Out & About: St. Paul Central/Eden Prairie

#2 posting 8.7.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

SWEET 16 TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals, College of St. Benedict
ST. PAUL CENTRAL minutemen 59,
EDEN PRAIRIE eagles 33

St. Paul Central overcame a sluggish first half with a 24-3 run to open the second half in a 59-33 win over Eden Prairie. EP answered the call earlier in the week when one of the Sweet 16 teams backed out. It should be noted that Eden Prairie made the decision to come on Tuesday and therefore their full team was not in attendance. They did grab an opportunity however and made good use of it. They opened with a win over Hancock to reach the quarters.

EP did have a 10-7 lead early with two consecutive 3s, one by Michelle Tobin, the other by Morgan VanRiper-Rose. SPC went on a 7-1 run to lead 14-11. Megan Howard had all seven of those points, five of which came on second chancers. EP had one last run to take the lead at 16-14 before the speed and pressure started to take their toll on the EP ball handlers. And before the SPC offense woke up. They had a six possession slumber during the EP run up. SPC had an 11-0 run to push the lead to 25-16. This time it was EP that had drought issues with 8 possessions coming up empty. Four possessions ended up as turnovers. SPC led at half 25-20.

The alarm clocks went off at half time and SPC came out a bit more on the mark. Their defense also clamped down on EP's shooters. EP started the half with a five possession drought, four on turnovers. SPC's defensive intensity kept up the pressure. EP was had a pp100 for the first 22 possessions of the second half at 13.6 and a floor % a bone chilling .091. Half of those 22 EP tries ended as turnovers. SPC on the other hand was cooking with gas. They had an 8/9 sequence with five coming on second chance opportunities and four coming on lay ups. There wasn't much doubt after that eruption. SPC cruised to a 59-33 win.

photos: #1 Theairra Taylor, 3 gold, skies for at the end of a drive. #2: Laura Weber, 15 black, pulls down one of the 11 defense boards she collected on the day. photos by coach Teas.

ST. PAUL CENTRAL
STARTERS
Georgie Jones 5, 10, 50.0, .300 post. three points of second chancers. drifts inside
Kiara Buford 12, 9, 133.3, .667 much more active defensively with six steals. good speed, likes transition. has 3 range
Megan Howard 17, 12, 141.7, .667 lunch bucket player whose initial efforts in the first half helped keep SPC involved in the game. a force to be reckoned with on the offensive boards. strong and powerful. can get hit and score.
Kyana Johnson 11, 11, 100.0, .455 point guard, transition and 3s are her favorite shots
Theairra Taylor 10, 8, 125.0, .500 can get up. delivered a couple of 3s. was also active defensively with four steals.
BENCH
Brittany Dorsey 2, 4, 50.0, .250 still learning the SPC system. will be better as the high school season rolls on
Tasha Garrett 2, 9, 22.2, .111
Cyonna West 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Samantha Robinson-Ricks 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Quinesha Adams 0, 1, 0.0, .000

EDEN PRAIRIE
STARTERS
Keely Brennan 0, 6, 0.0, .000
Laura Weber 7, 8, 87.5, .500 bulwark inside. hauled down 11 rebounds. went to the line three times. five of her points came at the line.
Michelle Tobin 11, 12, 91.7, .500 has some range on her shot. also was fouled, but needs to be more consistent at the line.
Serenae Levine 5, 12, 41.7, .250
Kelsey Faber 0, 4, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Morgan VanRiper-Rose 9, 7, 128.6, .429 nailed three 3s.
Kayleigh Dittes 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Carlita Gay 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Shannon Anderson 0, 5, 0.0, .000
Erin Puk 1, 7, 14.3, .143

TRENCH PLAYER
Megan Howard

BY THE NUMBERS
St. Paul Central 59, 67, 88.1, .418
Eden Prairie 33, 66, 50.0, .258
made 3s: SPC 5, EP 4
made fts: SPC 10, EP 9
bench: EP 10, SPC 4

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
ST. PAUL CENTRAL
Kiara Buford 10
Theairra Taylor 8
Georgie Jones 7
Brittany Dorsey 5
Megan Howard 3
Kyana Johnson 3
Cyonna West 3
Tasha Garrett 2
Samantha Robinson-Ricks 2
totals: 43

EDEN PRAIRIE
Laura Weber 13
Carlita Gay 4
Serenae Levine 4
Morgan VanRiper-Rose 3
Keely Brennan 2
Michelle Tobin 2
Shannon Anderson 2
totals: 30

Next up: the semis with Centennial vs Becker.