2011 AAU Summerjam
Bloomington Kennedy H.S.
Metro Stars Reiter vs MN Stars DeWitt
Got myself settled in at the 12:15 mark of the first half at the somewhat hot and stuffy Bloomington Kennedy main gym for the early evening clash between Metro Stars Reiter (coached by former Blaine coach Steve Reiter) and the Minnesota Stars DeWitt team (coached by Anoka-Ramsey Community College Head Coach David DeWitt. It was still early in this one but already the Metro Stars team had seized control of the one from the outset and was holding an 11-5 lead when I got myself ready to go.
Trailing 13-5 a bit later, the MN Stars team got a bit of a lift with a much-needed “3” to cut the deficit to five points but any wisp of hope for a comeback was as likely as air-conditioning coming to this venue on this humid evening. The Metro Stars Alexis Foley who plays her high school basketball at White Bear Lake and is Illinois State-bound drained a “3” at the 9:48 mark that quickly pushed the lead back up to eight. A little more than a minute later Anne Marie Healy of Providence Academy helped push the Metro Stars lead to 19-8 when she scored inside and was fouled in the process; getting the obligatory free-throw as well. The bleeding would continue for the MN Stars team; much to the chagrin of defense-minded head coach David DeWitt who wasn’t at all bashful about showing his displeasure during the subsequent timeouts.
Leading 24-12, the Metro Stars continued their assault. Healy was fouled on a drive inside and canned one of the free throws and then Farmington’s Taylor Meyer followed suite for the Metro Stars team. Stuck at the 12-point mark for what seemed like an eternity, Hutchinson’s Nichole Wittman finally got to the free-throw line to sink a couple of freebies but it was only a tiny dent by the Minnesota Stars. The Metro Stars Brittany Scherber of nearby Bloomington Jefferson got two charity-stripe shots herself. Just before the 3:00 mark, the Minnesota Stars Amber Mehr of Eastview (younger sister of Sam Mehr) got one of the few good looks at the basket her team would get in the entire game and knocked down a pretty jumper but the Metro Stars would get on another run before intermission; punctuated by back-to-back “3’s” by Prior Lake’s Alyssa Eschrich that ballooned the lead to 41-20. The bottom line in the first half was that the Metro Stars team was pounding the Minnesota Stars on the board; getting several second and third chances and limiting the Minnesota Stars to one shot – and not giving them many good looks, either. Also, the Metro Stars were getting an abundance of transition opportunities that got them a hunk of easy points.
The Minnesota Stars team obviously got a good talking-to by the ever-vocal DeWitt and at least one player took the scolding to heart – Stillwater’s Savanna Handevidt who powered her way inside and grabbed two of her misses to finally score on the third try to make it a 41-22 game but it would unfortunately be one of the few highlights for the Minnesota Stars in this game. The Metro Stars picked up right where they left off and put it into high gear and it was Foley who really shined for Steve Reiter’s team in the second half with not only scoring but doing the little things ensuring her team’s success in this game. She finished a hard drive inside at the 12:37 mark. After a Scherber “3” at the 10:10 mark, Foley showed how incredibly versatile she really is when she drained a “3” of her own at the 7:44 mark that fattened the Metro Stars lead to 53-27. But even with her team’s big lead in her pocket Foley was in no mood to let up. At the 4:10 mark she made a strong drive along the baseline beating every Minnesota Stars defender in the process and finishing off the glass. Healy helped add injury to insult by finishing in transition at the 1:33 mark. The Minnesota Stars Alexandra Freeman of Duluth East did nail a “3” in garbage time but this simply was not to be their day as the Metro Stars rolled to an easy 63-36 win.
No comments:
Post a Comment