January 11, 2007 at 7:42 a.m.
'Cats bury Heights, can't come back against Cambridge
'Cats bury Heights, can't come back against Cambridge
The CL defense put the clamps on the Hylanders early and never let up. "We jumped on them defensively right away in the first half, which gave us the opportunity to get out and run. Our guards did an excellent job of pressuring the ball and we did a better job of finishing on the offensive end," said Wildcat head coach Liz Mundahl.
The Chisago Lakes defense limited opportunities for the opposition as they limited the Hylanders to 13 points in each half. "We got back on track last night. It's great to start the new year with a win! We played hard and played together," Mundahl added.
This game provided the Wildcats with an easy win and a chance to re-charge after facing the a series of highly regarded teams including Totino-Grace, St. Francis and Benilde-St. Margaret's. "Our team is excited about getting back into the heart of our season after the break. We've been working hard and continue to improve. This win was a good way to get back on track after our tough stretch before the break," Mundahl concluded.
Chisago Lakes 41 33 74
Columbia Heights 13 13 26
Chisago Lakes Scoring
Courtney Skoog 3
Megan Corradi 12
Kori Sells 9
Jess Peterson 19
Sam Nelson 2
Jaime Tschida 2
Cassie Trandahl 3
Whitney Tinjum 4
Mackenzie Maher 1
Summer Young 4
Brenna Coyle 2
Total 74
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Cambridge-Isanti at CL
January 6
Saturday afternoon, on their home court, things didn't go nearly so smoothly for the Wildcats. The teams took turns with the lead early, but the Bluejackets took a 14-12 lead with 6:40 to go in the first half and never gave it up on the way to a 55-49 win.
Chisago got off to a 4-1 lead, but the next three hoops belonged to the cagers in blue and white. With the score 7-4 in favor of Cambridge, Wildcat head coach Liz Mundahl leaped from the bench, signalling for a timeout at the 13:40 mark.
Whatever she said seemed to sink in. Jess Peterson provided the next basket on a nifty spinner in the lane with 13:00 left. Megan Corradi's drive a minute later gave the 'Cats an 8-7 lead before a Cambridge two regained its advantage. Peterson gave CL its last lead when she split two defenders and drove to the hoop with 10:30 on the clock.
After a Cambridge three gave it a 12-10 lead, Kayla Schultz hit two freethrows to tie it at 12 with 7:57 to go. But, the Bluejackets went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes.
When Peterson took a charge that had the Cambridge faithful grumbling at the 2:40 mark, the Wildcats seemed to regain some momentum. Forty seconds later, Courtney Skoog banked in a long two to close the gap to six. Peterson drilled two freethrows at 1:37 to narrow the deficit to four. Thanks, in part, to a Peterson block with 25 seconds left, the 'Cats kept the 'Jackets off the board and the half ended with Cambridge up 20-16.
Only two of the second half's first nine points went in the Wildcat column as the Bluejackets built a 27-18 lead in the first three minutes. Seventh grader Whitney Tinjum gave the 'Cats some much-needed offense as she hit one of two freethrows and, at 14:10, hit a long jumper to close the gap.
A minute later, a Corradi save of a ball headed out-of-bounds allowed Kayla Schultz the opportunity to convert a three to move the score 27-24 with 13:10 remaining. During the next eight minutes, the teams traded baskets and, with 3:30 left, a Peterson jumper from the left block made it 43-40.
At 3:10, Corradi's putback of Amanda Farrell's missed three-ball pulled the Wildcats to within two. But, the 'Jackets scored the next two hoops to take a 48-42 lead. Skoog hit two freethrows before a Corradi drive with 1:25 cut the lead to 48-46.
A Cambridge three point play at 1:17 gave the Bluejackets a 51-46 lead and forced the 'Cats to foul. Cambridge converted 4 of 6 from the line in the last minute to secure a 55-49 nonconference win.
Wildcat head coach Liz Mundahl said, "We played hard and had an opportunity to win the basketball game. We didn't shoot the ball well all game, but the girls took a lot of shots. Down the stretch we did a better job of taking care of the ball and cut down on mistakes in the second half.
"I thought our defensive effort was great. We did an excellent job forcing turnovers against a team that can handle pressure. We just couldn't get that big stop in the last two minutes, either allowing a second chance or a layup for Cambridge. We're close, but we have to make better decisions within our offense," Mundahl added.
Chisago Lakes 16 33 49
Cambridge-Isanti 20 35 55
Chisago Lakes Scoring
Kayla Schultz 5
Amanda Farrell 3
Courtney Skoog 4
Megan Corradi 8
Kori Sells 2
Jess Peterson 17
Jaime Tschida 2
Whitney Tinjum 5
Brenna Coyle 3
Total 49
The Wildcats go to Robbinsdale-
Cooper for a 7:15 game Friday, January 12 and Mahtomedi to take on the Zephyrs at 6 p.m. Tuesday January 16.
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