Out & About: Minneapolis South/St. Paul Central

#9 posting 2.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

TWIN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP
MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH tigers 82
ST. PAUL CENTRAL minutemen 73

Minneapolis South led early, saw Central come back in the second half, and then, with the help of a 13-2 run, put distance from the host Minutemen in the Tigers second TC Championship in two years. South beat Central earlier in February at South. In that contest free throws were a huge advantage for South. That was true again today with South making 7 more free throws (30 total) than Central attempted. There was an 18 point differential. Tayler Hill had 31 points to lead South.

South scored on their first two possessions, but Central was able to tie the game at 6 and 9 as both teams went deep for four straight baskets. South's hot hand belonged to Ameshia Kearney who was starting in place of Gabby Roberts. South went on an 11-2 run to make it 20-11. Central had a six possession drought during that time. Six of South's points in that run were via the free throw line, a recurring theme. Central closed off to 21-19. At this stage of the contest Central was making hay off second chancers. 9 of the 19 points came off second chancers. Another Southerner launched a three bomb to put distance between the two teams. This time Sadiqah Jihad delivered from long distance to make it 24-19. South led the rest of the way with Central coming within one and two. South closed off the half up 41-34. Hill had 13 at this stage, and South had 11 free throws. Also the transition game was working smoothly for South with 10 points. Central had 4 points in transition.

Hill came out after half time with a drive and then a steal and lay up to push South up 45-34. That forced a Central time out. That seemed to refocus the Minutemen. After the time out they went on a five possession scoring run and closed to 45-43. Howard again provided the thrust with a second chancer and a shot from the elbow. In a longer stretch Central outscored South 16-2. South's offense during this phase was 1/12, a floor % of .083 and pp100 of 16.7. South had five turnovers in the stretch. Central enjoyed their biggest lead at 50-47 after a steal and lay up by Kiara Buford. Then the Tigers roared. It all started with a seeing eye basket that crawled up and in on a drive by Ephesia Holmes on a second chancer. That kicked off a 17-4 run that put South up 64-54. South was 8 of 9 during that surge. Leading the charge was Holmes with 8. Hill wasn't far behind with 5. Central had spent a lot of energy getting the lead, but now had to do it all over again. The closest they got was 64-58 after a rebound basket by Buford. Hill answered with a drive. The last five minutes South scored 16 points, and only one basket. South milked the line for 14. The Tigers finished with a 6/7 sequence.

photos: #1 Theairra Taylor shoots for Central. #2. Megan Howard puts up a second chancer. #3. Tayler Hill snakes down the lane. photos by Teas.

key: player (grad year) points, possessions, pp100, floor %
MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH
STARTERS
Taquoia Hammick (08) 4, 7, 57.1, .286 scored first basket on put back, but the post is not where South's bread is buttered. Her other basket came on an out of bounds play. She has improved over the year, but is not the prime focus of attack. defensively she is interested shot blocking.
Tyisha Smith (10) 12, 15, 80.0, .467 extremely quick and fast hence the nickname "the blur". She is strong, aggressive, has good jumping ability and can get hit in the air and maintain balance. She has no fear. Went to the line five times. Likes to penetrate. will pass it inside. needs to vary pace. has a tendency to rev it up too much so passes sail.
Ameshia Kearney (10) 10, 7, 142.9, .571 corner 3 point shooter. Big 3s early established lead. has speed. can finish break.
Ephesia Holmes (08) 22, 20, 110.0, .550 point guard. likes to drive and double pump. chanels her inner Khalid El-Amin. Went to the line 7 times. most shots off the dribble.
Tayler Hill (09) 31, 27, 114.8, .556 is a rare talent. big perimeter. most of her points are in the paint either on drives, transition or being fouled. Went to the line six times. has good body control and understands game. her favorite drive shot is the scoop. also has a nasty spin dribble. Hill doesn't get enough credit on defense. She had 15.5 d wraps. she understands what will happen next. She gets rebounds. She does have a tendency for a travel violation.
BENCH
Sadiqah Jihad (11) 3, 1, 300.0, 1.000 perimeter. nailed a three in quality minutes
Europe Guy (09) 0, 2, 0.0, .000 left handed. plays in but likes out.

ST. PAUL CENTRAL
STARTERS
Theairra Taylor (09) 20, 19, 105.3, .526 athletic explosive perimeter. hit two 3s. good crossover move. runs the floor. avoided foul problems.
Georgie Jones (08) 10, 13, 76.9, .462 post. her points in the paint. long arms swat shots. erased a Hill shot. runs the floor. went to the line four times. I would like to see her go through people inside. tendency to fade away.
Megan Howard (08) 19, 14, 135.7, .714 was a bull inside. 11 points on second chancers. knows the angles. ran the floor. range out to the elbow shot. likes and initiates contact.
Kiara Buford (08) 18, 21, 85.7, .429 another athetic explosive perimeter. runs the floor. nice pull up. 3 range. most active Central player on defense.
Kyana Johnson (09) 2, 7, 28.6, .143 point guard. took shot once on half court offense without any one else getting a touch.
BENCH
Brittany Dorsey (08) 2, 3, 66.7, .333 limited minutes
Samantha Robinson-Ricks (09) 0, 1, 0.0, .000 limited minutes
Cyonna West (08) 2, 2, 100.0, .500 quick guard. more defense than offense
Tasha Garrett (08) 0, 0, 0.0, .000 even less limited minutes

TRENCH PLAYER
Tayler Hill

BY THE NUMBERS
Minneapolis South 82, 79, 103.8, .506
St. Paul Central 73, 80, 91.3, .475
made 3s: MS 4, SPC 3
ftm/fta-ft%: MS 30/36-.833; SPC 12/23-.522
bench: SPC 4, MS 3
Central ruled in second chancers with 21 points to South's 8.
The Transition game was fairly even with South up 18-16.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH
Tayler Hill 15.5
Tyisha Smith 8
Ephesia Holmes 6
Taquoia Hammick 4.5
Ameshia Kearney 4
totals: 38

ST. PAUL CENTRAL
Kiara Buford 8.5
Theairra Taylor 6
Georgie Jones 5.5
Megan Howard 3
Kyana Johnson 2
Cyonna West 1
Tasha Garret 1
totals: 27

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Both teams used zones in the half court. match ups.
South pressed full court with 2/2/1 and 1/2/1/1. Central pressed later when the clock was against them.

next up: tomorrow morning, but first I am going back to the Hawley/East Grand Forks write up. It is now updated + photos.