AAU Minnesota Championships - North Tartan Nike Elite vs MN Stars - 5-22-11

AAU Minnesota Championships

North Tartan Nike Elite vs Minnesota Stars

Bloomington Jefferson H.S.

5-22-11

Arrived at Bloomington Jefferson High School in the early afternoon to make sure I had an early seat for the marquee match-up of the day that would take place between North Tartan Nike Elite and the Minnesota Stars.  Both teams had met nearly a month ago at this same venue with the North Tartan team winning handily so it would be interesting to see if the Minnesota Stars would be able to close the gap between themselves and the North Tartan squad. 

But early on in this contest, it appeared that the gap between the two squads had only widened.  Consecutive baskets by Mariah Monke and Marissa Janning gave the North Tartan team a quick 4-0 lead before I could get anything written about this game.  Then, North Tartan lit things up from behind the arc as both Mikayla Bailey and Janning connected with “3’s”.  Tessa Cichy connected on a short jumper and then Whitney Tinjum finished in transition.  Gracia Hutson hit one free throw on a trip to the charity stripe and Tinjum added another bucket and by the 10:20 mark, North Tartan had bested and bullied their way to a 17-1 lead; the only point by the Stars came when Taylor Stewart hit a lone free throw.  Today’s fast start by North Tartan, though, was different in that the intensity level was ratched up several notches today and everyone seemed to get their game going early – and get involved on offense as well.  Despite two freebies by Chandler Nielsen and a score inside by Heather Bowe, the North Tartan onslaught continued for the next few minutes as they were able to open up a 21-5 lead by the 8:13 mark.

The Stars, though, would make something of a push over the last six to seven minutes of the first half.  After Rebekah Dahlman’s slashing drive inside and finish at the 7:17 mark, the Stars finally began to get something going.  Stars standout post player Kayla Timmerman from Wayzata made a pretty move inside at the 6:25 mark that cut the bloated deficit to eleven and then Nielsen, who was very involved in the offense for the Stars in this game, knocked down two shots from the charity stripe that cut the North Tartan lead to 22-13.  But, unlike yesterday, North Tartan did not let up after grabbing a big lead and instead responded quickly to the Stars’ challenge.  Bailey hit two “3’s” in the span of less than 30 seconds  that upped the North Tartan lead to 28-13.  The Stars again made a brief push.  Both Nielsen and Jade Martin connected with pairs of charity stripe shots and then Jessica Hart connected with a “3” from the top of the key at the 3:08 mark to cut North Tartan’s lead to 30-20.  Again, however, North Tartan responded when the Stars threatened.  Dahlman drained consecutive “3’s” and then Shayne Mullaney buried a “3” of her own with just under a minute left that enabled North Tartan to go into the break with another cozy double-digit lead of 41-25.  Actually, given the lack of cohesiveness on offense for the Minnesota Stars, they were very fortunate to not be buried by an avalanche at this point.

Not much had changed by the time the second half had got underway.  Although Allina Starr got her Stars team on the board first in the second half, it was quickly followed up by another North Tartan flurry.  Janning scored at the 15:32 mark and then Monke did likewise on the ensuing possession.  Then it was Dahlman’s turn to shine again after something of an “off” day yesterday.  She finished a transition opportunity at the 14:28 mark and a bit later picked the pocket of an unsuspecting Stars player that eventually got her to the charity stripe.  Then, at the 13:16 mark, Dahlman buried a long “3” and gave the North Tartan team a 51-29 bulge and put the Stars behind the 8-ball.  Bowe, Martin, Nielsen and Hart would make some dents in the North Tartan lead over the course of the next few minutes but by the 10:00 mark North Tartan was still up comfortably 53-37. 

But, like molasses in January, the Stars would find the resolve to make a push coming down the stretch.  Hart scored at the 9:05 mark to cut the North Tartan lead to 57-42 and Nielsen was able to do the same at the 8:28 mark.  Despite yet another “3” by Dahlman from what seemed like it originated from Eagan, Martin again was able to power her way inside to cut North Tartan’s lead to 60-46 at the 8:03 mark.  Timmerman also was able to get a score as well at the 7:20 mark.  But a key moment in somewhat unlikely fashion took place at the 6:23 mark that may have given the Stars the spark they needed as both Dahlman from North Tartan and Martin from the Stars were involved in a brief altercation underneath the Stars basket.  Although no one was “T’d up”, it lit a fire for the underdogs to try and claw their way back into this thing – which is exactly what they did.  Nielsen canned a “3” from long-range and then her backcourt partner, Lakeville North’s  Stewart did the same from the right wing at the 5:32 mark.  Starr made a free throw a bit later and then Bowe  was able to get inside to score and suddenly a shell-shocked North Tartan team found their big advantage whittled down to a scant six points at 66-61 at the 4:18 mark.  

But just when the Stars had perhaps found a lifeline to ultimate victory, their flickering hopes were quickly extinguished.  Hutson scored inside at the 3:29 mark and then Cichy nailed a putback off the glass with one hand for a 70-61 lead.  Despite two more Bowe free throws at the 2:36 mark, the Stars simply could not connect from the perimeter when the really needed it and committed some costly turnovers to boot.  Cichy was able to get one more insurance bucket for her North Tartan team and they were able to get out of Dodge with a 72-63 victory.