I continued my tour of the Big 9 with a pair of games, one non-con
and another Mankato hosted conference match up. In the first contest in the afternoon, a 1AAAA one sided battle went to #4 ranked Farmington 81-36. The night cap was 40 minutes west back in Mankato and East picked up a one sided victory over Winona.
FARMINGTON 81, OWATONNA 36
There are only a handful of AAAA teams has never been to the state tournament. Farmington is one, but is due to break that streak this year. The Tigers effectively worked on their lay up drills Saturday afternoon going 13/15 for a healthy 86.7 clip. Many of these easy twos came on the heels of 28 Husky turnovers. Add in the 10/14 shooting inside and it was an overwhelming 23/29 sizzling hot romp. The starting unit for the Tigers are all threats; all were in double figures; all were over 100 pp100; with the 31 Club window stretching from 40 to 17.
With the Farmington charting I have now seen the top 10 (according to QRF). Farmington also wrapped up the South Suburban Conference charts, and a quick look at that will be coming on Sunday.
| FARMINGTON | OWATONNA | |
| POINTS | 81 | 36 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 29/8 | 23/10 |
| TURNOVERS | 15 | 28 |
| FTA/% | 17/70.58 | 14/57.14 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 71.05/38.46 | 32.35/25.0 |
| PP100 | 124.6 | 56.2 |
| TOP SCORER | Molly Mogenson 17 | Lexi Mendenhall 13 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Molly Mogenson with 17 points, 130.8 pp100 and a 40 score in the 31 Club.
MANKATO EAST 60, WINONA 35
Mankato East could not match the scorching hot Farmington numbers, but they utilized their pressure to generate easy shots and racked up 20 second chance opportunities. One other difference was the flow. East started off with a 16-5 lead and it looked like another run away. Winona surged back to tie it at 18 with six minutes left in the first half. The Cougars start two veteran freshman. Both Mackenzie Schweim and Lexi Karge started last year. Both picked up valuable experience and both led ME with 14 points. That maturity helped snap ME back to reality. The Winhawks were shut out the rest of the half while the Cougars found their groove again and led 29-18 at the break. East scored on their first four possessions of the second half and there was not going to be a doubt in the outcome.
For the week I have now charted five Big 9 teams.
| MANKATO EAST | WINONA | |
| POINTS | 60 | 35 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 41/27 | 41/13 |
| TURNOVERS | 10 | 35 |
| FTA/% | 14/57.1 | 16/68.8 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 38.3/12.5 | 30.0/25.0 |
| PP100 | 88.2 | 51.5 |
| TOP SCORER | Two with 14 | Brittin Winter 10 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Lexi Karge of Mankato East with 14 points, 127.3 pp100 and a 26 in the 31 Club.