Out & About: Borowicz/Smith

#5 posting 5.9.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

This game took place on Sunday, May 5
Skyview AAU Tournament, Oakdale, MN
Varsity Semifinals
MN STARS BOROWICZ 35, MN STARS SMITH 26

When watching this game at first we thought it was a quarterfinal matchup as the early schedule indicated. Instead it was a semifinal battle. And since all four teams in the semis were from the MN Stars family it was a civil war. As true with all civil wars both side knew each other, or at least wanted to prove to the other side that they were better. Both knew each other's favorite ideas and moves. So in this environment defense ruled. The Stars did not shine in this contest.

This was a game of missed opportunities, and wasted chances. Smith led at 4-2 on a pull up jumper by Alycia Dahl. She added a three on their next possession for a 7-3 lead. Then a massive 16 possession drought. 13 of those ended without a shot being fired---turnovers. Team Smith went 10 minutes from the 11:00 mark to 1:00 without tickling the twine. Team Borowicz was barely ahead of that pace. They checked in with 1/10 during a portion of that stretch. The only player that had any pulse in the first half was Borowicz's Brittany Chambers with 7 points. The score at half was 15-9, similar to a 6th grade traveling game score. Borowicz checked in with 53.6 pp100 and .250 and they were in the lead. For Smith the numbers were further south 33.3 and .148.

Things improved relatively speaking. Smith had further to go and they did out score Borowicz from the floor with 7 baskets to 6. The difference was at the line. Borowicz had 8 made free throws to three. Excpet Borowicz missed 8 free throws in a row in the second half. I thought that the far basket was bent and that was the reason for the poor numbers. Later games disproved that theory. Late game situations were the bright spot for Borowicz. With 3:13 to go Team Borowicz had 5/6 scoring possessions. That meant the early part of the second half Borowicz checked in with a pp100 of 54.2 and floor % of .292. The late game situations Borowicz was at 116.7, and .833 obviously much much better.

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

MN STARS BOROWICZ
STARTERS
Sarah Hintz, Woodbury 9, 11, 81.8, .455 aggressive to the glass, stong frame. RF: size inside, but can play and face the basket. free throws, free throws, free throws
Deena Ewert, Andover 1, 4, 25.0, .250 active defensively. RF: needs to develop quicker moves in the paint.
Kate Thompson, Wayzata 4, 8, 50.0, .250 listed at 6-2. a long wing span changes defensive match ups on the perimeter. led team with 3 assists. RF: needs to gain strength.
Leah Dietel, Jordan 3, 7, 42.9, .143 another player that has big wing span on the perimeter. can, and does go inside (her main spot in HS). can pass and find open players. RF: needs to be quicker with release. needs to work at creating space. picked up moving screen.
Jessica Thone, Woodbury 0, 1, 0.0, .000 limited time
BENCH
Colleen Doerr, LeSueur-Henderson 1, 3, 33.3, .333 guard. RF: needs to get a better passing angle.
Alia Cook, Hibbing 4, 5, 80.0, .600 post player. RF: needs to get used to the speed, and contacts of AAU.
Joanne Morando, Bloomington Jefferson 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
Brittany Chambers, Jordan 11, 13, 84.6, .385 very aggressive point guard. plays without fear. drives in and has body control. RF: needs to be much more consistent and steady at the line. Needs to have more than zero assists as a point guard. needs to understand and adapt to teammates skills. She is much more relaxed or looks for Dietel when in trouble due to familiarity.
Casey Christian, Prior Lake 0, 4, 0.0, .000

MN STARS SMITH
STARTERS
Amber Junker, Eden Valley-Watkins 0, 7, 0.0, .000 picked up rebounding in the second half. RF: offensively not a factor.
Abby Weiss, Martin County West 4, 11, 36.4, .182 RF: favors spin way too much. picked up two 5 second calls. Needs to make quicker decision and go somewhere not just stand around and bounce. Of course in 5 second calls teammates need to move and get open.
Alycia Dahl, Northern 10, 13, 76.9, .385 most aggressive offensive perimter player for Smith. has 3 range and can pull up and run the floor. has good concentration. RF: needs to get up to the speed of the game with ball handling and pressure.
Jordan Skiem, Minnetonka 8, 7, 114.3, .571 a bright spot for Smith. Inside force. nice touch. Did all her damage in the second half. power. RF: has the ability to dominate a game. Needs to come out and demonstrate that fact. also needs to improve quickness.
Ali Schwartzwald, St. Francis 0, 1, 0.0, .000 Guard, RF: injured wrist limited time.
BENCH
Ali Marson, Somerset, WI 2, 7, 28.6, .143 athletic and moves. RF: needs to get better at ball handling and decisions under pressure.
Whitney Langen, Kittson County Central 0, 4, 0.0, .000 rebounds. RF: smaller size limits offensive capabilities against bigger defenders.
Kelsey Marcks, Burnsville 2, 7, 28.6, .143 RF: ball handling and decisions.

TRENCH PLAYER
Sarah Hintz in a tight race.

BY THE NUMBERS
Borowicz 35, 57, 61.4, .333
Smith 26, 57, 45.6, .228
made 3s: Borowicz 2, Smith 1
made fts: Borowciz 11, Smith 3
bench: Borowicz 18, Smith 4
Looking at these numbers a few things become clear. #1 the teams took away things/plays that they favor. #2 the further away from March and the HS season, the worse the shooting gets. This is due to other activities that players may be involved in (spring sports). Also the lack of daily practice is starting to rear its head. Players are simply not shooting enough on their own. Across the board with all teams this weekend the pp100s were quite low. 61.4 and winning is not due to great defense. In fact I don't really ever credit the defense. I blame offenses and their skills, or lack thereof. Obviously defense plays a part with better quickness, athleticism playing a part. But a truly great player will be able to meet that challenge.
The free throw shooting was atrocious. Team Borowicz was more aggressive to the basket, but still they were only 11/29 at the line or an icy 37.9%. Even if you add the 18 missed free throws Team Borowicz was still under 100 pp100.
With team Smith it turnovers that reared their head to prevent great pp100s.
Both teams strangely enough had only 11 field goals total for the game.
The next weekend I see these two I imagine the numbers will be much, much better. Especially at the line % for Borowicz and plain getting to the line for Smith.
It should be noted Smith was without the services point guards Nicole Anderson and Ali Schwartzwald was limited with wrist problems. Also missing in action was Marissa Yernatich. Team Borowicz was missing Ashley Allevan.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
MN STARS BOROWICZ
Deena Ewert 6
Sarah Hintz 4
Leah Dietel 4
Colleen Doerr 2
Kate Thompson 2
Casey Christian 2
Alia Cook 1
Joanne Morando 1
Brittany Chambers 1
Jessica Thone 1
totals: 24

MN STARS SMITH
Alycia Dahl 7.5
Whitney Langen 5
Jordan Skiem 4.5
Amber Junker 4
Ali Marson 4
Abby Weiss 2
Ali Schwartzwald 2
totals: 29

Next up: tomorrow morning.