Sweet 16 Out & About: New Prague/Centennial

#3 posting 8.3.2008
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SWEET 16
Semifinals
NEW PRAGUE trojans 62, CENTENNIAL cougars 57

The New Prague Trojans used a hot start, and a hot finish to upend defending Sweet 16 champ Centennial 62-57. Rena Kneeland connected on four 3s in the first quarter, three in the first four possessions, as the Trojans got off to a 12-2 lead. NP led at the end of the first quarter 21-14 and at half 39-32. Megan Nipe was doing the heavy lifting for Centennial with 18 first half points.

The momentum shifted to the Cougars early in the third quarter when Hannah Strop went down hard on her back and had to leave the game. For the next 14 possessions NP mustered up only one point, a single digit 7 pp100 in that span. Megan Waytashek had 8 points in the third quarter to help the Centennial cause. Centennial tied the game at 47 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 1:54 left Centennial led 56-52. Maggie Weiers started NP's comeback with a one of free throws after she was fouled on a second chancer. Amanda Wagner stole the ball and Kneeland converted off the NP press to cut the margin to 53-56. Another Centennial turnover gave NP a chance. Weiers cashed as NP regained the lead 57-56. Bridget Schuneman made one free throw to tie it back up at 57. Hannah Strop cashed in twice at the line to put NP back in front 59-57. Again Centennial coughed up the ball. Wagner was fouled and she knocked in both for a 61-57 advantage with 59 seconds left. Schuneman missed her pair of free throws. Kneeland did the same at the NP end. Waytashek was fouled for the Cougars and she converted once. Kneeland mirrored her for a 62-57 advantage. With 11 seconds left Nipe missed a pair of free throws and both teams traded turnovers as time expired.

Rena Kneeland had 20 for NP. Megan Nipe had 22 points to lead all scorers.

you can see the entire New Prague vs Centennial photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. Coach Teas was the man behind the camera today.

key: player, class, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
NEW PRAGUE
STARTERS
Rena Kneeland, jr 20, 13, 153.8, .692 laser beam shooting eye in the first half propelled NP to victory.
Maggie Weiers, jr 7, 12, 58.3, .333 athletic post, probably more 4ish. runs the floor. was aggressive on the boards. turnovers sliced into her pp100 score. has a habit of picking up fouls due to position.
Hannah Strop, jr 8, 12, 66.7, .333 big perimeter. a Jackie Voigt type. does her share of the rebounding
Brit Rynda, sr 4, 5, 80.0, .400 taller perimeter. feeds well.
Amanda Wagner, sr 7, 9, 77.8, .444 plays with reckless abandon. a tasmanian devil on the offensive boards
BENCH
Kayla Gill, sr 6, 7, 85.7, .429 perimeter. mixes it up inside, strong.
Taylor Rookaird, so 5, 5, 100.0, .600 perimeter
Molly Tikalsky, sr 2, 2, 100.0, .500 perimeter
Maggie Seter, so 3, 2, 150.0, .500 taller point guard. cashed in old fashioned three.

CENTENNIAL
STARTERS
Kahla Becken, so 5, 12, 41.7, .167 guard. shots weren't falling. needs to keep vision up.
Megan Waytashek, jr 12, 15, 80.0, .467 lean 3ish player. went to the line six times in the second half. only three first half possessions. needs to play with the sense of urgency she did in the second half the whole game.
Hannah Steele, sr 1, 4, 25.0, .250 small guard
Megan Nipe, sr 22, 21, 104.8, .524 main shooter. quick release. went to the line five times. competitive.
Bridget Schuneman, sr 15, 13, 115.4, .615 inside force. led team in defensive rebounds and stops. went to the line seven times. not shy around contact. Now needs to be consistent at the line.
BENCH
Holly Hofland, jr 0, 1, 0.0, .000 small guard

TRENCH PLAYER
Rena Kneeland

BY THE NUMBERS
New Prague 62, 67, 92.5, .448
Centennial 55*, 66, 83.3, .439
made 3s/&1s: NP 4/2; Centennial 1/2
ftm/fta-ft%: NP 23/33-.697; Centennial 22/35-.629
turnovers: NP 20, Centennial 16
bench: NP 17, Centennial 0
*the final score was 57, but at some point in the second quarter the scoreboard listed Centennial with two extra points. I couldn't find these phantom points in my records.

An intersting look at the turnovers: NP had 4 of theirs in the fourth quarter, while Centennial had a critical 7 in the final frame.

The big difference came on second chancers. NP had a 17-7 advantage on that stat. Three times NP scored three points on a second chancer including the first two of Kneeland's threes.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
NEW PRAGUE
Hannah Strop 10
Maggie Weiers 9
Rena Kneeland 4
Brit Rynda 4
Amanda Wagner 3
Maggie Seter 2
Kayla Gill 1
Totals: 33

CENTENNIAL
Bridget Schuneman 11
Megan Waytashek 10
Megan Nipe 5.5
Hannah Steele 2.5
Holly Hofland 2
totals: 31

ASSISTS
NEW PRAGUE
Brit Rynda 7
Amanda Wagner 6
Maggie Weiers 4
Hannah Strop 2
Maggie Seter 2
Rena Kneeland 1
Kayla Gill 1
Taylor Rookaird 1
Molly Tikalsky 1
totals: 25

CENTENNIAL
Kahla Becken 5
Megan Waytashek 5
Hannah Steele 4
Holly Hofland 4
Megan Nipe 3
Bridget Schuneman 2
totals: 23

next up: Kennedy vs DeLaSalle.