I ran into several members of the Ms. Basketball committee at tonight's Stillwater-Wayzata game. "Did you see Ms. Basketball tonight?" I asked. "What year?" they replied. Indeed.
But, first, the game. Wayzata came in undefeated and ranked #2. Stillwater had a 22-point loss to Hopkins early, but surprised #5 Roseville last week 78-60. My buddy Grant, who saw the Roseville game, said, Wayzata by 6 or 8. I said, Tossup.
So, Stillwater roared out to 12-1 and 21-9 leads, but Wayzata clawed its way back into a brief lead before the Ponies took a 34-33 halftime lead. Stillwater guards Sara Scalia and Alexis Pratt combined for 31 points on 6-of-18 shooting including 3-of-6 3s and 7-of-8 FT. Meanwhile, Wayzata bigs Jenna Johnson and Kallie Theisen combined for 24 points on 8-of-17 FG, 7-of-10 FT, and 9 offensive boards.
The 2nd half was a mirror of the 1st. Stillwater pulled ahead again and led 58-49 at 8:52 on 9-of-14 shooting. But, as soon as the Ponies shooting faltered (they shot 6-of-18 the rest of the way), Wayzata's offensive boards began to pile up. The Trojans outscored Stillwater 15-5 on 2nd chance points in the 2nd half and 24-10 for the night. And freshman Mara Braun scored 16 2nd half points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a dribble drive from the left wing to send the game into OT.
Wayzata took the lead in OT but Pratt tied it up on a fast break layup at 0:35. But, Braun iced it for the Trojans with 2 FT at :19.
So, what year, indeed?
Among the 2019s, Theisen is rated as the #1 player in one prominent ranking. She finished with a hard-earned 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, with 14 rebounds, 7 on each end of the floor. She added 3 assists. Scalia, meanwhile, is rated #2 in the same ranking and is, as you know, Lindsay Whalen's 1st Minnesota recruit. She scored 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting, and they were also hard-earned points, as Wayzata's Mimi Schrader and others hounded her with some effect. She had no turnovers, but no assists, according to my unofficial stats. So I'd say advantage Theisen.
The top 2020s on the floor were the posts, Aliza Karlen of Stillwater and Annika Stewart of Wayzata. Karlen scored 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting with 9 boards. Stewart scored 9 points on 4-of-9 shooting with 5 boards. Honestly, neither one looked like Ms. Basketball.
No, the girls the Ms. Basketball gurus were referring to were the 2021s Pratt and Johnson and the 2022 Braun. Pratt, an all-state sprinter in track, was too quick for anybody to guard, and she scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting with 4 boards, 4 assists but 5 turnovers. Johnson scored those 17 1st half points to keep Wayzata alive, and finished with 19 on 7-of-15 shooting with 8 boards, 6 of them on the offensive end. Braun was athletic in the 1st half, and just plain dynamite in the 2nd.
Player of the Day--Mara Braun, Wayzata
Team of the Day--Wayzata
Coach of the Day--Ok, I'm gonna duck this one and go with a couple of fellows from up in Arrowhead country: Will Kleppe of North Woods, who knocked off a pretty good AA program, Esko, tonight 72-67; and Jeff Gronner, of Cromwell, who defeated an up-and-coming Class A opponent in Floodwood.
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