Minnesota Elite Camp: Sun/Sparks

#5 posting 7.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP
West vs East
SUN 37, SPARKS 32

The Sun scored the last 8 points of the game to beat the Sparks 37-32. The Sparks didn't connect on their last 14 possessions. This was a physical contest with a lot of jostling, bumping, bodies fighting to establish position. This was reflected in the the pp100s with the Sun at 61.6 pp100. Also the Sparks were only able to score five two point field goals all game. The Sun dominated the free throw line with a nine point advantage there. The Sun bench also was stronger than the Sparks with a 10 point differential. The game within the game featured two similar players working against each other most of the game--Abby Busch of the Sun who had 13 points to lead both teams, and Mariah Clarin of the Sparks who ended up with 8. They were in battles royale all game.

The Sparks struck first with a Shawnna Sperber three, her first and only points for the game. The Sparks led 5-1 when the Sun scored on their 9th possession from the floor, and that a second chancer by Busch. The Sun led 9-8 after a put back by Betsy Smith. The Sparks then took over with 8 unanswered points as the Sun set for nine straight possessions, a continuing feature of this camp. Kayla Thom added three free throws to finish up the scoring to make it 16-12 Sparks at the break.

The Sun shook off their slumbering offensive in the second half with five straight scores as they grabbed the lead 21-19 after a 9-3 run. Karlee Erickson had four points in that run. The Sparks reclaimed the lead at 26-23 with a 7-2 run. The intensity of the game spilled over to the sidelines with the ref stopping play to discus issues with Coach Mayclin of the Sun. Meghan Molitor knocked down a three with nine minutes left to give the Sparks a 32-29 lead. That was to be their final points of the game. They didn't have any spark the last 14 possessions, seven of which were turnovers. The Sun finished up with eight unanswered points with Busch scoring four.

Interesting fact ---only 19 assists (and this is a liberal interpretation) is waaaay to small. The passing on display here has not been stellar. That is one reason the pp100s are fairly low. Good passing leads to easy baskets. It comes down to execution and awareness.

You can see the entire Sun vs Sparks photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
SUN
STARTERS
Amy Van Hulzen, Park Center 5, 7, 71.4, .429 perimeter. went to the line twice.
Kelsie Ammann, Lakeville North 2, 6, 33.3, .167 3 point shooter. led team with assists
Betsy Smith, East Grand Forks 2, 3, 66.7, .333 guard
Michelle Starkweather, Lakeville South 2, 5, 40.0, .200 a six footer that can play on the perimeter. decent frame
Kayla Thom, Mayer Lutheran 7, 11, 63.4, .364 strong frame, inside player. went to the line four times.
BENCH
Lisa Lymburner, Hinckley-Finlayson 0, 4, 0.0, .000 taller perimeter.
Abby Busch, GFW 13, 14, 92.9, .500 a tweener, each possession was a battle with Clarin. it appeared each relished the contact. The more the contact the harder Busch went after the ball. If there was a turnover, Busch redoubled her efforts and just grabbed the ball away from a Spark to score.
Madeline Johnson, Minnetonka 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Alexandria Love, Bloomington Kennedy 2, 6, 33.3, .167 guard
Karlee Erickson, Mora 4, 3, 133.3, .667 guard

SPARKS
STARTERS
Shawnna Sperber, Stewartville 3, 10, 30.0, .100 3 point shooter that went cold after the first shot.
Tess Lueders, Stillwater 3, 5, 60.0, .200 made a three
Mariah Clarin, Princeton 8, 14, 57.1, .286 physical, athletic forward type. a warrior battle with Busch was the highlight of this game.
Meghan Molitor, PACT 9, 10, 90.0, .400 provided hustle on the perimeter. Floor burns a reward for effort on loose balls.
Catavia Jones, St. Paul Central 0, 2, 0.0, .000 post. needs to work on basic offensive skills.
BENCH
Abby Rothenbuehler, Mankato West 0, 10, 0.0, .000 at 6-2 has the height. built for the perimeter, but needs to gain weight. shots not falling. Passes somewhat forced. needs to make a bigger impact on defense.
Abby Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 2, 3, 66.7, .333 guard.
Micaela Trainor, Winona Cotter 7, 4, 175.0, .750 perimeter. knocked down a three. has speed.
Niambi Mitchell, St. Paul Academy 0, 2, 0.0, .000 guard. can jump.

TRENCH PLAYER
Abby Busch, the will to win

BY THE NUMBERS
Sun 37, 60, 61.6, .333
Sparks 32, 60, 53.3, .233
made 3s/&1s: Sparks 6/0; Sun 0/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Sun 13/20-.650; Sparks 4/5-.800
bench: Sun 19, Sparks 9

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
SUN
Abby Busch 8
Amy Van Hulzen 5
Betsy Smith 3
Michelle Starkweather 3
Kayla Thom 3
Kelsie Ammann 2
Madeline Johnson 2
Alexandria Love 2
Karlee Erickson 2
Lisa Lymburner 1
totals: 31

SPARKS
Mariah Clarin 7.5
Meghan Molitor 7
Abby Rothenbuehler 4
Micaela Trainor 4
Tess Lueders 3.5
Catavia Jones 1.5
Niambi Mitchell 1.5
Shawnna Sperber 1
totals: 30

ASSISTS
SUN
Kelsie Ammann 3
Lisa Lymburner 3
Amy Van Hulzen 2
Abby Busch 1
Michelle Starkweather 1
totals: 10

SPARKS
Abby Hoganson 3
Tess Lueders 2
Abby Rothenbuehler 1
Meghan Molitor 1
Micaela Trainor 1
Niambi Mitchell 1
totals: 9

next up: tomorrow morning, unless news breaks

Minnesota Elite Camp: Sparks/Monarchs

#5 posting 7.23.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MINNESOTA ELITE CAMP
West Division
SPARKS 47, MONARCHS 36

The Sparks ruled the Monarchs 47-36 in a west division match up in the Minnesota Elite Camp Wednesday morning. The Sparks took care of the ball better, and had more chances to score. Sparking the Sparks was Mariah Clarin of Princeton with 10 points. Matching her point total on the Monarchs side was Ashley Alleven.

Both teams had 11 players so the sub patterns made it hard to get into rhythm.

Oddly enough the Monarchs started off with the 10-2 lead as the Sparks started off with a 1/13 sequence. They didn't find the bottom of the basket until their sixth possession. That gave them a bone chilling 15.4 pp100. After that, for the rest of the game, the Sparks were at a much more comfortable 86.8 pp100. The Sparks didn't take their first lead until a put back by Mariah Clarin at 17-16. At the half the Sparks led 21-17 after scoring on their last four possessions.

Both teams needed a GPS device to find the basket at the start of the half. They both combined for 12 empty trips. It lasted quite a bit longer for the Monarchs however. They misfired on their first 10 possessions. The Sparks scored on four straight possessions before the Monarchs found the bottom of the basket. The Sparks led 29-17 at that point. Stretching back to the first half it was a 12-0 run. The Sparks maintained that margin the rest of the way. The biggest lead was 11 at a variety of times.

You can see the entire Sparks vs Monarchs photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com.

key: player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
SPARKS
STARTERS
Micaela Trainor, Winona Cotter 0, 5, 0.0, .000
Abby Rothenbuehler, Mankato West 4, 8, 50.0, .250 intriguing player. has good instincts. quick movements. has perimeter mentality in a 6-2 frame. teammates weren't ready for the ball at times. needs to get stronger and add weight to the frame if she is to compete at the more physical levels of college ball. needs to keep the ball tighter to the body when going up for a shot.
Faith Berg, Fall Creek, WI 6, 10, 60.0, .300 post player, strong frame.
Shawnna Sperber, Stewartville 8, 5, 160.0, .600 point guard. nice 3 point shot.
Tess Lueders, Stillwater 0, 2, 0.0, .000
BENCH
Catavia Jones, St. Paul Central 4, 10, 40.0, .200 raw post. is active defensively. needs to polish offense
Mariah Clarin, Princeton 10, 8, 125.0, .625 flying all over. strong, persistent on the boards. runs the floor with energy. needs to keep vision up when handling the ball.
Meghan Molitor, PACT 7, 6, 116.7, .500 guard
Niambi Mitchell, St. Paul Academy 6, 6, 100.0, .500 guard. deep range
Abby Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 0, 1, 0.0, .000 guard, shot some 3s.
Megan Waytashek, Centennial 2, 5, 40.0, .200 lanky perimeter player. is stronger than Rothenbuehler. needs to take better care of the ball.

MONARCHS
STARTERS
Ashley Alleven, Fairmont 10, 9, 111.1, .556 strong, aggressive player. Listed as post, but may have to be more 3ish post high school. takes the ball hard to the basket.
Hannah Hogenson, Roseau 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Capreice Ogris, Cooper 1, 4, 25.0, .250 point guard. went down with an ankle in the second half.
Alyssa Niss, Fairmont 0, 3, 0.0, .000
Kyli Van Klei, Stillwater 7, 7, 100.0, .571 long frame on the perimeter.
BENCH
Kahla Becken, Centennial 2, 7, 28.6, .143 guard
Hanna Iaizzo, White Bear Lake 2, 5, 40.0, .200 post more 4ish. good feet. active on defense.
Alyssa Hagen, NRHEG 8, 10, 80.0, .400 guard. made a 3, and will also go inside to board.
Whitney Tinjum, Chisago Lakes 4, 5, 80.0, .600 another lanky perimeter
Angela Euerle, Litchfield 2, 8, 25.0, .125
Ashley McAlpine, Princeton 0, 5, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Mariah Clarin

BY THE NUMBERS
Sparks 47, 66, 71.2, .333
Monarchs 36, 66, 54.5, .303
made 3s/&1s: Sparks 3/0; Monarchs 1/0
ftm/fta-ft%: Monarchs 7/12-.583; Sparks 0/0-.000
bench: Sparks 29, Monarchs 18

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
SPARKS
Catavia Jones 6
Mariah Clarin 5.5
Abby Rothenbuehler 4
Tess Lueders 4
Abby Hoganson 3.5
Shawnna Sperber 3
Faith Berg 2
Meghan Molitor 2
Niambi Mitchell 2
Micaela Trainor 1
Megan Waytashek 1
totals: 34

MONARCHS
Hanna Iaizzo 6
Ashley Alleven 3
Alyssa Niss 3
Alyssa Hagen 3
Ashley McAlpine 3
Capreice Ogris 2
Kyli Van Klei 2
Angela Euerle 2
Kahla Becken 1
Whitney Tinjum 1
totals: 26

ASSISTS
SPARKS
Abby Rothenbuehler 3
Shawnna Sperber 3
Tess Lueders 3
Meghan Molitor 2
Abby Hoganson 2
Megan Waytashek 2
Catavia Jones 1
Mariah Clarin 1
totals: 17

MONARCHS
Ashley Allevan 3
Capreice Ogris 3
Ashley McAlpine 3
Alyssa Niss 2
Alyssa Hagen 2
Hannah Hoganson 1
Kahla Becken 1
totals: 15

The action has been updated.

Next up: tomorrow morning