3AA & 3A CHAMPIONSHIPS
The final day of the section tournaments on Friday found me in
Marshall at Southwest MN State for the 3AA & 3A championships. It was not a good day to be an Eagle. Both Eden Valley-Watkins, the last undefeated team in AA, and Southwest MN Christian went down. It was a good day to be a Coach named Kockelman. Both Redwood Valley under coach Taya Kockelman, and Minneota (her former team-class of 2011) who has an assistant named Dale Kockelman (her father) moved on. Both will have another basketball themed reunion next week at the state tournament. It was not a good day to be a coach and have a daughter play. Both EVW (the Jansen’s) and SWC (the Nerem’s) will have 12 months to plot their revenges.
REDWOOD VALLEY 62, EDEN VALLEY-WATKINS 58
Unheralded Redwood Valley, the #2 seed in the south stunned EVW. The Cardinals are flying high because they dominated the boards. They held a 17+ rebound advantage and an overwhelming 79.4% of the defensive boards. When you get to the 80% neighborhood it is a good marker for victory. EVW was only at 56%. Fouls disrupted the EVW plans. Halle Jansen picked up two quick fouls and was sentenced to the bench after only three minutes. Still it was a one possession game throughout the first half. EVW led 25-24 with an old fashioned three from day high leading scorer Emma Schultz with under a minute to go. RV finished with two straight scores to go up 28-25 at the break, the last points coming on a put back by Sydney Sommers.
RV scored the first five points to open the second half and EVW was forced to play catch up after that. With eight minutes left RV enjoyed their widest margin at 53-38 after a Sommers 3 from the right side. The margin remained double digits down to 2:24 with RV up 11 58-47. A sense of urgency came over EVW; specifically, Emma Schultz. She channeled her inner-Tornstrom and went on an eleven point scoring spree over four possessions, the last three all 3s. RV had their collective hearts in their throats as it was now 60-58 with about a minute to go. With the clock ticking down and the EVW defense clamping down RV had four turnovers in five possessions. EVW had the ball for a chance to tie, or take the lead. In the Schultz run the offense found space and time quickly. This time the touch count went higher (14), rhythm was off. The shot was too, and it didn’t come from Schultz or Jansen. The rebound did go to RV (see 79% of d boards), Schultz was called four foul five and the Cards’ Aubree Hicks converted both free throws with 37 seconds left. EVW tried long 3s their last two chances. RV had their upset win secured.
| REDWOOD VALLEY | EDEN VALLEY-WATKINS | |
| Points | 62 | 58 |
| Rebounds/off | 38/11 | 21/7 |
| Turnovers | 20 | 8 |
| FTA/% | 25/56.00 | 9/66.67 |
| 2%/3% | 50.00/50.00 | 40.00/36.36 |
| PP100 | 98.4 | 93.5 |
| Leading Scorer | Sydney Sommers 18 | Emma Schultz 26 |
TRENCH PLAYER: RV’s 6-0 soph post Haley Garman with 14 points, 140.0 pp100 and a 31 Club score of 28. 10 d boards helped.
MINNEOTA 65, SOUTHWEST MN CHRISTIAN 47
Minneota, #1 in class A, showcased their balance for the second straight year in downing SWC. This has been the third time these two titans of SW MN basketball have met, and all three meetings have ended favorably with the Vikings. Just like game one the winner had control of the d boards. Minneota secured 77.8% and had a +11 advantage over SWC. The Eagles at 65.5% were respectable, but nowhere near Minneota’s higher rate. The Vikings also took the shots they wanted where they wanted. A 62.5% mark in twos was the difference maker. Back cuts and wide open attempts near the rim put Minneota back at state. In layups Minneota was 10/15 while inside the rim 14/20 for 24/35 combined. SWC was 7/11 in lay ups, and 6/19 inside for 13/30 combined. That is a difference of 11 baskets or 22 points, about the spread of the game.
The Vikings held a 27-21 lead at the break. Minneota reached a double digit advantage at 34-24. SWC could not get key stops as Minneota scored five straight times down the stretch to make the score 57-41 with 4 minutes left. After one blanked possession, Minneota continued their march with another string of four straight scores. Every one of those scoring chances came within five feet of the rim.
| MINNEOTA | SW MN CHRISTIAN | |
| Points | 65 | 47 |
| Rebounds/off | 38/10 | 27/8 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 17 |
| FTA/% | 14/64.28 | 9/44.44 |
| 2%/3% | 62.50/16.67 | 38.88/27.77 |
| PP100 | 100.0 | 73.4 |
| Leading Scorer | Morgan Hennen 21 | Jazlynn Prins 24 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Minneota’s 5-8 junior perimeter player Morgan Hennen with 21 points, 140 pp100 and a 37 score for the 31 Club. Hennen was 6/8 on lay ups.