams, with 7 starting and the same 7 playing more than 20 minutes a game. Four of those players play in the Big 10: Mia Johnson, Michigan State (Mpls North); Leslie Knight, Minnesota (Hopkins); Melissa Miller, Northwestern (Breck); and Krista VandeVenter, Iowa (Osseo). The other three are Ali Prichard of Princeton (Apple Valley) and two North Dakota State players Lisa Bue (Austin) and Brenda Slyt (Climax-Fisher).
Who are the top scorers?
Lisa Bue, North Dakota State 14.1
Brenda Slyt, North Dakota State 12.0
Mia Johnson, Michigan State 8.8
Leslie Knight, Minnesota 8.7
Ali Prichard, Princeton 7.5
Krista VandeVenter, Iowa 7.5
Top 5: 51.1
The combined w-l record of this group is 5-6.
If you notice the numbers are getting smaller as the years go by. 27 in the 2006 class, 20 in 2005; and now 11 in 2004.

THE WEEK TO COME
Most states have started their playoffs and MN joins in later this week, but doesn't really kick in until the week after.
North Dakota will have their final 8 teams in the B tournament selected by Thursday.
South Dakota will have their districts wrapped up this week, their regions next.
Iowa will have their region finals this weekend. All 32 teams headed for state will be decided by Saturday.
Wisconsin will have their regionals done this weekend. Next week the Sections will have their winners.
But in Minnesota this week some final conference activity takes place
Monday, Feb 19
Moose Lake-Willow River at Barnum. Polar rivals. Best battle on a thin day.
Tuesday, Feb 20
Champlin Park at Coon Rapids. NW Suburban battle. CR gave CP their only loss of the year. Vengence is in the air.
Hopkins at Minnetonka. Classic Lake teams that played a classic in overtime in the first game won by Tonka in a comeback. Again vengence is in the air.
Prior Lake at New Prague. Missota matchup. A New Prague win wraps up the conference.
Thursday, Feb 22
Minneapolis South at Mpls Roosevelt. South needs to win to host the Twin City Game on Saturday.
Coon Rapids at Park-Cottage Grove. CR is under the radar. They are healthy now. PCG is 2nd in the Suburban East.
Friday, Feb 23
Jordan at Cannon Falls. Both teams could face each other in the finals of 4AA. This could be a tune up.
Champlin Park at Centennial. Could be a game for all the marbles in the NW Suburban. CP won the first battle. Another vengence battle.
Woodbury at Cretin-Derham Hall. CDH won the first time on a last second shot by Alyssa Karel at Woodbury. Woodbury needs the win to have the Suburban East title to themselves.
Minnehaha at DeLaSalle. In the west half of the TriMetro DLS is undefeated. MA has only one loss and that is to DLS.
Edina at Hopkins. Another vital game in the Classic Lake. Hopkins won the first contest. Vengence in the air?
Saturday, Feb. 24
Twin City Game: St. Paul Central at Mpls Champ. That could be South depending on Thursday's outcome. Marquee Match up?
DGF vs Moorhead at Concordia Moorhead. A cross class clash between neighbors.