Was at Anoka-Ramsey on this evening for the rematch between Western Technical College out of La Crosse, Wisconsin and host Anoka-Ramsey. ARCC took the first game in La Crosse comfortably enough so it would be interesting to see if the visitors from Wisconsin would be able to make the necessary adjustments to offset the athleticisim and talent of the ARCC squad.
Not surprisingly, ARCC was somewhat sluggish coming out of the gate. WTC's Brandi Patterman opened things up for the visitors when she put down an inside shot that gave the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead at the 17:50 mark. Although sophomore Stephanie Pilgrim drained a "3" at the 14:33 mark that gave host ARCC a 9-3 lead that was soon followed by freshman Tamarra Shorter's drive and finish inside; WTC was able to battle back somewhat as Melissa Hirsch scored inside at the 12:11 mark and then was sent to the line a bit later that cut ARCC's lead to 11-8. WTC went into a 2-3 zone that was causing some problems for the Golden Rams and, coupled with the early sluggishness, made things a bit uneasy for the home team; much to the displeasure of head coach David DeWitt.
Another Hirsch free throw at the 9:06 mark kept things relatively close but any hopes WTC may have had about being able to hang with the powerhouse ARCC team soon faded into the black reality of playing this team after being chewed out during a time out by their head coach. Pilgrim nailed at "3" at the 8:14 mark and then swished another one from the left wing at the 6:30 mark that would open the floodgates. WTC would manage to get a "3" from Jordon Reiser at the 3:12 mark but that would be all the Cavaliers would be able to muster for the rest of the half; much to the chagrin of WTC head coach Ron Latva who managed to pick up two quick "T's" with :09 left in the first half and was promptly escorted from the building. I'm not sure what he said but whatever it was had to have been bad to get yanked so quickly (even yours truly has not been assessed with code violations back to back like that - yet anyway!). Pilgrim sank the obligatory charity stripe shots and ARCC went into the locker room at the half with a 44-15 cushion.
While the outcome was never in doubt in this contest, what WAS surprising was the sudden emergence of sophomore Jenna Anderson who not only started but made a gigantic splash in front of the home crowed as she wowed everybody with an outstanding performance. Unfortuantely, I don't have access to the box score (????) but, according to her sister Marie who was in attendance as well, it was a nearly 30-point scoring night for her. She was on with everything; 3-pointers, inside the arc, and driving and finshing as well as converting from the charity stripe. The somewhat ironic thing is that this is the player she was in high school according to her sister Marie back at Washburn (WI) High School. Whatever the reason, she was simply magnificent and was instrumental in leading ARCC in this 98-43 rout. Perhaps just as important, she gives this team an added dimension; certainly from a scoring standpoint anyway which I think will be huge if ARCC can make it back to nationals again which they should. Against top-flight competition, it will be huge if a team has to focus on more than just Pilgrim's 3-point prowess or perhaps the 1-2 punch of Mallory Cramer and Marie Hanson. Jenna Anderson has arrived and the rest of the conference - and national tourney teams - had better be ready!
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