Out & About: Alexandria/Brainerd

#8 posting 1.17.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

ALEXANDRIA cardinals 47, BRAINERD warriors 43

Alexandria snapped a five game losing streak with a 47-43 win over Brainerd in a Central Lakes & Section 8AAAA contest. Alex trailed by 8 in the second half before mounting their comeback. Angela Christianson delivered 27 points for the Cardinals.

The story of this intense, contest everything game, was free throws. Brainerd left 14 points at the line and were only 26.3 from the charity stripe. The Warriors were physically bigger across the line, but at the line they couldn't tow the line.

In football they keep track of time of possession. It this game Brainerd would have won that stat. Every possession was an exercise in looking for the right shot. However, if you look at the floor % you will see the right shot did not drop. Brainerd had some great looks, as did Alex, but they couldn't connect on wide open bunnies. Alex's problems were more in transition/spacing angles. Both teams played hard contesting every movement. The early advantage went to Brainerd, after both teams sputtered along at 4-2 after 8 possessions each, the Warriors caught fire. They scored four straight times and eventually built a 17-8 lead. Of their first 17 points, 11 came via second chancers. Angela Christianson then almost single handily brought Alex back to life. She scored on five of six possessions to reclaim the lead 19-17. She delivered all 11 points in the run. During this stretch Brainerd was in offensive sleep mode with 9 straight no scores. The odd thing was only two were turnovers. Alex wasn't immune to their offense freezing up. They finished the half with 7 empty possessions, 3 of which ended up as turnovers. That window gave Brainerd the chance to take the lead again and they finished the half with a 6-0 run to lead 23-19 at the break. However they left a potential seven points at the line or the margin would have been greater.

In the second half the free throw ailments continued to plague the Warriors right off the bat. On the first possession Kayla Huether missed two shots. Neither team was even luke warm to start the half with only three combined scores after 15 possessions. Emily Thesing drained a three to give Brainerd their widest lead in the second half 28-20. That is when the searchlights went out again to signal Christianson to come to the rescue for Alex. She started the Cardinal comeback with a free throw, and then added a pull up jumper and a catch and shoot 3 to make it 28-26 Brainerd. That was in the midst of a 7/9 offensive sequence and 13-2 run for Alex. Brainerd was in a 1/8 offensive sequence. Their last possession was three missed free throws by Megan Bates. Alex took the lead on a slithery drive by Gracie Bruzek 31-30. Alex stretched that lead out to 37-32 with 5:17 left. They then froze up for five possessions with 3 of them turnovers. That opened the door for Brainerd to come back in. Thesing scored after catching a pass from Huether in midair after getting the ball off the Brainerd press. Both teams traded the lead with Alex marching to the line, and unlike Brainerd, converting. Brainerd's last lead came after a Thesing drive in the paint at 40-39. Bruzek gave the lead back to Alex with two free throws with 1:55 left and they never shared it again. Alex scored their last six possessions, all at the line. Brainerd's best chance to tie came after a free throw by Nicolette Grauman made one free throw and missed the second. The ball was kicked out to Huether on the right side and she missed a three. Backhaus rebounded and made one free throw to make it a four point game with 31 seconds to go. Bates scored with 19.8 ticks left. Christianson finished the scoring with two free throws.

Photos: #1 Megan Bates of Brainerd shoots with Molly Deitz defending. #2. Kenny Tvrdik goes up in transition with Megan Bates defending. photos by Teas.

key: player, (year), points, possessions, pp100, floor %
ALEXANDRIA
STARTERS
Laura Vanderwerf (08) 2, 5, 40.0, .200 smaller guard
Angela Christianson (10) 27, 25, 108.0, .480 6-0 perimeter player. can score off the dribble, pull up, and catch and shoot. she didn't have opportunities to go to the rack. she was defended by Bates, another 6-0 perimeter type. Christianson has good body control. She also was a big factor on defense, with good timing on blocks and more rebounds. her turnovers are the result of dribbling too much at times. fouls were bump- excuse me fouls near mid court. She needs to avoid those types of calls.
Amy Briol (08) 3, 5, 60.0, .400 forward, needs to be ready for the ball.
Bria Backhaus (08) 8, 9, 88.9, .556 important defender. inside presence. wetn to the line four times. needs to convert more at the line
Gracie Bruzek (10) 5, 7, 71.4, .429 point guard. only basket was the drive through the lane
BENCH
Amber Bartholomew (08) 0, 4, 0.0, .000 guard. Needs to be ready for the ball.
Molly Deitz (08) 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000 back up post
Kenny Tvrdik (08) 0, 2, 0.0, .000 The first name is not a typo
Katie Brown (10) 0, 2, 0.0, .000

BRAINERD
STARTERS
Megan Bates (08) 8, 11, 72.7, .273 long lean guard. shared point guard duties. liked to take 3s in the corner. moves and has some instinct. needs to finish in the paint. assigned to Christianson. by the same token Christianson guarded her. needs to be better at the line.
Stephanie Neugebauer (08) 2, 4, 50.0, .250 another guard. nothing from the floor
Karlye Barron (08) 6, 9, 66.7, .333 post player. eventually fouled out. all her points came in the first half. needs to be much more effective at the line. Her shot is short which means she needs more leg.
Kayla Huether (08) 5, 10, 50.0, .300 guard. has some flair for the game, but never really got clean looks and never got into shooting rhthym
Emily Thesing (09) 12, 16, 75.0, .313 also shared point guard responsibilities. likes to dribble left, spin and pull up in the lane. will also take 3s, and deep. is athletic--caught and scored mid air. faded on some shots instead of going through people. elbows out on dribble.
BENCH
Kylie Stanfield (09) 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
Tess Rahto (10) 4, 3, 133.3, .667 post player. has some size. needs to be ready for the ball.
Jessie Marolt (08) 2, 4, 50.0, .250 smaller guard. needs to keep the ball lower on the dribble. needs to hold follow through
Sara Parsons (09) 1, 1, 100.0, l1.000
Nicolette Graumann (09) 1, 1, 100.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Angela Christianson

BY THE NUMBERS
Alexandria 47, 60, 78.3, .400
Brainerd 43, 60, 71.7, .333
made 3s: Brainerd 4, Alex 2
ftm/fta-ft%: Alex 15/22-.682; Brainerd 5/19-.263
bench: Brainerd 10, Alex 2

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
ALEXANDRIA
Angela Christianson 12
Bria Backhaus 6
Gracie Bruzek 3.5
Amy Briol 2.5
Laura Vanderwerf 2
Molly Dietz 1.5
Kenny Tvrdik 1
Katie Brown 1
Amber Bartholomew 0.5
totals: 31

BRAINERD
Karlye Barron 5
Kayla Huether 5
Megan Bates 4.5
Tess Rahto 3
Sara Parsons 3
Jessie Marolt 2
Emily Thesing 1.5
Stephanie Neugebauer 1
Kylie Stanfield 1
totals: 26

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Both teams used man to start. Alex stayed with it the entire game.
Brainerd used 1/2/2 in the half court, also a 2/2/1 full court press.

Side note: We almost missed the start of this game. Coach Teas drives on the northern excursions and he took us to the middle school. We made it past the start time of 7:30, but the teams were still warming up when we arrived at the destination I had indicated when we got to Alex.

Next up: tomorrow morning