CROMWELL-WRIGHT 68, DULUTH MARSHALL 45
#10A Cromwell-Wright hosted 18 win Duluth Marshall from AA on
Monday night. The Cardinals withstood the Hilltoppers pressure and speed with speed of their own and came out on top with a convincing 68-45 victory. CW, now 20-1 on the year, now have six wins against teams that are north of 15 wins and have picked up a revenge win over 7A nemesis Mountain Iron-Buhl in the process. CW jumped out right off the bat with a lay up off the tip. They were up 8-0 after five minutes of action and that forced the first DM time out. The next DM time out came three minutes later after a 3 by Andrea Pocernich with CW holding an 18-5 advantage. DM played even the rest of the half down 32-19 at the break. That lead would hover around 20 for most of the second half. At the high water mark CW led by 25 (64-39) with under 5 minutes left.
CW is led by the Hakamaki clan. 5-7 junior point guard Taya, 5-9 junior shooting guard Shaily and 5-11 freshman post Natalee. All three were in double figures for a combined 58 points. DM utilized their dynamic duo of Gianna Kneepkens and Grace Kirk for 42 of their points. Seven of their baskets (or 14 points) came on lay ups
This was the second time I have charted DM this season. In the first game against Ashland, WI they had a pp100 of 93.8, so they declined 26.6 points in that category. Their defense went from 55.1 to 98.6, an increase of 43.5. Did the Hilltoppers offense turn sour that much? Or did their defense get worse that much? The opposition has something to do with it. But it does give an indication of the window that DM operates in. The easier shots came against Ashland. You might think this negates my “there is no such thing as good defense, only bad offense” but I would still stand by that statement. DM was 7/11 in lay ups on Monday night; against Ashland they were a robust 16/22. Their defense against CW did not create the turnovers that they feasted on against the Oredockers. Was this the result of poor defense? NO! It was the result that CW had better skilled offensive players, better decision makers and withstood that pressure. Without the ability to generate easy points via their full court pressure DM had to score in the half court against five defenders (most of the time—-they did score quickly after made CW baskets). Against Ashland their inside shooting % was 5/10; last night 2/15.
| CROMWELL-WRIGHT | DULUTH MARSHALL | |
| POINTS | 68 | 45 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 55/23 | 43/17 |
| TURNOVERS | 16 | 16 |
| FTA/% | 4/0.00 | 14/71.42 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 51.02/23.07 | 23.25/23.80 |
| PP100 | 98.6 | 67.2 |
| TOP SCORER | Shaily Hakamaki 27 | Gianna Kneepkens 26 |
TRENCH PLAYER: 5-9 junior guard Shaily Hakamaki 27 points, 122.7 pp100 and a 46 score in the 31 Club.