Minnesota AAU Final Four Set

#5 posting 6.2.2007
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MINNESOTA STATE AAU TOURNAMENT RECAP
Good evening night owls.

The final four are now set for tomorrow in the 16u tournament. I a long, long day at Cooper HS (and I might add cold), the final four teams have been winnowed from the 16 that started the day.

Unfortunately I was stuck with one ref all day. He reffed the first four games on court two, and his courts got stuck in back log right from the start. Then he followed me on to court one for the quarterfinals and again delays ensued. That is why this posting is late.

If you are planning on going tomorrow the action starts at 10:15 am with both semifinals in the 16s. The 16 final is at 3:15 pm (unless delayed).
The 15u championship is at the same time.
The 14u championship is scheduled for 11:30 am.

GAMES I SAW TODAY
SWEET 16 ROUND
Game 1: in an mild upset it was #9 MN Stars Smith dropping #8 East Metro Elite 67-55. EME led at half 27-25. The key break point came after EME led 40-34 with 13:38 left. MSS outscored EME 16-0 on an 11 possession drought to take command of the game.
Game 2: #5 Metro Stars Black avoided an upset bid by #12 North Tartan Crosby 72-69. MSB trailed at half time 36-27. MSB took their first lead in the second half 48-46 on a three by Carolyn Dienhart. They didn't trail after that.
Game 3: In another upset it was #10 MN Suns, the host for the tournament topping #7 MN Stars Antl 80-62. It wasn't close at half either with the Suns shining bright 44-17.
Game 4: #5 Total Package escaped #11 Metro Stars White upset bid 74-66. It was 60 all with a about four minutes left. TP outscored MSW 14-6 to close the game. The press bothered MSW down the stretch.

QUARTERFINALS
Game 1: #1 North Tartan Larsen cruised 75-53 over MN Stars Smith. MSS led early 12-7 and 14-10 but that lead didn't last very long. By half NTL led 41-25.
Game 2: #5 Metro Stars Black survived a rocky start and took revenge against #4 MN Stars Borowicz 65-63 in overtime. Black trailed 19-6 after 10 possessions each. Borowicz was 9/10 to start the game. Black did narrow the gap to 37-34 at half. Brittany Chambers departed at half time for a track meet I was told. That absence hurt Borowicz' offensive functioning and limited their options. It was Adrea Holler that hit one of two free throws with under 40 seconds left to tie the game at 54 and send the game into overtime. In OT Carolyn Dienhart had the first six points for Black. Courtney Boylan made two free throws to make it 64-60 with 34 seconds left. Kate Thompson knocked down a three to make it 64-63. Boylan added one free throw with 14 seconds left. Borowicz had one more crack but didn't get the shot they wanted or the player they wanted to shoot the shot. Black lost to Borowicz in the semis at Forest Lake two weeks ago. This means the rematch between Borowicz and North Tartan will not take place.
Game 3: NC Heat turned up the heat at the end of the first half and eclipsed the Suns 80-61. The Suns had leads as big as 34-30, but the Heat sizzled late in the half scoring on 6 of their last 7 possessions and outscoring the Suns 13-0.
Game 4: MN Stars Hested nearly reached the century mark ending up with a 99-58 over the new & improved Total Package. TP added Kiara Strickland, AunDreah Aune and Tyisha Smith from the afternoon game. Still MSH had strong fire power with Theairra Taylor and Georgie Jones stepping up and delivering big. With those to firing on all cylinders it could be an MSH weekend.

Bring a sweatshirt, jacket, long pants if you are going tomorrow. It was frosty with the AC running full blast.

Next up: tomorrow morning.