THREE GAMES FROM BREAKDOWN SUMMER SERIES
The Breakdown held their annual Class championships at Maple Grove Middle School on Sunday. I charted three of the games and not four. Why? The AAAA event was not featured on the championship court at all. This could be perhaps because the field did not include obvious championship caliber teams like Hopkins. This is the second year the Royals have bypassed the event. This Breakdown event usually takes place in mid-July, but with more of a gap or space between the demands of the club teams that vie for attention from the over-extended players. Just this week ESPN ran a series looking at the injury upticks that are a concern to the NBA (and by extension the WNBA) with the slogan “Basketball Never Stops” ringing truer to form (and not in a healthy, positive way). You can check out the two part series here and here.
So, I was unable to chart the AAAA games because they took place at the same time as the AA championship. This brings up the format this year: AA had 12 teams, while A only had six. AAA and AAAA had a standard eight. The AA field is now AAA “light” with outliers Waseca and Fergus Falls both dropping down to the AA level. FF made the state last year as a AAA team, Waseca was a runner up in section 2AAA, so it is not due to competitive inability they dropped.
Let us just say some of the action today was ragged with turnovers and shot selection a question mark. The pp100s reflect that in AAA & AA. Some of this is due to fatigue; some due to experimenting and on the job learning by generation next. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Alex & MIB repeated as champions & Sauk Centre returned to the gold medal game after a year away. Usually summer events like this are standard contests. Not so in the final game of the day when passions were sky high.
GAME 1: ALEXANDRIA 42, RED WING 39 OT
Both these teams spent a combined 11 weeks as the #1 team in the AP poll last winter (6 for Alex, 5 for RW). Both these teams were the #1 seed in their section. Both teams were upset in sections, Alex in the final, RW in the semis. This was both teams’ chance for righting those wrongs. Red Wing only had six players remaining for the title game due to other sporting commitments. With a limited bench, and being undersized, the Wingers focused their attack from the perimeter. The Nelson sisters Kyli and Sydnee combined for 26 of the 39 points and six of the seven 3s on the day. Alex overcame that long distance barrage with a more traditional inside focus. Ella Grove delivered a game high 17 points for Alex as all her points came from the restricted area or at the line.
Alex had the upper hand early holding an 11-3 lead and forcing RW to call time. The Wingers tied it up at 11 but Alex was up at the break 18-15. It would remain tight the rest of the way. Kyli Nelson dropped her fourth 3 to regain the lead for RW 38-37 with 1:20 left. Alex came up blank on their next three possessions as they were forced to foul. Kyli Nelson added a free throw with 16 seconds left. The Cards took a time out with 8.1 seconds left in front of their bench on the left side. Grove broke free after setting a screen and was wide, wide open on the left block for the tying basket. RW did penetrate right into the heart of the Alex defense but the shot bounced out. In the extra two minute session Jaya Hatlestad turned and wheeled for a left handed lay up in what proved to be the game winner. A contested 3 point attempt at the buzzer (which the RW faithful thought had extra contact) did not fall.
RW took more and made more 3s than 2s (24-21 & 7-6).
| Alexandria | Red Wing | |
| POINTS | 42 | 39 |
| REB/OFF | 31/8 | 34/10 |
| TURNOVERS | 20 | 19 |
| FT/FT% | 15/80.00 | 12/50.00 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 36.36/18.18 | 28.57/29.16 |
| PP100 | 71.2 | 63.9 |
| TOP SCORER | Ella Grove 17 | Kylie Nelson 16 |
GAME 2: SAUK CENTRE 31, STEWARTVILLE 28
Alex & RW, if they do have a history, it is thin. Same with SC & Stewartville. Last season Stewartville knocked off Sauk Centre in the Breakdown tip off event at Hopkins. On Sunday these two teams had previously played three games earlier in the day, so the gas tank was near empty. Also, some players had departed (like RW’s) for other events. Therefore, this contest featured 12 minute halves. Looking at the pp100 you can see the results—both teams were not at their sharpest. It didn’t start out that way. The Mainstreeters scored on their first four possessions and held a 10-0 lead. Another Nelson, this time Maddie, cashed in twice behind the arc to help propel SC to the commanding lead. But then things ground down for SC. They still led by double 16-8 at half. At the 3:55 mark in the second half Nelson again nailed a 3, but it would be SC’s final points. Their next six possessions were an exercise in handling the ramped up pressure from the Tigers. They failed on all six turning it over. Stewartville scored 12 unanswered points in that surge. Time expired before more damage could be done.
| Sauk Centre | Stewartville | |
| POINTS | 31 | 28 |
| REB/OFF | 35/11 | 23/8 |
| TURNOVERS | 17 | 6 |
| FT/FT% | 8/62.5 | 8/50.00 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 35.00/28.57 | 26.47/20.00 |
| PP100 | 66.0 | 59.6 |
| TOP SCORER | Michaela Dammann 10 | Maia Peterson 9 |
GAME 3: MOUNTAIN IRON-BUHL 59, CROMWELL-WRIGHT 43
These two teams have a history. That is why this game had more energy and passion than the other two combined. Both these teams reside in section 7A, which has been owned by MIB for the last nine seasons, a dynasty. Quick—name the last 7A team to win a section not named MIB—-answer below. That has meant that Cromwell-Wright has not been to the state. They have. They were shifted to section 5A for a few years but returned the past few. This year the Cardinals were the #1 seed in the section thanks to a 78-58 win during the year. The Rangers got their revenge in the 7A final thanks to a 50-31 defensive effort. That defense is alive and well for MIB. The Rangers graduated some key pieces, but the system keeps the players stockpiled. The difference now is they are smaller. The starting group on Sunday is 5-4.5. The tallest starter was 5-8. What has not changed, or perhaps because the size differential has been pumped up, is the intensity and physicality on defense. Think piranhas: small but vicious. The Rangers approached this game differently than the others. This meant bragging rights in the Arrowhead. This was about proving to themselves and others that they will be hard to dislodge from their throne. The San Antonio Spurs, amongst other NBA teams, chart how often their players touch each other on the floor. The more players touch, the better the results is the theory. I don’t track that stat, but if I did the Rangers would be off the charts. That energy was evident on the bench as well as players stood and cheered for every defensive effort that resulted in turnovers. Cromwell was flat footed at the start in part due to this vibe and in part due to the fact they had just finished their third game. MIB had that hour off. It was 10-0 when CW was forced to call time with 12:29 left in the first half. Did I say it was physical? It was extremely so. Comparisons from the sidelines would be made to wrestling or football. This was the last game of the day and the refs were on a short fuse. CW’s bench was warned once, the fans were warned. 42 fouls were whistled in this game with 3 players from MIB fouling out, and one for CW. MIB could win this attrition battle. CW could not for their player to exit was Taya Hakamaki. The Cards had recovered from their slow start to tie it at 24 with 2:30 left in the half. A 3 by Sage Ganyo followed by another 3 by Jordan Zubich gave the Rangers a cushion at half 35-28. The turning point in the game came with CW trailing 37-34 with 12:13 left in the game. Hakamaki was taking the ball up court and being pestered by Brooke Niska. A forearm clearance resulted in a foul and resulted in her exit. This was followed by a technical on the bench. The rest of the way MIB outscored CW 22-9. In that stretch the Rangers made three straight 3s to blow the game open and to put an exclamation point to their victory.
MIB was out rebounded by 13. Hard to rebound when you make a lot of shots, however. MIB was another team with more 3s attempted and made than inside the arc (21-12, 10-6).
The last non MIB 7A winner was Nashwauk-Keewatin in 2010. Congratulate yourself if you got that trivia question right. Now what is the NK mascot? Spartans.
| Mountain Iron-Buhl | Cromwell-Wright | |
| POINTS | 59 | 43 |
| REB/OFF | 20/4 | 33/19 |
| TURNOVERS | 20 | 27 |
| FT/FT% | 20/85.00 | 25/68.00 |
| 2FG%/3FG% | 50.00/47.61 | 25.00/33.33 |
| PP100 | 105.4 | 76.8 |
| TOP SCORER | Sage Ganyo 24 | Taya Hakamaki 17 |
TRENCH PLAYERS
GAME 1: Ella Grove of Alex with 17 points, 106.2 pp100 and a just missing out on the 31 Club by one (30).
GAME 2: Maddie Nelson of Sauk Centre with 9 points, 128.6 pp100 and an 11 score in the 31 Club.
GAME 3: Sage Ganyo with 24 points, a 184.6 pp100 (thanks to 3/3 from 2s and 4/5 from 3s), and the only player all day to make the 31 club with a 33. Ganyo is a 5-1 freshman to be guard.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Sage Ganyo