3 GAMES FROM THE MLK/ST. KATE’S EVENT
I was able to get to three of the five contests at the annual Martin
Luther King Jr. Day Event at St. Catherine University on Monday. The early games fell by the wayside due to practice schedules. Luckily, I had already charted those four teams. I got three more teams finished in the next three games. The theme of the day was heartbreaking comeback attempts. In each of the three games I charted a team came tantalizingly close to turning the tables when it looked like the game was in the bag. All three winners found a way to pull the game back: one at the buzzer; one with 15 seconds left; the last game didn’t have that spine tingling drama at the end, but a huge lead dwindled down to a precious few before righting the ship. The unbeaten ranks thinned out today as #4AAAA Farmington was upset by #14AAAA Chaska. Another feature today was Tigers. They ended up 1-2 in the games I charted.
HUTCHINSON 69, CHANHASSAN 68
The Tigers went on an 18-4 run to start the second half (53-36) after leading the Storm by three at the break (35-32). With 2:25 left in the game the Tigers were still leading by double digits 63-53. That is when things started to get interesting. Chanhassan scored on their last seven possessions including three 3s in a row. After the last 3 Chan trailed 67-64 with 32 seconds left. The Storm put Hutch at the line two straight times with the same result: a missed front end. In the first case Callin Hake would score in a manner like Moses parting the Red Sea as she drove in for an uncontested layup. The second front end for Hutch came at 18.9 ticks to go. Inexplicably Hake was able to pull her Moses imitation again and the Strom was up 68-67 at 8.3 seconds. With no time outs, Hutch inbounded quickly, drove down the right side line and Karissa Korson found Emma Olberg on the left block for the game winner as time expired giving Hutch a huge sigh of relief.
| HUTCHINSON | CHANHASSAN | |
| POINTS | 69 | 68 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 36/11 | 37/14 |
| TURNOVERS | 20 | 14 |
| FTA/% | 14/57.14 | 9/77.8 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 54.76/31.25 | 41.66/33.33 |
| PP100 | 94.5 | 93.2 |
| TOP SCORER | Elizabeth Wortz 18 | Callin Hake 17 |
TRENCH PLAYER: There are good candidates all around, but Hutch’s Morgan Ellis gets the nod with 17 points, 141.7 pp100 and 25 in the 31 Club.
CHASKA 53, FARMINGTON 51
The Hawks handed #4AAAA Farmington their first loss of the year, but the Tigers picked themselves off a poor start trailing by 12 at half (35-23) to make it another memorable finish. When you shoot good you look good. Chaska shot well from both 2s and 3s while Farmington struggled mightily from the field going sub-freezing on both counts. Another factor that played a part in the contest was the mega dribbles. What is a mega dribble? It is a dribble of 10+ bounces. Generally, the team that has more 10+ bounces loses the game. It is a symptom of an offense that is stagnant. The ball doesn’t move and neither do the players. Farmington had 43 mega dribbles in the game; Chaska only 27.
Farmington was already making their move early in the second half. From the bench Katelyn Mohr gave the Tigers a spark with a three from up top and then a second chancer on their next possession cutting the deficit to 45-40 with a lifetime to go: 8:28. The long ball sniping of Paige Kindseth also brought hope to Farmington. Her second 3 in five possessions cut the deficit to one thin point (49-48) with slightly over three minutes left—-still a lifetime. Mallory Heyer converted two free throws for Chaska and some breathing room. After three straight combined turnovers Payton Blandin cut that lead back to one (51-50). With 39.5 seconds left Mohr tied it with one free throw. Heyer scored the game winner on a drive on the left side at about the 15 second mark. Farmington called time with 11.9 seconds left but a pass sailed too high. There were only 4.4 seconds left. Chaska’s pass was errant. Farmington’s pass off the steal was errant. The game was finished and Chaska had a signature win.
| CHASKA | FARMINGTON | |
| POINTS | 53 | 51 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 31/5 | 42/22 |
| TURNOVERS | 14 | 12 |
| FTA/% | 19/63.15 | 20/65.00 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 44.44/37.50 | 29.54/25.00 |
| PP100 | 85.5 | 82.3 |
| TOP SCORER | Mallory Heyer 12 | Paige Kindseth 15 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Mallory Heyer for the key basket to seal the deal. Heyer had 12 points, a pp100 of only 75.0 and a 31 Club score of 23.
ROSEMOUNT 60, STEWARTVILLE 50
The South Suburban picked up a win in this game with Rosemount surviving Stewartville’s rally. The Irish were 20 points better in shooting but had a few more turnovers to make it more interesting. The Tigers have had some big wins early in December, but Erin Lamb has been dinged up after a back injury in the HVL/3 Rivers showcase. She is slowly working her way back to the lineup. Today she started but her movements indicated she is not completely healed. She did not score and did not play much at all. That only has made the other Tigers step up. Rosemount led by eleven (28-17) at the break. That lead mushroomed to 37-19 and it forced a Tiger timeout with 14:20 left in the game. With 2:37 left in the game that lead was down to a do-able 50-45 advantage for Rosemount—-a 26-13 surge for Stewie. In six of the last seven Irish possessions the traipsed to the free throw line converting ten.
| ROSEMOUNT | STEWARTVILLE | |
| POINTS | 60 | 50 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 37/11 | 30/17 |
| TURNOVERS | 24 | 18 |
| FTA/% | 22/63.63 | 16/68.75 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 55.55/33.33 | 34.09/23.07 |
| PP100 | 89.6 | 75.8 |
| TOP SCORER | Taylor Janssen 18 | Two with 14 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Taylor Janssen with 18 points 128.6 pp100 and the only player to make the 31 Club today with a 32. This is her second entry this year (when I charted) to make the 31 Club.