TOTINO-GRACE 46, SPRING LAKE PARK 40
Tonight, the Northwest Suburban Conference had Wednesday
games, not because of any inclement past weather, but because of a schedule avoidance with the conference music fest. This allowed me to visit a highway 65 rivalry from the old North Suburban Conference: visiting Totino-Grace rallied from a six point second half deficit to pull away from Spring Lake Park. The Panthers led 30-24 after two consecutive 3s from senior Jocelyn Talso. There was plenty of time left with 15 minutes left, but SLP only managed 10 more points. Part of that was due to the increase defensive attention the Talso sisters received. They scored 75% of the SLP points (30/40). TG used speed with advancing the ball up court and speed with snappy passes in the half court to mount their comeback. At about the 8 minute mark TG inched ahead 34-33 on a lay up by Brianna Glynn. That was in the middle of a 15-3 onslaught over ten minutes. A 3 by junior Joelle Talso cut the deficit to 39-36 with about 5 minutes left, but on the next TG possession Lauren Miller responded with a 3 of her own (42-36). The rest of the TG points came from the free throw line after that. SLP still was within shouting distance in a two possession game with one minute (45-40). But shots were hard to come by. They only had two possessions and both came up blank.
The key to the Eagle motor belongs to Carla Meyer. She had a game high 19 points and gets things moving quickly. TG was 7/10 in lay ups with Meyer converting four; SLP was 1/3. The Panthers preferred the 3 point line with 8 more attempts from that neighborhood rather than 2 point territory. Meyer was also adept from behind the arc with two 3s in 6 attempts.
One of the side battles involved TG’s Idara Etuko and SLP’s Madi Ngene. Etuko won the defensive stop battles 14-12. They were involved with five jump balls on the night.
I am now down to two AAAA teams left on the menu and seven teams in the top 100. The problem is the constant churn. There are at least four teams that are bubbling under the top 100 that could spoil my plans.
| TOTINO-GRACE | SPRING LAKE PARK | |
| POINTS | 46 | 40 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 40/12 | 35/17 |
| TURNOVERS | 25 | 17 |
| FTA/% | 16/56.25 | 4/100.00 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 44.00/31.25 | 23.07.23.52 |
| PP100 | 74.2 | 63.5 |
| TOP SCORER | Carla Meyer 19 | Jocelyn Talso 17 |
TRENCH PLAYER: TG 5-6 junior pg Carla Meyer with 19 points, 111.8 pp100, and a 30 in the 31 Club.