Fall League Out & About: Stillwater Red/Blaine Blue

#2 posting 10.12.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MYAS FALL LEAGUE
Blaine
STILLWATER RED ponies 56, BLAINE BLUE bengals 52

Stillwater Red handed Blaine Blue their first loss in the Blaine fall league 56-52. Both teams have one loss in the league. An eight possession scoring spree in the second half turned a 7 point Blaine lead into an 8 point Stillwater lead. Blaine did close to two points, but the Ponies had answers to the Bengals rallies. Whitney Novak had 14 points and six assists for the Ponies. Courtney Kelly had 16 points for the Bengals. This marked the second straight week where I saw an undefeated team fall to a team with one loss. Last week Hopkins knocked Bloomington Kennedy from the unbeaten ranks.

Blaine had the early advantage at 5-1 after scoring three straight times. The Bengals used sharp movements and back cuts, back cuts, back cuts to score their quick hits. Stillwater returned the favor with three straight scores of their own and led 7-5. That was the pattern in the first half--one team had a run, the other team would follow. Blaine had an 11-0 run with a 4/5 offensive sequence. Tracie Gillund had four of those points. Stillwater broke a five possession drought with four quick hits and a 8-0 run to take a 15-14 lead. Kristen Sahr had four points in the Pony run. It was Blaine's turn to finish off the half and thei 8-2 run gave them a 22-17 advantage at half. Kirsten Goodroad delivered right at the buzzer.

Blaine scored right on the first possession and reached their high water mark with a 24-17 lead. After that Blaine went into famine with a seven possession drought while Stillwater went on a feast with their 8 possession scoring spree. The Ponies had five free throws, and two 3s in the burst. Sahr and Whitney Novak had five points each in the 17-2 run. Blaine narrowed the gap to 41-39 with under five minutes to go. Two back to back 3s by Amber Meyer and Novak gave the Ponies an 8 point cushion. Blaine attacked the basket hoping to draw fouls. It did. They spent their next seven possessions driving and at the line scoring on six of them. The Bengals had 8 points at the line in the last two minutes. Stillwater also went to the line as Blaine tried to get the ball back. The free throw parade ended with 15 seconds to go as Stillwater ran out the clock.

You can see the entire Stillwater Red vs Blaine Blue photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
STILLWATER RED
STARTERS
Whitney Novak 14, 13, 107.7, .538 point guard, had 12 points in the second half with two 3s. went to the line three times.
Kristen Sahr 13, 10, 130.0, .600 perimeter shooter. had two 3s on the day.
Heather Kamps 7, 7, 100.0, .714 post, physical.
Amber Meyer 7, 5, 140.0, .600 guard, 3 range
Alex Fosse 4, 2, 200.0, 1.000 guard
BENCH
Kylie Van Klei 2, 2, 100.0, .500 lanky post
Chloe Otteson 3, 6, 50.0, .167 guard
Abbie Gerachi 6, 7, 85.7, .429 point guard

BLAINE BLUE
STARTERS
Allison Ballstadt 4, 3, 133.3, .667 guard
Courtney Kelly 16, 11, 145.5 can play at the block, but can also step out and hit 3s. pulled Blaine back into the contest late with 9 of the last 15 points. physical.
Tracie Gillund, 8, 5, 160.0, .800 post player. feeds well from the post. can score at the high post.
Carly Christopherson 4, 6, 66.7, .333 guard
Sara O'Dowd 4, 2, 200.0. 1.000 guard
BENCH
Kirsten Goodroad 9, 12, 75.0, .333 perimeter. likes the back cut
Stephanie Jergenson 2, 4, 50.0, .250 post. will take outside shots. lefty
Amber Hames 5, 7, 71.4, .286 perimeter. 3 range
Hannah Chuinard 0, 2, 0.0, .000 taller guard
Carley Saben 0, 1, 0.0, .000 thin post

TRENCH PLAYER
Kristen Sahr in a close race

BY THE NUMBERS
Stillwater Red 56, 52, 107.7, .538
Blaine Blue 52, 53, 98.1, .453
made 3s/&1s: Stillwater 5/1; Blaine 3/1
ftm/fta-ft%: Blaine 15/17-.882; Stillwater 17/24-.708
bench: Blaine 16, Stillwater 11

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
STILLWATER RED
Amber Meyer 5
Heather Kamps 4
Kristen Sahr 3
Kylie Van Klei 3
Abbie Geraci 2
Whitney Novak 1
Chloe Otteson 1
Alex Fosse 1
totals: 20

BLAINE BENGALS
Carley Saben 4
Tracie Gillund 3
Carley Christopherson 3
Courtney Kelly 2
Stephanie Jergenson 2
Kirsten Goodroad 1
Amber Hames 1
Sara O'Dowd 1
totals: 17

ASSISTS
STILLWATER RED
Whitney Novak 6
Heather Kamps 3
Amber Meyer 3
Abbie Geraci 2
Kristen Sahr 1
Chloe Otteson 1
Alex Fosse 1
totals: 17

BLAINE BLUE
Tracie Gillund 2
Stephanie Jergenson 2
Amber Hames 2
Carly Christopherson 2
Hannah Chuinard 2
Carley Saben 2
Courtney Kelly 1
Kirsten Goodroad 1
totals: 14

Next up: tomorrow morning

Out & About: Stillwater/Henry Sibley

#7 posting 1.24.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

STILLWATER ponies 69, HENRY SIBLEY warriors 49

Stillwater got down the court fast for easy baskets in a 4AAAA battle. Taylor Stippel led the stampede with 33 points. This is Stillwater's third win in a row as they move to 8-10 on the year. Henry Sibley had a four game win streak snapped and now are at 9-7 for the year.

Stillwater scored on their first possession with Alyssa Van Klei hitting a pull up. Chelsea Miller hit a three for Henry Sibley's first and only lead. Stillwater scored on six straight possessions on a 11-0 run to lead 13-3. Taylor Stippel had 9 of those 11 points, mostly on transition. Stillwater would get rebounds, or steals and would look to attack right away. HS had a six possession drought at the same time, four of which were turnovers. HS had their own surge with a 9-2 run to cut the margin to 15-12. It was a 5/7 sequence that got HS back in the game. But HS never could get closer. Stillwater had another surge with a 12-2 run and HS had a 7 possesion drought. The Pony leading the charge this time was Alex Fosse with six. HS finished with a 7-0 run at the end of the half to trail 35-26 at the break. Taylor Stippel had 15 points at half.

HS used a pair of 3s early in the half to cut the margin to 39-32. Stillwater was in the middle of a four straight possession string. Abbie Selmecki had five of the first 11 Pony points at the start of the half. Another HS drought, this time 8 possessions, cemented the win for Stillwater. Stillwater added 8 points to their margin to lead 53-36. With 3:54 left Stillwater led 57-45. Taylor Stippel again took over with 10 of the last 12 points for the Ponies. She connected on five straight possessions in putting the finishing touches to the win. Again Stippel made her coin in transition.

photos: #1. Natalie Hanson goes airborne trying to save the ball for Henry Sibley. #2. Alyssa Van Klei pulls up in the sweet spot in the zone for two. Chelsea Miller is #11 for HS. photos by kja

key: player (grad year) points, possessions, pp100, floor %
STILLWATER
STARTERS
Alyssa Van Klei (08) 7, 9, 77.8, .444 is a good passer, sees the floor and delivers the ball. big on the perimeter. led team with d rebounds. initiates break with deep outlet. has good pull up as well.
Tess Lueders (10) 10, 13, 76.9, .308 perimeter type. runs floor. on defense needs to keep grounded, took a shot fake. needs to be ready for the ball.
Brooke Sahli (08) 2, 7, 28.6, .143 point guard. smaller.
Taylor Stippel (09) 33, 22, 150.0, .773 very good in transition. Stillwater uses secondary break and Stippel gets to her spot quickly. 18 of her points via transition/2nd break game. listed as guard, but played on the right block. went to the line four times.
Abbie Selmecki (08) 9, 6, 150.0, .833 cleans up. three of her four baskets came on second shots. also hit a short corner jumper. decent size, gets position on offensive boards.
BENCH
Mara Syman (08) 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Alex Fosse (10) 8, 11, 72.7, .364 made some perimeter shots in the first half
Morgan Stippel (11) 0, 4, 0.0, .000 back up post type. more high post. good hands.

HENRY SIBLEY
STARTERS
Katie Ahlstrom (09) 12, 13, 92.3, .462 perimeter. has 3 range. went to the line 3 times.
Natalie Hanson (08) 7, 14, 50.0, .214 started off as the point guard. size mismatch created turnovers that Stillwater exploited. tried to pass through hands. Does hustle. Entry passes need to come at better angles.
Chelsea Miller (10) 6, 10, 60.0, .200 perimeter, 3 range. kept close tabs on defense.
Eleanor Garcia (09) 15, 17, 88.2, .412 active offensively. can hit a 3, can drive. moves without the ball,
Briana Allen (09) 2, 6, 33.3, .167 post player. not a lot of action her way tonight. needs to deliver at the line. picked up quick fouls.
BENCH
Analyssa Campos (08) 3, 5, 60.0, .200 another point guard. has speed, is small. passes forced at times. lefty
Becca Hern (09) 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Jessica Kreuser (11) 2, 4, 50.0, .250 young post. needs more experience.
Lauren Turitto (10) 2, 3, 66.7, .333 lefty. more post than perimeter

TRENCH PLAYER
Taylor Stippel

BY THE NUMBERS
Stillwater 69, 74, 93.2, .473
Henry Sibley 49, 74, 66.2, .297
made 3s: HS 5, Stillwater 0
ftm/fta-ft%: Stillwater 11/17-.647; HS 8/17-.471
bench: Stillwater 8, HS 7

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
STILLWATER
Alyssa Van Klei 11
Brooke Sahli 7
Tess Lueders 5.5
Taylor Stippel 5
Alex Fosse 4
Morgan Stippel 3.5
Abbie Selmecki 3
totals: 39

HENRY SIBLEY
Eleanor Garcia 5
Katie Ahlstrom 4
Natalie Hanson 3
Jessica Kreuser 3
Chelsea Miller 2
Briana Allen 2
Analyssa Campos 2
Becca Hern 2
Lauren Turitto 1
totals: 24

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Stillwater used man most of the night. They did 1/2/2 for a few possessions in the first half.

Henry Sibley used zone most of the time. They used 2/3, 1/2/2; sometimes 3/2.
Stillwater D Match ups: (Off HS/Def Stillwater) Miller/Van Klei; Hanson/Lueders; Garcia/Taylor Stippel; Allen/Selmecki; Ahlstrom/Sahli;
When HS played man. (Off Stillwater/Def HS) Sahli/Hanson; Selmecki/Kreuser; Fosse/Ahlstrom; Taylor Stippel/Garcia; Lueders/Miller

also tonight:
Minneapolis South beat Mpls Roosevelt 70-64.

Next up: Tomorrow morning.