PRESIDENT’S DAY TWO-FER
With another Monday holiday, I was able to get to two contests today. MN State Highway 55 was big in both games as three of the four teams connect to that highway. Another theme of the day was both winners coming from the Central Minnesota Conference. Injuries, unfortunately, were also a theme. I opened with an afternoon girl/boy doubleheader at Eden Valley and in the process knocked off two top 100 teams. After that it was off to the southeast for an hour to Lester Prairie. There a team knocking on the door for the top 100 was crossed off the list. It was the first time this year for all four teams to come under the charts.
EDEN VALLEY-WATKINS 54, ANNANDALE 41
#10AA Eden Valley-Watkins used their full court pressure to knock off Annandale in the Battle of the Birds Monday afternoon. The Eagles had a +10 differential on turnovers which led to 15 more field goal attempts. And many of those attempts were in transition. EVW held a +10 differential in transition attempts. EVW also displays balanced scoring with four starters north of eight points. The Cardinals had two players in that category. Part of Annandale’s problem was the injury bug. Junior Hannah Purcell out for a couple of weeks and did not dress. This is not an injury, but Kamryn D’Heilly, a starter for the past few years, did not come out and is focusing exclusively on volleyball. Annandale’s cause took a hit at the 13:31 mark of the second half when Allie Spaulding went up for a twisting shot on the left block and landed on one leg. Having been through many games in my career, and hearing the pain involved, my guess is it is associated with the knee. At that point EVW led by 10 (35-25). Annandale had a surge of energy and Taylor Medvec drained a 3 to cut the lead to seven. EVW got some separation with four straight scores starting at the seven minute mark. Three minutes later EVW led by twenty (52-32).
Frank Hentges, former Minneapolis Roosevelt coach, is helping out at EVW. Both teams feature coaches daughters: EVW head coach Tom Jansen’s daughter Halle is in her third year as a starter; Annandale assistant Brian Atkinson’s daughter Grace is a starter.
After this game I am down to a “final four” in the top 100. I have three open dates in this last week of the regular season plus the entire three week post season to get the job done.
EVW is 22-3 for the year and will be the #1 seed in 3AA North. Annandale falls to 14-10.
MAPLE LAKE 66, LESTER PRAIRIE-HOLY TRINITY 47
Sometimes a final score doesn’t give the true indication of the contest. Maple Lake overcame an eleven point first half deficit (19-8) and then had to rally again from a five point second half deficit (32-27) before pulling away from the Bulldogs in the Monday nightcap. Fouls were a big part of the equation for the Irish in the win. ML scored on eleven straight possessions in the last 4:28 of the game. Free throws, which are hard to defend against, got the streak going with at least one converted on the first seven in that run. Obviously with all these free throws, LPHT faced foul problems. Two Bulldogs ended up fouling out. ML shot 30 free throws, and made 23. LPHT only attempted 18.
LPHT shot 56% from floor first half (9/16), but still trailed at the break 24-23. The Bulldogs’ Jenna Dolezal had twelve of her day’s high 19 points in first half. When she sat down with fouls in the first half, the momentum shifted to the Irish. The second half wasn’t nearly as kind to LPHT as they were only 6% from the floor (1/16).
ML’s Linsey Rachel went down with an injury at the 810 mark of the second half after a scramble for the ball, but returned to action during the eleven possession avalanche.
Three of the Irish starters played on the AA state championship volleyball team. The two six footers on that squad did not play basketball in 2018.
Maple Lake was #110 on the list, and is now 17-7 on the year. LPHT is 8-17.
| Team | PP100 | scorer | Distributor | D stops |
| Eden Valley-Watkins | 93.1 | Emma Schultz 18 | Olivia Kuechle 10 | Olivia Kuechle 10 |
| Annandale | 70.7 | Taylor Medvec 13 | Two with 3 | Abby Neutz 9 |
| Maple Lake | 101.5 | Mackenna Brown 18 | Mollie Scheiber 6 | Grace Heying 8 |
| Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity | 74.6 | Jenna Dolezal 19 | Kayla Weinzierl 5 | Kayla Weinzierl 9 |
TRENCH PLAYERS
GAME 1: 5-7 sophomore guard Olivia Kuechle of EVW.
GAME 2: 5-6 senior guard Mackenna Brown of Maple Lake