Out & About: Winona Cotter/Cannon Falls

#3 posting 2.20.2006

Hiawatha Valley Championship
Winona Cotter 58, Cannon Falls 41

The Gold Division Champ Cotter pressurized Blue Champ CF into numerous turnovers in a 58-41 win at Cannon Falls Monday night.

WC took the lead on their first possession with Devin Bowlin's back cut basket and they held that lead the rest of the night, except for one tie. The closest CF would get early on was 8-7. Cotter went on a 7-0 run at that point with Brooke Beyer cashing in a three from the top of the circle. CF had a 6-0 drought during this period and five of them were turnovers. The turnover bug was to be a recurring theme as CF never effectively solved the riddle of the Cotter press. CF did put together a three possession string and 6-0 run to cut the WC lead to 15-13. Korie Jackson scored twice from the corners about 15 feet out. WC put together their own three possession string with a 6-2 run. All six contributed by Jenny Gilbertson. She opened with a rebound that she took coast to coast. Her second was a runner over Cory Montgomery. Her third basket was off the press with the assist to Laura Erickson. WC led 24-18. CF, like the see saw, then went on a 6-0 run with the first four scored by Alex Montgomery. This provided the only tie of the night at 24. Cotter finished with four points to lead 28-24. Gilbertson finished the half with a steal off the press and lay up.

Cotter started off the second half without missing a beat. They extended their lead to 38-26. WC put together a 4/5 string with two conventional three point plays by Gilbertson and Beyer. CF had another string of 0/6 possessions, but this time it only had three turnovers during the stretch. WC had their own dry spell with an 0/5 string, but their misses were all on missed shots, and oddly enough Laura Erickson was responsible for all the misses. WC built their lead to 48-29 with a four possession string and 8-0 run. Erickson started and ended the run. CF then went on a 12-0 run started by Jackson's 3 on the right side. Alex Montgomery delivered seven of those points on the run including her own 3 from the left side. The score was 48-41 with 2:53 left at this point. A WC time out stopped their own 0/7 string of possessions and after the time out they converted the next five possessions for the final margin of 58-41. 8 of those points were the direct result of turnovers off the press.

Height matters: Cannon Falls 5-10; Winona Cotter 5-7.8
Department of Defense: both teams played man, Cotter played full court intensely

Player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Winona Cotter Player Evaluations
Starters
Devin Bowlin 9, 7, 128.6, .714 quarterback, point guard, involves everyone on offense, quickness on defense, RF: foul issues
Brooke Beyer 14, 9, 155.6, .667 takes care of the ball, smart player, plays within herself, strong defender. RF: block outs not consistent
Laura Erickson 11, 17, 64.7, .353 guarded Cory Montgomery and did a great job holding her under her average. aggressive, courageous. RF: maybe too courageous as she challenged Amanda Moen four straight times without success in the second half
Allison Kirkvold 4, 5, 80.0, .400 steady, solid,
Jenny Gilbertson 20, 18, 111.1, .556 big frame, athletic, gets on the floor. runs well. aggressive. RF: tried some off balance shots in traffic avoiding contact instead of looking to draw the foul.
Bench
Renee Pecarina 0, 1, 0.0, .000 came in for Bowlin when she was in foul trouble. Steady job, handled ball quite well. RF: size
Jessi Larson 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Whitney Wisecup 0, 4, 0.0, .000 RF: shot selection/form needs consistency
Chelsi Larson 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Janine Englerth 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Kelly Brandon 0, 0, 0.0, .000

Cannon Falls Starters
Starters
Nicole Anderson 0, 2, 0.0, .000 was not playing that much
Korie Jackson 9, 9, 100.0, .444 good corner shooter. RF: did not take the ball up so my assumption is she doesn't handle the ball all to well. If she can handle the ball she was awol.
Amanda Schreyer 6, 12, 50.0, .500 RF: WC did not guard her closely and focused their efforts on Cory Montgomery. She was open and took shots I'm sure she usually doesn't take.
Alex Montgomery 13,14, 92.9, .429 left, Cory's little (one inch) sister. has 3 range. also dropped shots from the free throw elbow.
Cory Montgomery 6, 14, 42.9, .214 would rather play on the three point line than inside. size and frame solid. RF: had chances to blow by WC Bench players and instead did a pull up jumper. Needs to go hard and aggressive to the basket. was the main ball handler against press. doesn't like pressure all too well. Relied on the spin dribble against the press. needs to be quicker. Held to 12 points under her average as she was double teamed and swarmed her.
Bench
Julia Thompson 4, 4, 100.0, .500
Tasha Douglas 3, 4, 75.0, .250 canned a 3. RF: ball handling, decisions
Tessa Thompson 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Amanda Moen 0, 1, 0.0, .000 decent size, bothered her offensive player. RF: not real involved on offense.
Trench player: the whole Cotter defense could get the nod. but I have to pick one--in this situation I'll take Gilbertson, but others are very worthy as well, including strong bench performances without scoring.

BY THE NUMBERS
team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Winona Cotter 58, 63, 92.1, .460
Cannon Falls 41, 63, 65.1, .317
Bench: CF 7, WC 0
direct Points off turnovers WC 22, CF 0

WC used the press to great success, but in their half court offenses they showed patience and discipline looking for the best shot most of the time. In one sequence 21 touches occured before the shot.

Next up tomorrow am