February 21, 2008 at 8:11 a.m.
Wildcats win three in a week, prepare for section tournament
Wildcats win three in a week, prepare for section tournament
The Wildcats controlled this one from the beginning. After Megan Corradi scored 17 of her team leading 21 in the first half and Kori Sells scored all 12 of her points in the first half, Wildcat head coach Craig Walker pulled his starters a few minutes into the second half.
"This stretch of four games, after playing two top 4A schools and the sixth ranked team in Class 3A, will give us an opportunity to catch our breath and get back to being competitive," Walker said. "It was also a good opportunity for some of our players to get some extended minutes and more experience for some of our younger players."
GAME SUMMARY
Chisago Lakes 48 29 77
Col. Heights 16 17 33
Farrell, Amanda 6
Shannon Monson 2
Trandahl, Cassie 4
Tinjum, Whitney 8
Summer Young 7
Corradi, Megan 21
Sells, Kori 12
Brenna Coyle 5
Jamie Peterson 9
Alyssa Lundberg 3
Total 77
CL at Spring Lake Park
Friday, February 15
Fouls mounted up early for the Wildcats against the Panthers as four starters were whistled for three fouls apiece in the first half. However, the adversity turned out to be a learning experience and CL pulled away in the second half of a 67-57 win at Spring Lake Park.
"We try to be aggressive with our defense and press as much as we can, and that comes back to get us on occasion," coach Walker said.
Despite three first-half fouls on Wildcat starters Whitney Tinjum, Megan Corradi, Kori Sells and Brenna Coyle, CL managed to cling to a 32-30 halftime advantage. The halftime lead would likely have been greater if Panther Morgan Merritt hadn't scored 16 of her team-high 20 in the first half.
"Our tendency, all year, has been to come out hot in the second half," Walker added. "and the trend continued Friday night. We scored the first six points of the second half and eventually built a 17 point lead."
But the fouls continued to mount in the second half as SLP attacked the basket in their half court game. Meanwhile, the four Wildcats starters took turns sitting on the bench as the Wildcats held off the Panthers.
"We built our lead and survived that last six minutes in a 2-3 zone limiting their drives to the basket and running time as much as possible on the offensive end," Walker explained. "All of our bench players filled their roles tonight and were recognized by their teammates and coaches for their contributions.
"We have two great senior captains (Sells and Corradi) on this team, as well as our three other seniors who recognize the importance of team basketball. Our two captains and leading scorers were in foul trouble tonight and others stepped up and filled in.
"We patched together different rotations and finished the game with one player fouling out and four others with four fouls each. The first thing that I heard in the locker room after the game was Kori Sells recognizing the contributions made by others who stepped up to lead us in the second half," the coach shared.
GAME SUMMARY
Chisago Lakes 32 35 67
Sp Lk Park 30 27 57
Farrell, Amanda 8
Tinjum, Whitney 8
Summer Young 10
Corradi, Megan 14
Sells, Kori 21
Brenna Coyle 6
Total 67
Mahtomedi at Chisago Lakes
Saturday, February 16
The Wildcats won their third game of the week last Saturday afternoon. CL used a 15-2 run midway through the first half and, led by Brenna Coyle's 18 rebounds, controlled the boards to gain a lead. They were never seriously threatened in a 51-45 non-conference win over the Zephyrs.
Eighth grader Whitney Tinjum passed to Megan Corradi 45 seconds into the game. The Wildcat senior scored from inside to put the first two points on the board. A minute later, senior Amanda Farrell picked off a pass in Mahtomedi's backcourt. Her pass to Corradi, moving toward the hoop, set up the second Wildcat score. Senior Kori Sells scored the next three Chisago points on a freethrow and a putback of a Brenna Coyle miss.
At 14:24, the score was knotted at seven when a combination of the Wildcat full-court press and an efficient offense resulted in the six minute, 15-2 run that put the home team up 22-9.
Summer Young started the surge with a hoop at 12:45. Corradi hit 15 seconds later, then stole the ball and passed it to Kori Sells. The senior forward scored and, after a Zephyr timeout, scored again, making it 15-7.
Mahtomedi interrupted the fun with a two a minute later. The Zephyrs went to full-court pressure at that point. But it didn't slow the 'Cats. Corradi hit a freethrow, Sells dropped a jumper from the short left side, Corradi scored on a give-n-go with Sells. Summer Young fed Sells for an open 12 footer, again from the left. At the 6:31 mark, the Wildcats led 22-9.
Mahtomedi broke its drought nine seconds later. Then, they took advantage of five trips to the charity stripe in the half's final four minutes to close the gap. Tinjum had a field goal, two freethrows and assisted Corradi during that span. But, the Zephyrs went 8 for 10 from the stripe before the buzzer. At halftime, CL led 30-23.
The action was furious for the first 90 seconds of the final period. But, a handful of shots by each team failed to find the net. Corradi broke the string with a basket before teammate Brenna Coyle scored from inside at 15:54, giving Chisago a 34-23 lead.
The Wildcats were up 38-27 when Sells drove the left side at 11:38. A whistled sounded. Sells was called for a player control foul, her fourth, and she went to the bench. Even without Sells, the 'Cats extended their lead in the next couple of minutes.
At 9:15, it was 44-27, Chisago Lakes. The Zephyrs weren't done, yet. They outscored their hosts 11-2 in the next three minutes, narrowing the lead to 46-38 with 6:02 left.
A half minute later, Farrell hit a two, expanding the lead to 10. After two Corradi freethrows and one by Young, the lead was 51-39 with less than two minutes left. Mahtomedi made three shots in the waning seconds, making the final score closer than the game.
"Brenna Coyle had the best defensive game of the season," Coach Walker said. "She seemed to be everywhere on the defensive end, getting loose balls and steals and really doing a great job on the glass on both ends. She had 7 offensive rebounds and 11 defensive.
"Whitney Tinjum also had a nice game on both ends, adding 10 rebounds to her 12 points and Kori pitched in 13 points and eight rebounds. Those three, along with Megan Corradi, who had a team high 18 points, could be the keys for us in the last conference game against Cooper and the section match-ups to come. If we can control the glass the way we did today and limit our fouls, we can be successful in the post-season." Walker concluded.
GAME SUMMARY
Chisago Lakes 30 21 51
Mahtomedi 23 22 45
Farrell, Amanda 1
Tinjum, Whitney 12
Summer Young 5
Corradi, Megan 18
Sells, Kori 13
Brenna Coyle 2
Total 51
The Wildcats start section play next Wednesday, February 27. The first round will be at home sites TBA. Round two, Saturday, March 1, will be at Park-Center High School.
Comments:
Commenting has been disabled for this item.