A QUARTET OF SATURDAY GAMES
There is no easy way to say this. Today I witnessed four running time
contests with AAAA teams. Friday the 13th fell on a Saturday for these teams. It was a quartet of Saturday night (& afternoon) massacres. All four of these teams have commonalities: 1. They have limited offensive (read shooting & decision making) skills; 2. defensively they allow the ball to get inside often; 3. they allow second shots (or more); 4. they are slower in transition. All winning teams had more points at half than the losing team did after 36 minutes.
Of course there were some compelling games out there, but with the desire to see all 64 of the AAAA teams, this was a day to see some of the bottom feeders. With all AAAA sections playing at the same time, I won’t be able to see any of the AAAA teams in the first round of sections. That is why it is essential to cross them off prior to sections. Also with the traditional Tuesday/Friday game schedule, I am unable to see many of these teams due to Stillwater’s games at the same time. Taken together the four teams I needed to see today have a record of 10-39.
One more interesting factor today—-five of the eight teams had new coaches this year. Three of the new coaches fell.
With today’s action I now have five AAAA teams left (or I have seen 92% of the teams so far). Section 4AAAA (with North St. Paul off the chart) is now the fourth section to be completed. Next week three more teams will be crossed off. There are six weeks of the regular season remaining.
Game | Shooting | Turnovers | Inside attempts | Second chances | transitions |
Tartan/NSP | 37/39 | 14/42 | 45/23 | 14/5 | 19/4 |
BSM/Washburn | 62/29 | 18/21 | 14/23 | 8/6 | 4/3 |
Hopkins/Armstrong | 58/31 | 9/24 | 40/18 | 16/4 | 12/1 |
Buffalo/Osseo | 47/14 | 12/20 | 34/25 | 12/8 | 3/1 |
It is also worth noting the starting unit’s pp100s for each game on the winner’s side.
Tartan 108; BSM 122.9; Hopkins 148.9; Buffalo 128.1
So there is definitely a schism of talent even in the big schools. We are moving to a system where there are haves, and have nots. The experience with playing time especially off season (with the notable exception of Armstrong) is telling.
GAME 1
TARTAN 76, NORTH ST. PAUL 33
This was a Metro East Conference game and the first of the two girl/boy double headers. This also is a civil war game with both schools located in the same school district. Also it was the first time both coaches (who are new to their schools) experienced the battle. Speed ruled here. Also Tartan nailed nine 3s in the first half (their total also for the game) The Titans led 54-24.
GAME 2
BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’S 59, MINNEAPOLIS WASHBURN 22
The Red Knights had the best shooting of the bunch, and they did it from the outside. Washburn actually had more attempts in the paint. BSM led 32-6 at the break.
GAME 3
HOPKINS 85, ARMSTRONG 41
The Falcons had the unenviable task of facing an angry Hopkins team that lost to Wayzata the night before. The Falcons also were not at full strength—Carly Krsul was out. The Royals put the hammer down on their 6AAAA rival with the best overall pp100 of any of the four games. Armstrong was the strongest of the four teams on the short end of the stick today with the best pp100 at 61.2, at least 15 points better than the other three. Hopkins led 57-14 at half.
GAME 4
BUFFALO 59, OSSEO 24
This completed the set for the day with the visiting Bison stampeding the Orioles. Buffalo led at the break 33-12.
Team | PP100 | scorer | Distributor | D stops |
Tartan | 97.4 | Navaeh Moeschter 23 | Kendra Ekereke 7 | KaTia Cummings 13 |
North St. Paul | 42.3 | Brianna Young 12 | Nicole Anderson 13 | Haley Hogan 7 |
Benilde-St. Margaret’s | 111.3 | Ginny Lyons 16 | Cheyenne Carter 6 | Olivia Pohlen 7 |
Minneapolis Washburn | 42.3 | Kesha White 6 | Three with 2 | Kesha White 5 |
Hopkins | 126.9 | Dlayla Chakolis 20 | Jaide Pressley 9 | Dlayla Chakolis 10 |
Armstrong | 61.2 | Masengo Mutanda 19 | Two with 3 | Masengo Mutanda 9 |
Buffalo | 111.3 | Megan Lowell 12 | Reese Wishart 7 | Reese Wishart 9 |
Osseo | 45.3 | Jaiden Kline 9 | Anna Corona 4 | Tehya Hampton 6 |
TRENCH PLAYERS
GAME 1: Nevaeh Moeschter, Tartan
GAME 2: Cheyenne Carter, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
GAME 3: Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins
GAME 4: Megan Lowell, Buffalo