Spy Out & About: 3AAAA quarterfinals at Park-Cottage Grove

#1 posting 2.28.2008
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Here is a reader submitted report from Marc Hugunin on the 3AAAA quarterfinals. If you have a report, to to my profile and email me.

There were no surprises in the Section 3AAAA quarter-finals at Park High School, as #2 seed Park and #3 Lakeville North pulled away from underdogs #7 Eagan and #6 Rosemount, respectively.

Lakeville North 67 Rosemount 54

Lakeville North vs. Rosemount was a game of runs, but North’s were bigger and better than Rosemount’s.North came out rather listlessly, however, and trailed 17-8 at the 10:20 mark. Concordia (St. Paul) coach Paul Fessler arrived about that time to watch his recruit, 6-2 Rosemount center Michelle Hugelen. He missed seeing her dominate North’s 6-4 center Cassie Rochel in the early going, as by that time Hugelen had 4 buckets, an assist, a block, an offensive rebound and a steal.

North switched from a zone to man-to-man defense, both full-court and half-court, about then and promptly got off a 10-0 run, taking its first lead at 18-17 on a Kaiya Sygulla basket at 7:10. Rosemount had successfully pounded the ball inside against North’s zone but against the “man” the Irish had 4 turnovers, mostly on passes into the paint, before they scored again. Still, the two teams played pretty evenly through the rest of the half, and Laurie Tyson’s bucket with :04 left gave Rosemount a 28-27 half-time lead.

The North Panthers opened the 2nd half with their biggest run of all, 16-0, as Rochel and North’s full-court pressure began to assert themselves. Rochel, a sophomore, had 4 points and a block and freshman guard Rachel Banham had 6 points and 3 steals during the run. Still, Rosemount battled back with a 10-0 run of its own to within 52-46 at 5:50. But the Panthers responded with an 8-1 run to lead 60-47 at 3:49. The margin remained at 13 at the final buzzer despite a very tough sequence for Rochel just inside of 3 minutes. She committed her 4th foul at 2:47, then turned the ball over and immediately committed her 5th foul, all within 8 seconds. But the Panthers actually extended their lead by 2 after Rochel sat down.

Rochel scored 12 points in the second half, including 8 for 8 from the FT line, with 4 blocks and 4 offensive rebounds, and was the game’s MVP. Sygulla and sophomore back-up center Jess Braaten each scored 8 points in the half.

Park-Cottage Grove 64 Eagan 40

This one was closer than it sounds, as Park led 37-28 at the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half, then out-scored Eagan 15-2 over the next 5 minutes. Park junior forward Katya Leick scored 11 of Park’s 15 points on 3 3s and a put-back.

Park had taken control with an early 8-0 run that erased a 4-2 deficit. Leick and guard Sarah Norenberg each score 2 buckets during the run, 2 of the 4 buckets coming off nice inside feeds by Jackie Voigt. After the Wildcats got with 14-13, Park ran off another 8 consecutive points with Leick and Tina Fisher both scoring on put-backs. It was 27-18 at the half.

The pretty inside passing among Leick, Fisher, Norenberg and Voigt continued through the 2nd half. About 8 minutes into the second half, the lead was still 9, but then came Park’s 15-2 run. The run started about 45 seconds after Voigt hit the floor and appeared momentarily as if she might be seriously hurt. Voigt went up to block a baseline jumper by Eagan’s Molly Sinclair. She landed on Sinclair’s back and tumbled head first to the floor. She stayed down about 5 seconds or so, plenty of time for fans to be thinking the worst. But she popped up, and even stayed in the game. It was about this time, too, that Park’s full-court pressure began to create some turnovers and the route was on. The final was Park 64 Eagan 40.

Leick dazzled with 27 points and a super effort at the point of Park’s 1-2-2 zone. She was clearly the game’s MVP. Voigt added 15 points. Adrea Holler of Eagan made some nice moves into the lane off the dribble and was the only Wildcat to score in double figures with 19 points.

Thanks to the readers for the game reports. It makes for better understanding.