Out & About: St. Paul Central/Minneapolis South

#5 posting 3.15.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

AAAA CHAMPIONSHIP
ST. PAUL CENTRAL minutemen 49,
MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH tigers 44

Central retained the big school championship with a 49-44 win over the #1 seed South Tigers. South beat Central twice during the year. Central did it with defense with a capital D. They held the Gatorade Player of the Year, Tayler Hill to single digits. They held South to one field goal of the two point variety from the 12:32 mark to the end of the game. They did it by rallying from 9 down (33-24) with a 25-11 finish. Central has now won back to back titles and joins Lakeville (2001 & 2002) as the only back to back winners in the AAAA division.

Here is what the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis StarTribune say on the repeat performance.

key: player (grad year) possessions, players, pp100, floor %

ST. PAUL CENTRAL
STARTERS
Megan Howard (08) 8, 9, 88.9, .444
Kiara Buford (08) 11, 12, 91.7, .417
Georgie Jones (08) 12, 14, 85.7, .500
Theairra Taylor (09) 13, 11, 118.2, .455
Kyana Johnson (09) 2, 5, 40.0, .200
BENCH
Brittany Dorsey (08) 3, 6, 50.0, .333
Cyonna West (08) 0, 0, 0.0, .000

MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH
STARTERS
Tyisha Smith (10) 11, 13, 84.6, .385
Ameshia Kearney (10) 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000
Ephesia Holmes (08) 14, 13, 107.7, .538
Tayler Hill (09) 9, 18, 50.0, .222
Taqouia Hammick (08) 3, 5, 60.0, .400
BENCH
Gabrielle Roberts (09) 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Europe Guy (09) 2, 2, 100.0, .500
Mallory Cramer (09) 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Sadiqah Jihad (11) 1, 1, 100.0, 1.000

TRENCH PLAYER
Cyonna West, pestered Hill all night---West didn't score, didn't have an abundance of defensive wraps. All she did was help win a championship.

BY THE NUMBERS
St. Paul Central 49, 57, 86.0, .421
Minneapolis South 44, 59, 74.6, .373
made 3s: MS 4, SPC 3
ftm/fta-ft%: SPC 14/20-.700; MS 10/15-.667
bench: SPC 3, MS 3
key factor in Central's win---In the first two games South made 32, and 36 trips to the line. Tonight less than half---15. The differentials in attempts look like this:
Game 1: South +12
Game 2: South +13
Game 3: Central +5

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
ST. PAUL CENTRAL
Theairra Taylor 8
Kiara Buford 6.5
Megan Howard 3
Georgie Jones 3
Brittany Dorsey 3
Cyonna West 1
Kyana Johnson 0.5
totals: 25

MINNEAPOLIS SOUTH
Taqouia Hammick 9
Ephesia Holmes 6
Sadiqah Jihad 5
Tyisha Smith 4
Ameshia Kearney 3
Tayler Hill 2
Gabrielle Roberts 1
Europe Guy 1
totals: 32

Next up: Tomorrow morning