Out & About: Hopkins/Minneapolis South

#9 posting 12.29.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

HOPKINS TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP
HOPKINS royals 68
MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH tigers 62

#6 AAAA Hopkins upset #3 AAAA Minneapolis South 68-62 in the 2nd annual Dick's Sporting Goods Holiday Classic in a classic. This game was important for seeding in section 6AAAA. It was South's first loss of the year. South was rated #10 in the nation according to MaxPreps.

I will be giving a full account on this game. Most of the week I was giving bare bones reports. This deserves full treatment.

Ephesia Holmes opened scoring with a three on the left side on South's first possession. Jenna Lillemoe answered on the very next Hopkins with an old fashioned three. The first game changer happened at 15:05 of the first half when Tyisha Smith picked up her second foul. That put her on the pine. South led 11-8 with 12:47 left after a drive by Holmes. Hopkins then went on an 8-0 run to lead 16-11. That only took three possessions. Hanna Muegge and Kara Elofson both had old fashioned three point plays sandwiching a pair of free throws by Stephanie Sension. Hopkins went to the bonus at 11:38. South came back with two scores on one possession to make it 16-14. There were two more ties, the last coming at 20 all. Hopkins closed out the half with an 8-2 run and led 28-22 at the break.

Hopkins tested the lead at 31-24 after a Caitlin Rowland three. Tyisha Smith was playing after sitting out most of the first half. The whirlwind made instant impact on the game with her defensive presence. She nailed a three and on the next possession scored on a drive & one. That cut the margin to 33-30. Elofson scored four straight for Hopkins to push the margin back to 37-30. Her first points was also the last time South's Gabrielle Roberts was on the floor. She picked up her fourth, and before substitute Mallory Cramer made it to the scorer's table Roberts added her fifth. All this happened with 14:00 to go.

South fought back. They had their own 7 point run. Tayler Hill had five of the points including a three. The next three possessions Hopkins scored to regain control of the game 43-37. Elofson scored the basket and was fouled. The closest South would get was 45-41. Hopkins had a five possession scoring spree to go up 55-44 on a 12-3 run. Brianna Williams had all five of her points at this juncture. South couldn't gain traction as Hopkins matched any potential surge. Hopkins finished with a 5/6 sequence. South finished the game 6/8. Tayler Hill hit two 3s in the last 15 seconds to cut the margin to six.

photos will be up tomorrow (I hope)

key: player, points, possessions, pp100
HOPKINS
STARTERS
Hanna Muegge 10, 12, 83.3, .417 guard. handled South's pressure. went to the line four times
Jenna Lillemoe 6, 5, 120.0, .400 guard. scored all her points in the first half. hit a three.
Kara Elofson 11, 9, 122.2, .556 key player during the surge from 37 all. drew fouls on Roberts to put her on the pine. Uses her body well inside. part of the rotation on Tayler Hill. tough, competitive
Stephanie Sension 19, 13, 146.2, .769 fluid post. has good feet and excellent hands. She made strong quick moves when given a chance by the defense. went to the line four times. fed from the post when defenders were collapsing. had 6 d rebounds. Took a shot late in the game when it was not necessary.
Caitlin Rowland 13, 13, 100.0, .462 canned three 3s, made smart decisions with the ball. steadying influence.
BENCH
Brianna Williams 5, 10, 50.0, .200 young tough gritty player. hit a huge three in the run after 37. also had time defending Hill. when handling the ball against the South heat she needs to stay off the side lines, pull back and cross over and see the floor.
Chelsea Garcia 4, 2, 200,.0, 1.000 a clean game off the bench. Did exactly what was required. can catch and shoot. quality minutes.

MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH
STARTERS
Ephesia Holmes 17, 18, 94.4, .444 point guard. scores off the dribble. tendency to carry or palm
Tayler Hill 31, 26, 119.2, .500 smooth, effortless shot. was quite active defensively. has feel, instinct for the game. likes to drive. has great body control. drew more fouls in the first half.
Taqouia Hammick 2, 4, 50.0, .250 post player. played behind Sension. impact is more defense, but with Sension about the same size and with better feet Hammick did not intimidate as much.
Tyisha Smith 10, 9, 111.1, .444 power packed zippy cut throat guard. was saddled with fouls early. full impact in the second half. tough, strong. Can take a hit and still concentrate on making the shot and 1. likes to score on the drive. tendency to pick up a charge. Can show emotion and complain to refs when calls don't go her way.
Gabrielle Roberts 0, 0, 0.0, .000 post. too many fouls. positioning on defense leads to fouls.
BENCH
Sadiqah Jihad 0, 2, 0.0, .000 guard
Ameshia Kearney 0, 3, 0.0, .000 guard
Jenny Houle 0, 1, 0.0, .000 guard
Mallory Cramer 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000 when called to go into the game, didn't move quick enough to the scorer's table. The result---Roberts picked up #5.
Europe Guy 0, 1, 0.0, .000 perimeter type

TRENCH PLAYER
Stephanie Sension

BY THE NUMBERS
Hopkins 68, 64, 100.0, .500
Mpls South 62, 66, 93.9, .409
made 3s: South 8, Hopkins 5
ftm/fta-ft%: Hopkins 23/28--.821, South 11/13---.846
bench: Hopkins 9, South 2
Hopkins had 4 old fashioned three point plays, South had one.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
HOPKINS
Stephanie Sension 8
Kara Elofson 6
Caitlin Rowland 6
Brianna Williams 6
Chelsea Garcia 2
Hanna Muegge 1
Jenna Lillemoe 1
totals: 30

MPLS SOUTH
Tayler Hill 8.5
Tyisha Smith 6
Ephesia Holmes 4
Taqouia Hammick 2.5
Ameshia Kearney 1
Mallory Cramer 1
Gabrielle Roberts 1
totals: 24

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Hopkins used man with rotating players on Hill (primarily Elofson, Muegge, Williams)
South used their full court press. In the half court they used man, 2/3 with man more as they fell behind.

ALL TOURNAMENT
Molly Duehn, Burnsville
Jennie Sunnarborg, Osseo
Britnye McSparron, Eastview
Tayler Hill, Mpls South
Caitlin Rowland, Hopkins
MVP: Stephanie Sension, Hopkins

Next up: tomorrow morning