3 SATURDAY GAMES FROM THE SPRING SHOWDOWN

The D1 window is open this weekend. Those teams and players with higher aspirations were on the east coast. Teams that remained behind are looking to catch the eyes of the local D2 or D3 schools. Metro teams were absent for the most part. So I was able to catch some of the regional teams from the state. After last weekend’s blizzard, the numbers put up (with one exception) were numb. Only the SW Slam cracked the 100 pp100 mark. Other than Winnipeg with a 75, the rest of the four teams scored below 65. A quick diagnosis indicates the over reliance on the three point line as the culprit. Three teams shot at least half of their attempts beyond the arc. Again only the SW Slam was justified in their choices with a 40% mark. The rest were under 15. The lone team that relied more on speed and transition more than the perimeter game was from north of the border. The Winnipeg Wolves only took 20% of their shots behind the arc and had a solid 30% to boot.

GAME 1: MN/WI FORCE 2020 33, SO-MN FURY 2020 21

The Force was one to be reckoned with at the start of the game. Their half court trap caused havoc with the SMF. With five minutes left in the first half the Force led 22-8. That would end up being one more point than they needed for the victory. But the Force soon ran out of gas and plateaued. SMF actually “won” the final 21 minutes 13-11. I would not characterize this finish as an epic defensive struggle however. For full disclosure there are two Force players that play at Stillwater.

GAME 2: SOUTHWEST SLAM 15U 74, MN NICE 15U 32

The Marshall based SW Slam team wasn’t nice to MN Nice and body slammed them for a running time win. A fast start helped. SWS was up 11-0 before Nice found the bottom of the net. The Slam cracked 51 at half, more than the other two winners had for their entire game. With four minutes to go in the half SWS had enough to win the game. The Slam was deadly at the free throw line with an 85.7% mark. Ella Veldkamp of SW MN Christian was a perfect six for six at the charity stripe.

Usually SW Slam doesn’t make the rounds in the metro until after school is over. This may be a new era.

GAME 3: WINNIPEG WOLVES 16U 47, WEST CENTRAL WILDCATS 10/11 ORANGE 33

This game had an abundance of Ws. Generally, teams from Canada in the past that I have charted have been anemic. The Winnipeg Wolves were different in that they looked like they have had some game experience. They anticipated well and ran the floor better than any team of the six today. They were quick to the ball and seemed hungrier for the ball, especially on offensive rebounds. This contest was competitive up to half when the Wolves led 25-22. The Wolves howled after the break by scoring on the first five times they touched the ball in the second half (with four points on second chancers) and created separation at 36-24. The Wildcats spent the rest of the night trying to claw back.

Team	PP100	scorer	Distributor	D stops
MN/WI Force 2020	64.2	Two with 8	Kolbi Juen 3	Grace Cote 9
So MN Fury 2020	38.9	Two with 6	Two with 3	Sidney Brandau 8
Southwest Slam 15u	127.6	Two with 16	Megan Wegner 7	Two with 7
MN Nice 15u	55.2	Olivia Harazin 11	Holly Buytaert 4	Olivia Harazin 7
Winnipeg Wolves 16u	75.8	Kat Rogan 13	Three with 4	Two with 6
West Central Wildcats 10/11 Orange	53.2	Ally Johnson 10	Elizabeth Murken 3	Ally Johnson 12

TRENCH PLAYERS:

Game 1: Kolbi Juen, MN/WI Force 2020 (St. Croix Central, WI)

Game 2: Ella Veldkamp, SW Slam 15u Orange (SW MN Christian)

Game 3: Kat Rogan, Winnipeg Wolves 16u

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Ella Veldkamp

Category	MN/WI Force 2020	So MN Fury 2020	SW Slam 15u	MN Nice 15u	Winnipeg Wolves 16u	WC Wildcats 10/11 Orange
Points	33	21	74	32	47	33
Rebounds	27	28	36	21	41	33
Turnovers	16	25	11	22	19	19
2FG att/%	26/42.3	15/40	34/55.9	19/52.6	42/38.1	22/31.8
3FG att/%	15/13.3	15/6.7	20/40	23/17.4	10/30	24/12.5
FT att/%	13/46.2	9/66.7	14/85.7	2/0	8/75	18/55.6
Bench	9	7	21	19	10	5