WAYZATA 59, MAPLE GROVE 53

#5AAAA Wayzata won their third straight contest of the young

season with a come from behind win at #10AAAA Maple Grove. In a sense it was the battle of the Theis (a short form for Mattheis or Matthew in German). Kallie Theisen scored all 19 of her points in the second half to help propel the Trojans to the victory. On the Crimson side Katrina Theis led all scorers with 21 points. Both players knew how to draw a foul. Theisen attempted 11, Thies 13. Wayzata had more balance; three players reached double digits, and one just missed out with nine. Only one other Crimson joined Theis in double digit territory. After the top three scorers for MG, the rest of the squad contributed six points. Using the same divisions, Wayzata’s fourth scorer and under combined had 17.

Wayzata got off to an 8-2 start utilizing 6-3 newcomer Annika Stewart for their first four. Stewart moved in from Minot Ryan and her older sister is playing at Iowa. Besides the inside game, Wayzata utilized the running game scoring in transition even after MG scores. With seven minutes to go in the first half Wayzata enjoyed their biggest lead at 20-12. Fouls piled up, MG started connecting and the host Crimson finished with a 17-7 kick down the stretch for a 29-27 advantage at the break. MG enjoyed their biggest cushion of four (38-34) with 13 minutes to go in the game. Theisen was starting to come to life on the scoring column. Wayzata scored nine unanswered points, partly because MG had to hold off players with foul trouble. With 10:46 left Wayzata was back in the lead at 43-38. MG had one more run in them and inched forward at 50-49 on a Thies put back with 5:30 left in the game. Wayzata’s defense stepped up and only allowed three more points the rest of the way. Part of MG’s issues was Theis picked up foul four with 4:50 left. She immediately sat down and the Crimson turned blue. It was hard to get the momentum back.

The Trojans, sporting a starting line up that average 5-11.2 in height, shot 50% from inside the arc, which was one category where they had a clear advantage over the host Crimson. MG starters average 5-9.8 across the board, a +1.4 differential in favor of Wayzata. That doesn’t include wing span. If that were included Wayzata’s advantages would be more pronounced. In most recognizable stat categories today, both teams were close.

As is the trend all over these days, both teams shot quite a bit from behind the arc, but without a lot of success. Wayzata attempted 33% from behind the arc, MG 29%. But 11% and 6% are not scintillating numbers. Part of the reason for the low percentages is what I will label the torque of the shooters. I am specifically talking about the lower body and how when the shooter initiates the shot they have their feet toward the basket, but by the end of the shot their feet are to the right corner. Shooters are not square during the process and it is hurting percentages.

Freshman starters Jordyn Lamker of MG and Jenna Johnson of Wayzata are teammates in the summer. Both play with North Tartan West during the club season.

Team	PP100	scorer	Distributor	D stops
Wayzata	86.8	Kallie Theisen 19	Mimi Schrader 12	Annika Stewart 10
Maple Grove	77.9	Katrina Theis 21	Two with 5	Katrina Theis 11

TRENCH PLAYER: Kallie Theisen