7 GAMES FROM HAMLINE
The 19th Annual Pat Paterson Thanksgiving event got underway Friday. With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror there were some turkey games today—-Four to be exact. Three had more interesting storylines, maybe even gifts. Five teams delivered century marks today; four couldn’t climb over 60.
MINNEAPOLIS NORTH 66, ST. PAUL CENTRAL 30
The Polars ran roughshod over Central in a debut for two new coaches. North built a 27-5 early lead due to full court pressure and long distance shooting. With 8 minutes to go in the first half North had enough in the bank to win (32-9). Central didn’t have a lot of support after Alayjza Campbell who led all scorers with 21 points. Without her production the pp100 of Central plummeted to 18.2. North’s starters had a 120 pp100.
ROSEVILLE 71, ORONO 33
Another massacre awaited in game 2. #4AAAA Roseville’s half court defense proved too tough for the Spartans to negotiate. Roseville had a +15 turnover differential. The Raiders also hammered the offensive glass with 22 rebounds, four more than the entire Orono total for the game. Four Raiders reached double figures, two of them off the bench. Jayda Johnston led Roseville with 19 points.
ST. PAUL COMO PARK 57, BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY 48
In the age old battle of perimeters vs posts the resounding answer came up perimeter in Como Park’s 57-48 win over Kennedy. The Cougars were in a battle at 34-31 with over 12 minutes to go in the second half. Ronnie Porter, instant offense or ‘Microwave’, came in off the bench in the second half and delivered 12 points from behind the arc and 16 total. She ignited a run of three straight scores including one of her 3s to put SPCP up 39-31. Destiny Oberg, a transfer from Holy Angels, wasn’t enough to help the Eagles. She and Zaraya March ended up with a combined 36 points. The rest of the squad contributed 12.
EASTVIEW 66, MOUNDS VIEW 32
Balance. Defending AAAA champ and #3 ranked Eastview has it. All five of their starters were in double digits scoring between 15 and 10 points. MV had one double digit performer. The Lightning can strike behind the arc too. They had a day’s high dozen triples as they shot 48 percent behind the arc.
MADISON MEMORIAL 74, WHITE BEAR LAKE 69
By far the best game of the day from a fan’s perspective. Both teams were tied at half at 38. Memorial, making the journey from Wisconsin, is a week ahead of the Minnesota teams. They feature Leilani Kapinus, a 2020 perimeter player that is explosive and is getting serious top 20 D1 looks. She and Emmoni Rankins combined for 47 points. The Spartans were built for speed. They controlled the tempo and pace of the contest. WBL, rotated eight players. Anna Sanders led the Bears with 24 points. With 6 minutes left MM led 60-58. Rankins and WBL’s Courtney Crouch traded 3s. A Spartan 8-2 run gave them space with time dwindling away. Two late Bear 3s cut into the deficit before time expired.
STILLWATER 59, ST. LOUIS PARK 47
This was the day’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde game. #8AAAA Stillwater was Dr. Jekyll early racing out to a 27-2 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. The Ponies were up 36-16 at the break. Partly due to strong 3 point shooting. They connected 11 times behind the arc. Sara Scalia, a future Gopher, led the way with 26 points (and six 3s) for the tournament’s high total on the day. Liza Karlen made her Stillwater debut with 18 points. Then the second half rolled around, and roles were reversed. The Orioles started connecting but digging out of a 25 point deficit is hard to do. Stillwater only scored four points the last seven minutes in a 180 degree turnaround.
HOPKINS 74, LAKEVILLE SOUTH 37
#1AAAA Hopkins looked the part as they dismantled Lakeville South in the finale. The Royals forced 27 turnovers led 42-15 at the break, four more than they would need for victory. All Hopkins starters played less than 20 minutes of action. Sharpshooter KK Adams led Hopkins with 24 points. Playing a full game she would have racked up 48.8 points. Clearly the top team today with the starters tabulating an impressive 148.7 leaving the other starting units in the dust.
| TEAM | PTS | PP100 | REB/off | TO | 2FG%/3FG% | FTATT/% |
| Minneapolis North | 66 | 101.5 | 58/18 | 20 | 35.3/31 | 17/23.5 |
| St. Paul Central | 30 | 43.3 | 24/5 | 33 | 29.2/50 | 21/42.8 |
| Roseville | 71 | 118.3 | 41/22 | 10 | 40.4/45.5 | 20/70 |
| Orono | 33 | 55.0 | 18/6 | 26 | 29.6/33.3 | 11/72.7 |
| St. Paul Como Park | 57 | 75.0 | 38/15 | 25 | 43.3/33.3 | 18/38.9 |
| Bloomington Kennedy | 48 | 64.9 | 44/15 | 30 | 39.5/10.0 | 29/51.7 |
| Eastview | 66 | 110.0 | 29/14 | 15 | 34.5/48 | 14/71.4 |
| Mounds View | 32 | 52.5 | 22/7 | 29 | 36.4/33.3 | 15/66.7 |
| Madison Memorial | 74 | 102.8 | 38/16 | 12 | 48.9/30.4 | 13/69.2 |
| White Bear Lake | 69 | 95.8 | 42/18 | 18 | 39.5/36.4 | 13/84.6 |
| Stillwater | 59 | 86.8 | 48/21 | 10 | 31.4/33.3 | 12/33.3 |
| St. Louis Park | 48 | 70.6 | 38/9 | 17 | 30.3/34.8 | 7/57.1 |
| Hopkins | 74 | 109.1 | 34/18 | 17 | 56.8/35.3 | 9/44.4 |
| Lakeville South | 37 | 56.9 | 31/14 | 27 | 41.4/21.1 | 3/33.3 |
TRENCH PLAYERS
GAME 1: Alani Pettis, Minneapolis North 16 pts, 123.1 pp100, 32 score 31 Club
GAME 2: Jayda Johnston, Roseville 19 pts, 126.7 pp100, 26 31 Club
GAME 3: Ronnie Porter, St. Paul Como Park, 16 points, 160.0 pp100, 21 in the 31 Club
GAME 4: Any of the five Eastview starters would be worthy. Brynn Schwanz 10 points ,200 pp100; 18 in the 31 Club
GAME 5: Leilani Kapinus, Madison Memorial, 22 points, 104.8 pp100, 43 score in 31 Club
GAME 6: Sara Scalia, Stillwater, 26 points, 130.0 pp100; 40 score in the 31 Club
GAME 7: KK Adams, Hopkins, 24 points, 218.2 pp100; 27 score in the 31 Club