Out & About: Mpls Lady Cats/Midtown Lady Monarchs

#5 posting 5.12.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MYAS State Tournament
Chaska, MN
13u Semifinals
MINNEAPOLIS LADY CATS 46, MIDTOWN LADY MONARCHS 43

In the marqee matchup at the MYAS tournament it was Mpls Lady Cats holding on for a 46-43 win in the rubber game of their rivalry with the Midtown Lady Monarchs. The two split last weekend. As this was a MYAS tournament there were 7 minute quarters.

The Monarchs drew first blood with a three by Marissa Janning in the left corner, but Janning wasn't free to roam as Sadiqah Jihad defending her most of the game. Janning only had a few more shots, most late in the fourth quarter in an attempt to tie the game up. The game was tied twice in the quarter with Sarina Baker scoring on a drive to make it 10-8 Cats at the quarter. The Monarchs spent most of the quarter casting up 3s. Five of their first six shots were from beyond the arc.

Both teams, having played each other and knowing each others tendencies, were revved up. Both teams put forth great effort, but I think both were too gassed up. The touch wasn't there. That was true at the start of the second quarter. The Monarchs were 1/10 in their possessions with only a drive by Hannah Alexander the only score. The Cats were 2/12 to start the quarter. So the competitive juices were flowing if the points weren't. Late in the quarter the Cats hit for three straight possessions, all on Alexander's shots and took the lead 16-14. The Cats next scored four straight points, all at the line. There was a bench technical and Brianna Williams hit for two free throws and then Aubrey Davis scored one. So the Cats had three points off of one possession, but they didn't score on their inbounds sequence. Tory Rule scored on a drive and made the "& 1" to put the Monarchs back in front 19-18. Jihad capped the scoring with a three from the top of the key on an inbounds pass as time expired for the Cats and the lead 21-19. There wasn't a defender near her.

The Cats built up that lead in the third quarter as many as six (32-26). Arianna Fuller had six in the quarter for the Cats, all in a row to take them to 32. The quarter ended up 32-28 for the Cats.

The Monarchs weren't done yet and started the fourth quarter with a 11-2 run to take a 37-34 lead with four minutes to go. Ona Nicks provided the last four of those points. Jihad struck for another 3 from the right side to tie it for the Cats. Nicks had two free throw to continue her six point streak to push the Monarchs back in front. Williams tied it for the Cats with a ball fake and drive at 39. Janning missed a 3 for the Monarchs on their next possession. Baker scored on the left side off a pass from Laura Thomas to break the tie 41-39. Emily Neumann hit a three for the Monarchs on the left wing to pull them to 44-43. Aubrey Davis added a pair of free throws to make it 45-43. Baker finished the scoring with a free throw with 9.4 ticks left. The Monarchs didn't score their last four possessions which mainly consisted of long 3 attempts.

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

MINNEAPOLIS LADY CATS
STARTERS
Brianna Williams, Hopkins 13, 9, 144.4, .667 nice footwork. good pull up jumper. uses ball fake & drive well. does well on boards/blocking out.
Kaylani Edwards, Bloomington Kennedy 4, 5, 80.0, .400 can step out and hit 15 footer. RF: quiet second half.
Elissa Henderson, Mpls Roosevelt 0, 3, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to keep arm up on follow through. forced shots/drives.
Sarina Baker, DeLaSalle 8, 10, 80.0, .400 uses shot fake effectively. 3 range. alert
Sadiqah Jihad, Hopkins 8, 8, 100.0, .375 3 range. effective and quick on defense. led both teams with five assists.
BENCH
Laura Thomas, Mpls South 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Arianna Fuller, Champlin Park 6, 6, 100.0. .500 flourish of points off second chancer, drive & 1, and regular shot. active with steals.
Maja Cyrus, St. Paul Central 3, 4, 75.0, .500 RF: too slow in making decisions
Aubrey Davis, Bloomington Kennedy 4, 13, 30.8, .154 all points at the line. RF: passed right into arms. needs to fake more.
Cyerra Mills, Benilde-St. Margaret's 0, 1, 0.0, .000

MIDTOWN LADY MONARCHS
STARTERS
Marissa Janning, Watertown-Mayer 6, 7, 85.7, .286 3 range. lefty. RF: didn't shake free from Jihad. could get lower on D (as could everyone).
Emily Neuman, Concordia Roseville 3, 2, 150.0, .500 has 3 range.
Diamond Lane, Tartan 3, 6, 50.0, .167 3 point shooter.
Tory Rule, DeLaSalle 5, 16, 31.3, .063 explosive, turbo charged, quick first step. very nice ups. soars, glides, hangs. can score when hit. gets after boards. RF; vision on dribble, balance on shot. needs to get feet set and in control. comes in at flat angles with no glass possibilities. passes sailed too high. Winds up passes. passes with feet in air. too tight to the weakside on D.
Ona Nicks, Tartan 9, 5, 180.0, .800 strong on offensive glass. RF: exposes ball.
BENCH
Hannah Alexander, Farmington 15, 18, 83.3, .444 has a one track mind, She knows where the basket is and will drive to get there. RF: takes shots with no offensive rebounding positions covered. picked up offensive foul.
Aisha Hill, Centennial 0, 3, 0.0, .000 RF: needs to get feet/balance set.
Bethany Doolittle, Hill-Murray 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Ellie Zeller, St. Anthony 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Jasmine Randle, DeLaSalle 0, 1, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Brianna Williams

BY THE NUMBERS
Lady Cats 46, 61, 75.4, .361
Lady Monarchs 43, 61, 70.5, .295
made 3s: Monarchs 4, Cats 3
made fts: Monarchs 11, Cats 9
bench: Monarchs 17, Cats 13
assists: Cats 11, Monarchs 7
Second chancers: Monarchs 14, Cats 6
Interesting to note that the Monarchs took all three categories --3s, fts, and bench. I have added the assists tonight and the Cats had that category. The Monarchs were either scoring off the drive or second chancers,

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
MPLS LADY CATS
Brianna Williams 5
Sadiqah Jihad 5
Kaylani Edwards 4
Aubrey Davis 4
Sarina Baker 3
Arianna Fuller 2
Elissa Henderson 1
Laura Thomas 1
Maja Cyrus 1
Cyerra Mills 1
totals: 27

MIDTOWN LADY MONARCHS
Tory Rule 8
Hannah Alexander 8
Marissa Janning 4
Emily Neumann 4
Aisha Hill 3
Bethany Doolittle 1
Ona Nicks 1
totals: 29

Also tonight in the HS Girls first round: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted beat Chaska Gold 32-24. It took a while for HLWW to warm up. They trailed 10-2 after one.

Next up: tomorrow morning