LAKE SUPERIOR SHOWCASE
Another Saturday, another event. For the fourth straight Saturday I charted multiple games. This time my destination was some northern exposure where the Lake Superior Conference held their showcase at Cloquet Middle School (a first for me). The saving grace of this event was only four contests were featured, three down from the seven (or more) contests the previous three weeks presented. Three ranked teams (in the top 20 of the MN Basketball poll) were in the house with the #Hermantown against #2AA Proctor the “pinnacle” game of the day. Two players joined the 41 Club, one crossed over to the 51 Club.
The first contest of the day featured #4AA Duluth Marshall and they had no issues with Ashland, Wisconsin in a 71-39 rout. The Hilltoppers were on top of the hill with the best pp100 of the day at 104.4. The next best pp100 was 78, 26 points off their mark. Converting 11/15 on fast breaks will help lift those numbers. The full court pressure caused Ashland to cough up the ball 25 times. DM’s dynamic duo of Gianna Kneepkens and Grace Kirk combined for 54 points.
In game two Two Harbors jumped out to a 14-2 lead which expanded to a 27-6 lead after three straight 3s by Laura Erickson. All this after eight minutes of action. The rest of the game (26 minutes) was “won” by Denfeld 44-35. The Hunters’ Zoe Nonnemacher had a days high 14 d stops helping to right the ship for Denfeld. Nonnemacher also had the best 31 Club score for a player on a team that didn’t win with 29.
The third game of the day was the lowest scoring in total points and also for the losing squad. This is odd since both Hermantown and Proctor entered the game with unblemished marks and this was the lowest point totals for each. The Hawks left the contest with their unblemished mark intact. You knew we were on a low scoring trajectory when the half time score was an even 18. This was a result of the style of play—-cautionary—-possessions were treated like gold. There were about 60 possessions in this game, the lowest by far of the four. Proctor had the most seven touch possessions of the day with 21. They also had 14 mega dribbles (10 or more bounces). This indicates an offense with: 1. Lack of ball movement; or 2. Lack of player movement; or 3. Both. In those 21 long touch possessions they only scored four times—-good for 19.05%. The game remained tied at 24 with 13 minutes left in the contest. Proctor then went on a seven possession drought. Hermantown added four in the meantime. Twice in that sequence the Rails had seven plus possessions ending in turnovers. Their final points came on an &1 by Liz Frase with 4:07 left in the game to make the score 37-32. Twelve possessions came up empty for Proctor. The Hawks finished with a 10-0 run. Elly Schmitz had six of her game high 26 points down the stretch.
The final match up was another Wisconsin v Minnesota battle, but the Badger state came out on top over the hosts. The Spartans of Superior lowered the boom on the host Lumberjacks in a 53-34 finish. This was a physical contentious game with a grand total of 53 attempts at the line, the most of any game Saturday. The first 14 possessions of the game were blank. Cloquet broke the ice first. The Lumberjacks also enjoyed an 8-3 lead early. That lead stayed steady. Soon the Spartans chipped away and pulled in front for the first time at the five minute mark 17-15. The last four minutes went Superior’s way 11-5 for a half time total of 28-20.
All teams in dressed in white ended up with victories.
It appears that next Saturday will be multiple game free—-at least at one site—-as I go out & about.
| DULUTH MARSHALL | ASHLAND WI | |
| POINTS | 71 | 39 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 34/13 | 37/10 |
| TURNOVERS | 9 | 25 |
| 2FGA/% | 38/55.26 | 39/33.33 |
| 3FGA/% | 28/28.57 | 7/14.28 |
| FTA/% | 9/55.6 | 15/66.67 |
| PP100 | 104.4 | 57.4 |
| TOP SCORER | Gianna Kneepkens 32 | Zoe Pearce 11 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Gianna Kneepkens with 32 points, 188.2 pp100, and 59 score in the 31 Club. All highs for the day.
| TWO HARBORS | DULUTH DENFELD | |
| POINTS | 62 | 50 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 48/14 | 42/16 |
| TURNOVERS | 32 | 27 |
| 2FGA/% | 41/56.09 | 48/39.58 |
| 3FGA/% | 17/17.64 | 13/7.69 |
| FTA/% | 19/36.84 | 23/39.13 |
| PP100 | 72.9 | 58.1 |
| TOP SCORER | Laura Erickson 17 | Lexi Lowinski 14 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Laura Erickson with 17 points, 130.8 pp100 and 24 score in the 31 Club.
| HERMANTOWN | PROCTOR | |
| POINTS | 47 | 32 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 39/15 | 39/14 |
| TURNOVERS | 15 | 18 |
| 2FGA/% | 24/33.33 | 30/26.66 |
| 3FGA/% | 24/20.83 | 20/10.00 |
| FTA/% | 18/88.89 | 14/71.42 |
| PP100 | 78.3 | 53.3 |
| TOP SCORER | Elly Schmitz 26 | Sam Parendo 9 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Elly Schmitz with 26 points, 113.0 pp100 and a 46 score in the 31 Club.
| SUPERIOR | CLOQUET | |
| POINTS | 53 | 34 |
| REBOUNDS/OFF | 47/22 | 52/24 |
| TURNOVERS | 23 | 29 |
| 2FGA/% | 49/36.73 | 50/20.00 |
| 3FGA/% | 13/23.07 | 3/0.00 |
| FTA/% | 22/36.36 | 31/45.16 |
| PP100 | 71.6 | 44.7 |
| TOP SCORER | Niya Wilson 13 | Maddie Young 11 |
TRENCH PLAYER: Kaileigh Miller of Superior with 9 points, 112.5 pp100, and 21 score in the 31 Club