SHAKOPEE 64, EDINA 60

Thursday, I continued my tour of Section 2AAAA, which may be the most competitive section with depth in AAAA this season. A potential 4 vs 5 matchup played out at Edina with visiting Shakopee (right now the #4 according to QRF), the defending section champs, holding off the Hornets (#5) 64-60. This game was Dickensian in a sense—-a tale of two halves, or a half plus three minutes to fifteen minutes.

Shakopee controlled the first half with sharpshooting from both the 3 and free throw line. The first time Shakopee had a ten point lead came at 24-14 after a 3 by Kate Cordes with 6:29 left and that prompted an Edina time out. The Sabers led 38-23 at the break. The Sabres delivered seven 3s on 43.75 shooting as they lacerated the Edina 2/3 zone and cashed in at the free throw line 11 of 14 times. Their pp100 was a healthy 111.8 pp100. The host Hornets, by contrast, only attempted two free throws the first half. They also had issues with 14 turnovers, a minus nine differential.

This trend continued with the Shakopee scoring on four of the first five possessions of the second half extending the Sabre lead to 47-23. The game momentum pivoted after that. Julia Kratz hit a three that sparked the hometown faithful.  At the eight minute mark it was a whole new ball game with Shakopee up 49-43. The last two Edina scores in that run were an &1 and then a three from the left corner. Five different Hornets scored in that string. Shakopee pushed the lead back to ten with six minutes left. A 3 by Dorothy Stotts ignited the second rally. The closest Edina got was four points down the stretch. Shakopee met all the challenges in the last minute with seven of eight free throws. Precious seconds ticked off the clock as Shakopee milked the clock. Twice in one possession Shakopee called time. That possession also saw a full minute erased off the clock.

Edina’s offense in the second half clicked at the rate of 127.6 pp100. This is due to their blazing hot shooting with 75% on 3s (3/4); 62% on 2s and 80% on free throws. The Hornets also valued the ball better than they did in the first half, cutting their turnovers in half to seven. The defense also turned up the heat on Shakopee. The Sabers were unable to get a 3 in the second half, and their traps worked as they doubled their turnover count from five to eleven. Shakopee’s pp100 was respectable at 86.7.

I have now charted 75.8% of AAAA with 15 teams left.

Shakopee is 9-5. Edina falls to 6-9 on the year and has lost four straight games.

	SHAKOPEE	EDINA
POINTS	64	60
REBOUNDS/OFF	28/10	25/7
TURNOVERS	16	21
2FGA/%	22/40.90	30/53.33
3FGA/%	18/38.89	15/40.00
FTA/%	31/80.64	12/83.33
PP100	100.0	95.2
TOP SCORER	Kelley Brennan 15	Dorothy Stotts 15

TRENCH PLAYER: Kelley Brennan, 15 points, 125.0 pp100; 27 score in the 31 Club.