Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Big Month March 2010

March Players of the Month

Alec Brown, Winona
Tessa Cichy, Hill-Murray
Kevin Noreen, Minnesota Transitions
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Matt Schneck, St. Cloud State

March Teams of the Month

1. Lakeville North girls
2. St. Paul Johnson boys
3. St. Cloud State men
4. Concordia (St. Paul) women
5. Barnum girls

March Coaches of the Month

1. Vern Simmons, St. Paul Johnson boys
2. Kevin Schlagel, St. Cloud State men
3. Andy Berkvam, Lakeville North girls
4. Tubby Smith, Minnesota Gopher men
5. Dan Elhard, Grand Rapids boys

March Games of the Month

1. Hopkins boys 90 Henry Sibley 82 (2 OT), Boys AAAA semi-finals
2. Minnesota Gophers men 69 Purdue 42, Big Ten tournament semi-finals
3. St. Cloud State men 92 Midwestern State (Texas) 88, NCAA D2 Elite Eight
4. Minnesota Gophers men 72 Michigan State 67 (OT), Big Ten tournament quarter-finals
5. St. Paul Johnson 59 Grand Rapids 55, Boys AAA finals

The Big Game March 2010
Plus the Most Valuable Minnesotan and Most Valuable Coach of the day

3/31 Minnesota Timberwolves 108 Sacramento Kings 99. Wolves break a 16-game losing streak. MVM: Al Jefferson 19/12 boards/6 blocks.

3/28 Phoenix 111 Minnesota Timberwolves 105. Kevin Love and Al Jefferson, Timberwolves 42 points/38 boards between 'em. Kurt Rambis, Timberwolves.

3/27 Boys State HS Tournament, AAA finals: St. Paul Johnson 59 Grand Rapids 55. The state's best team survives its most surprising state tournament entrant to complete an unbeaten season. Estan Tyler, St. Paul Johnson 20/7 rebounds/4 assists. Dan Elhard, Grand Rapids.

3/26 Boys State HS Tournament, AA semi-finals: Sebeka 61 Ellsworth 60. Casey Schilling, Ellsworth 31/13 rebounds/3 assists. Tom Vix, Rushford-Peterson.

3/25 Boys State HS Tournament, AAAA semi-finals: Hopkins 90 Henry Sibley 82 (2OT). A classic in which Hopkins set tournament records for FT made and attempted at 39-for-58.Joe Coleman of Hopkins and Jordan Jackson of Sibley scored 25 points each. Tom Vix, Rushford-Peterson.

3/24 D2 Elite Eight: St. Cloud State men 92 Midwestern State (Texas) 88. Taylor Witt, St. Cloud State 43, including a D2 Elite Eight record 22-0f-23 FT. Kevin Schlagel, St. Cloud State.

3/23 NCAA D1 women's basketball tournament, 2nd round game, Williams Arena: Nebraska 83 UCLA 70. I think this was the last college game to be played on Minnesota soil in 2009-2010, and it was a game of runs. 15-6 UCLA, 9-0 Nebraska, 8-3 UCLA, then the biggie: 17-2 Nebraska. And, then, after a 9-0 UCLA run, a 16-0 Nebraska run to make it 51-34 at 13:53 of the 2nd half. UCLA never got closer than 12. Cory Montgomery, Nebraska (and Cannon Falls, MN) 9 points/4 boards/3 assists/1 steal.

3/22 Toronto Raptors 106 Minnesota Timberwolves 100. Trailing by 12 early in the 4th quarter, the Wolves got within 94-92 at 3:28 but never had possession with a game-tying shot. Jonny Flynn, Timberwolves 14/6 assists/3 steals. Kurt Rambis, Timberwolves, the only Minnesotan coaching tonight.

3/21 NCAA D1 women's basketball tournament, 1st round games, Williams Arena: Nebraska 83 Northern Iowa 44. Cory Montgomery, Nebraska (and Cannon Falls, MN) 9/4 rebounds/5 assists

3/20 Girls State HS Tournament, AAAA finals: Lakeville North 57 White Bear Lake 47. The Panthers complete their unbeaten season and people are asking how they compare to St. Paul Central 2007, whether they're one of the best--and, perhaps, the best--ever. Rachel Banham 25/3 assists and Cassie Rochel 13/20 rebounds/4 blocks, Lakeville North. Josh Thurow, Minnehaha Academy girls.

3/19 Boys section finals: Champlin Park 77 Robbinsdale Cooper 70, and Henry Sibley 55 Cretin-Derham Hall 53. The #3 and #4AAAA teams go down to defeat. Jordan Jackson, Sibley 31. Vern Simmons, St. Paul Johnson boys.

3/18 Girls State Tournament: Lakeville North 76 Chaska 46. My goodness. If not Chaska, who? Tessa Cichy, Hill-Murray 34/4 assists/4 steals. Erin Herman, Hill-Murray.

3/17 Girls State Tournament: Wayzata 56 Maple Grove 50. The Trojans roared back from a 31-17 half-time deficit against the favored Crimson, who shot just 26 percent for the second half and 3o percent for the game. Ellen Degler, Chaska 19/9 reb/3 assists/3 steals. Mike Schumacher, Wayzata.

3/16 Cretin-Derham Hall boys 67 Tartan 65. Raiders advance to Section 4AAAA final against Forest Lake. Jacob Thomas, Columbia Heights 38. The Heights advance to the 3AAA final against DeLaSalle. Keith Newman, Mahtomedi boys, who advance to the 4AAA final against St. Paul Johnson.

3/15 NCAA D2 Women's Central Regional final: Fort Lewis 73 Concordia (St. Paul) 64. The Bears fought back from 29-19 and 32-23 deficits in the 1st half to take a 43-42 lead at 11:51 of the 2nd. But from a 60-60 tie, Fort Lewis scored on all 8 possessions to the final buzzer and blocked 3 Concordia shots inside of 2:00. Jordan Milbrath, Springfield HS boys 17/5 rebounds/3 assists/3 steals as Springfield knocks off defending state champ Granada-H-EC in the section 2A semis. Lance Larson, Springfield.

3/14 D2 Central Region semi-finals: St. Cloud State 82 Mankato State 71. The Huskies led just 69-66 at 3:35, but Andrew Bernstetter had 6 points, 3 boards and 2 blocks the rest of the way. Matt Schneck, St. Cloud State 21/14 rebounds. Kevin Schlagel, St. Cloud State.

3/13 Big Ten tournament: Minnesota Gopher men 69 Purdue 42. The Gophers took an early 26-4 lead as Purdue went scoreless for 11:26. You just knew they'd be playing for the Big Ten title on Sunday! No, you didn't. Ralph Sampson, Minnesota 13/5 reb/3 assists/2 blocks/1 steal. Tubby Smith, Minnesota.

3/12 Minnesota Gopher men 72 Michigan State 67 (OT). Up and down Gophers stay alive in the Big Ten and for the Big Dance, shocking the #11 rated Spartans. Brooke Brown, Chaska girls 20, including the game-winner at 0:14 vs. #2 Edina. Bill Gottenborg, Hawley girls.

3/11 6AAAA Final: Wayzata girls 56 Mpls. South 42. The girls state tournament field is taking shape, but we now know that the defending AAAA champs won't be part of it. Kayla Hirt, Bemidji 40. Mike Schumacher, Wayzata girls.

3/10 Mpls. Washburn boys 49 Waconia 47. Defending state AAA champs stay alive with 11-13 W-L, upsetting #6AAA Waconia in section quarter-finals. Thomas Schalk, Apple Valley 27. Reggie Perkins, Mpls. Washburn.

3/9 Sauk Centre girls 45 New London-Spicer 32. For the second night in a row, a #1 got bounced out of the post-season, this time it was the #1AA New London-Spicer Wildcats. These West Central Conference opponents split 2 previous games but the Mainstreeters got the last laugh, stalling out the final 9 minutes of the 2nd half. Rachel Hansen, Minnehaha 28. Josh Thurow, Minnehaha girls.

3/8 Buffalo Lake-Hector girls 48 Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 45 (OT). Undefeated and #1 rated, CMC goes down in the Section 3A semi to the team that beat the team that beat #1AA Sauk Center a week ago. If you follow me. Al Jefferson, Timberwolves 36/13 rebounds. Josh Tjosaas, Buffalo Lake-Hector.

3/7 St. Cloud State men 68 Southwest State 67. The 2 teams exchanged 1-point leads on each of the last 12 scores after 2:53. Two Taylor Witt FT for the Huskies at 0:02 were the last of the 12. Kachine Alexander, Iowa women (formerly Benilde) 13/7 rebounds/3 assists/4 steals. Brad Bigler, Southwest State.

3/6 Chaska girls 72 Eden Prairie 56. Everybody said, Eden Prairie is playing very well right now. What does that say about Chaska? Brooke Brown, Chaska 29. Tara Seifert, Chaska.

3/5 Morris Area boys 62 New London-Spicer 58 (ot). Morris turns the tables on the Wildcats in the West Central Conference title game. Alex Healy, St. Thomas men 26/6 assists in NCAA D3 1st round loss. Mark Torgerson, Morris boys.

3/4 Penn State women 63 Minnesota 52. A disappointing end to a disappointing season. Brittney McCoy allowed to a Strib reporter that "some people (teammates) have checked out." Oh, really. Brittney Chambers, Kansas State (formerly Jordan HS) 13/14 rebounds, including 2 game-winning FT in a 72-70 win over Colorado. Such a performance by the girl that Pam Borton didn't want has to be noted on the day the Gophers' season came to an end. Chris Stoebner, Orono girls.

3/3 Prior Lake girls 57 Bloomington Kennedy 44. #6 and #8 in the state, but just #4 and #5 in Section 2AAAA. If I'm #1 seed (in the section) and #2 ranked (statewide) Edina, I'm not liking the match-up with Prior Lake in the semis. Rachel Moen, Burnsville 21. Mike Gidley, Prior Lake girls.

3/2 Stillwater boys 60 Cretin-Derham Hall 58. But the Raiders were without 6-8 post Senatrel Henderson, with whom they would seem poised to turn the tables on the Ponies in Section 4AAAA action. Dyami Starks, Duluth East 32, on the heels of a 55 point effort a week ago. Vern Simmons, St. Paul Johnson, who completed an undefeated 25-0 regular season.

3/1 Sebeka girls 78 New York Mills 67. #2A takes it on the chin in their final tune-up for the play-offs. Nate Dwyer, West Lutheran 30. Mike Heino, Sebeka.


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