#1 seed Chaska defeated #4 Shakopee 67-48 and Eden Prairie outlasted Minnetonka 79-72 to advance to next Friday night's Section 2AAAA final which, like Saturday's semi-finals, will be held at the remaining high seed, which is to say, Chaska.
The overwhelming impression of today's games was simply that if you like what you see in 2AAAA, just stick around, because it's just going to get better and better. In other words, 18 of today's 20 starters are not seniors. They're 8th and 9th graders, and sophomores and juniors. 5% of today's points were scored by 8th graders, 18% by freshmen, 35% by 10th graders, 28% by 11th graders and just 13% by seniors. The seniors, as it happens, played like seniors. They were Natalie Mazurek and Nneka Obiazor of Eden Prairie and they scored all of the senior's 34 points, and they are why Eden Prairie was one of the 2 winners.
But, as it also happens, sophomore Nia Holloway scored 16 points for EP with 9 rebounds and 5 steals and 2 blocks, and she is another reason why EP was one of the winners.
For the other winner, Chaska, freshman Kennedy Sanders was the day's top player with 23 points7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals, while sophomore Mallory Heyer scored 16 points with 13 rebounds, and they are why Chaska was a winner. And, Sanders and Heyer not only accounted for 58% of Chaska's points, they also anchored a rock solid defense that gave fits to Shakopee's two leading scorers, the junior guards Natalie Holte and Kelley Brennan. Sanders guarded Holte all day and held her without a FG. Meanwhile, Brennan is a big 5-10 3-point bomber, but Heyer at 6-1 had plenty of length and mobility to get out on Brennan and prevent her from even thinking about shooting the 3. She scored 11 points, but she was 0-for-2 from long range.
So, the 5 best players on the day were 2 seniors, two sophomores and a freshman. The next 5 were Sophie Haydon, Minnetonka's 6-3 junior; Desiree Ware, Minnetonka sophomore guard; Destinee Bursch, EP junior guard; Kate Cordes, a sophomore who came off the bench for Shakopee and played well; and also off the bench, Chaska 9th grade guard Ashley Schuelke.
If you're wondering about Kaylee VanEps, Chaska's star junior, so am I. She did not take a single shot today, had one rebound, and 3 turnovers. She did have 2 blocked shots. Her minutes and rotations seemed normal.
Chaska is 24-4, EP is 17-11. But EP plays in the Lake Conference. Chaska would not be 24-4 in the Lake. So their final looks like a tossup to me. The 2 teams had 12 common opponents. Chaska did better against Edina, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Michael, Lakeville North and St. Louis Park. Eden Prairie did better against Wayzata, Maple Grove, Chan, Buffalo and Cooper. The 12th common opponent was each other. Chaska beat EP 70-57 at Chaska in December. OK, slight advantage Chaska, especially considering the section final is on their home court.
Or, look at it this way.
Center--Heyer is great (and 6-1). Mazurek is 6-4 and very good. Heyer had 16 points today on 5-of-12 shooting, 13 boards and 2 turnovers. And, a great defensive game. Mazurek had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Neither had a turnover. I don't see an advantage either way.
Power Forward--Kendall Karrmann of Chaska is a 6-foot sophomore, a good solid player. Nneka Obiazor of EP is 5-10 but players a lot bigger. She scored 15 today, Karrmann 7. Advantage EP.
Small Forward--Nia Holloway is gonna be fabulous. Sometimes she's fabulous now, in her sophomore year, like today she was fabulous. She scored 16 points of 5-of-9 shooting with 9 boards, 5 steals and 2 blocks. She dominated with her defense in the 2nd half. Kaylie VanEps of Chaska is very highly regarded but, as noted, did not take a shot today. Is she healthy? Under ordinary circumstances, you'd say advantage VanEps. But, right now, I'd say tossup and a big, big matchup that could decide the game if one of them really steps it up.
Point Guard--Kennedy Sanders and Destinee Bursch. Bursch had a very nice game today but Sanders was off the charts.
Shooting Guard--Kelsey Willems and Ashley Schuelke combined for 21 points today for Chaska, while Molly Lenz and Myra Moorjani combined for 15 for EP. This is another very key matchup.
So there's just one obvious positional advantage each way with 3 tossups. So who's gonna step up? Heyer or Mazurek? Holloway? In the end, I'm just gonna cop out and say, hey, Chaska is #1 and they're at home. But, that is no guarantee. Still, you read it here first. Chaska 70 Eden Prairie 63, though it will be a one-possession game inside of 2 minutes.
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