After completion of the Forest Lake – Park CG game, I
then made my way over to Court 4 at the Lindbergh Center to ready myself for
the third place game featuring Anoka and Bloomington Kennedy. Osseo was just finishing up its game to claim
seventh place; holding on to beat Prior Lake so I had some to get myself
relaxed and prepared. I had watched this
Kennedy team perform a demolition job on Monticello during the Pat Patterson
Thanksgiving Tournament over at Hamline but they had also recently lost to
surging Park Center earlier this month and then dropped a decision to
always-tough Minnetonka just yesterday as the Skippers found themselves playing
over on Court 2 opposite Hopkins in the Championship Game. Anoka has arguably had a roller-coaster year
so far; claiming important conference victories over Elk River and then a
blowout win over Blaine but the Tornadoes have also been on the wrong side of a
couple of behind-the-woodshed beatings as well – the Park Center debacle a
little more than a week ago at home and then yesterday’s blowout loss to host
Hopkins; not to mention the upset loss at Andover as well. So, the lingering question was – for both
sides – which team would show up?
But it was clear that, from the outset, that both teams
wanted to put their recent bad outings behind them and focus on the present and
come out firing on all cylinders. With
Anoka holding a slim 4-2 lead, Bloomington Kennedy senior guard Za’Keea SaEed-El
drained a “3” from the left corner at the 15:57 mark for a 5-4 Eagle lead. Bloomington Kennedy would build the lead to
9-6 over a minute later but Anoka’s lanky 6’2” senior post Jordan Meyer drilled
a “3” from the right corner at the 13:29 mark that knotted the issue at
9-all. Fellow senior guard, Claire
Lundberg, then snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the
12:02 mark to put the Tornadoes back out in front 11-9. Flamboyant and flashy Bloomington Kennedy
senior guard Kenisha Bell knocked down a “3” of her own from the left top area
at the 11:43 mark to reclaim the lead for the Eagles but a score in the paint
by Anoka senior forward Ashley Bray and then a steal in the backcourt and a
dash the other way for fellow senior guard Kyrah Fredenburg had the Tornadoes
with their noses out in front again by a 15-14 count with 9:42 left. Fredenburg, enroute to a huge game on this
day, then promptly banged home a “3” from the top of the key on the next
Tornado possession with 9:14 left for an 18-14 Anoka lead and Bloomington
Kennedy Head Coach Quintin Johnson called a timeout to reorganize his forces.
Fredenburg extended Anoka’s lead to 20-14 with an
offensive rebound for a putback with 7:58 left and it arguably could have been
more at this point if not for some sloppy concentration mistakes that resulted
in unforced turnovers. Bloomington
Kennedy would draw to within two with 6:27 mark thanks to free throws by Bell
which would pretty much be the storyline for the rest of the first half. Ashley Bray’s “3” from the left top area with
5:54 left extended Anoka’s lead to 23-18 but then Bell answered that with a “3”
of her own from the right wing with 5:03 left that closed the gap to two
points. After Fredenburg and Bloomington
Kennedy’s Lashayla Wright-Ponder traded baskets, Ashley Bray drilled another “3”;
this one from the right corner with 3:33 left that got her fouled in the
process and, although she was unable to put the obligatory freebie in the
cylinder, it gave Anoka a 28-23 lead. Their
Tornadoes extended their lead to 32-26 with :48.1 after two charity stripe
shots by Lundberg but two more free throws by Bloomington Kennedy’s
free-wheeling Bell; making foray after foray into the paint with flair, cut
into that Anoka advantage a bit as the Tornadoes held a 32-28 lead at the
halftime break.
The Tornadoes, determined to put its recent checkered
past behind them and to show that they are one of the elite teams in the state,
came out in full EF-5 mode at the start of the second half. An offensive rebound and putback by
Fredenburg at the 17:14 mark extended the Anoka lead to 34-28. Sophomore reserve guard Naomi Torgerson; with
older sister and former Anoka standout Abby who currently balls at St. Kate’s
cheering her and her teammates on, then calmly knocked down a “3” from the top
of the key at the 15:03 mark that upped the Tornado lead to 37-29. A scary moment for Anoka came at the 13:58
mark when Ashley Bray went down with an injury after a scramble for a loose
ball that had her landing in a very awkward position. With twin sister Amber Bray having to sit out
this game anyway with a minor injury, this could have been curtains for Anoka. But the Tornadoes steadfast refusal to wither
up and die in the face of adversity may have been the hallmark moment for this
squad in the early part of the season so far.
Lundberg was able to maneuver inside for a score that got her fouled and
the ensuing free throw she sank had Anoka up 40-31 at the 13:31 mark. After withstanding consecutive scores by
Bloomington Kennedy’s Bell, Lundberg used her 6’1” frame to score inside at the
12:25 mark and then Fredenburg scored down low off the glass at the 12:00 mark
for a 44-35 Tornado lead. A “3” from the
sweet-shooting Lundberg in the left corner at the 11:23 mark had Anoka up 47-36
and things were looking bright for the team in maroon and white.
But this Bloomington Kennedy team has spent its share of
time in the pressure cooker as well and they had no intentions of fading with
what was left of the afternoon sunlight.
Strong senior post, Isie Odor, who had been mostly quiet in this contest
so far, suddenly showed the crowd that she’s a force to contend with down
low. With 9:52 left, she was able to
muscle inside for a score that got her fouled and on the next Eagle possession,
she snared an offensive rebound for a putback that cut the Anoka lead down to
48-42. Anoka would make a 6-2 push over
the next couple of minutes that had the Tornadoes back up by double digits at 55-44
with 7:14 left but again Bloomington Kennedy was able to respond. Senior Tonoia Wade connected with a short
jumper that got her fouled with 6:26 left.
The Eagles were able to pry the rock from the Tornadoes on the ensuing
Anoka possession and Wade then connected with an easy lay-up with 6:19
left. A pull-up jumper in transition by
Bell with 5:46 left sliced the Anoka lead down to 55-51. Two free throws by Wright-Ponder with 5:32
left and then a lay-up by Wright-Ponder in transition with 4:50 left completed
an 11-0 Bloomington Kennedy spurt that knotted the issue at 55-all. A “3” from Fredenburg from the left wing with
4:38 left put Anoka back up 58-55 but now things were very much in doubt.
But just when the Eagles could have been on the brink of
taking over this game, things unraveled in a most unexpected fashion. Johnson, who had become increasingly unhappy
with the officiating in the second half, finally went too far and was promptly
nabbed for a technical foul with 4:20 left .
Lundberg sank the obligatory technical freebies for a five-point 60-55
Anoka lead. Still, the Eagles were far
from finished. A sweet reverse lay-up in
transition by Bell that drew “oohs and ahhs” from the crowd followed by an
encore from freshman reserve guard Honour Finley with 3:34 left and an offensive
rebound for a putback by Wright-Ponder with 3:10 left suddenly had Bloomington
Kennedy with its first lead at 61-60 since early in the first half. A free throw by Bell with 1:51 left upped the
lead to 62-60 but once again this Anoka squad showed its true heart and
grit. An offensive rebound and putback
by Lundberg with Lundberg tied things up at 62-all with 1:38 left and, after a
failed possession by Bloomington Kennedy, the Tornadoes got the ball down low
to Meyer who was fouled and two freebies by the senior post put Anoka back up
for good at 64-62. A Fredenburg freebie
with :47 left made it a 65-62 count but still a one-possession game. The Eagles, though, simply could not get a
three-point attempt to fall when they needed it most. Odor missed two free throw attempts with 25.7
left that could have greatly changed the complexion of the game in the waning
moments. Meyer was able to make one more
trip to the charity stripe where she knocked down an insurance freebie. Bloomington Kennedy came up empty in its last
possession and Anoka claimed a thrilling 66-62 win over a Bloomington Kennedy
team that some think have the potential to win it all come March.
Anoka Head Coach Scott Antl couldn’t help but heap praise
on seniors Fredenburg and Lundberg for leadership in this win. The Tornadoes, who were in a 2-3 zone all
game long, was critical in Antl’s mind in terms of closing the gaps in the
middle when Bell would attempt to make many of her forays into the paint. How big was this win for Anoka? Antl did not hide the fact that it’s a huge
win going into the heart of the Northwest Suburban Conference season after the
first of the year. Echoing the
sentiments of Maple Grove Head Coach Mark Cook, Antl believes it’s simply the
best conference in the state (and I agree 110% with that assessment) and he
thinks that there’s several teams in the conference that have the potential to
make a deep run and contend for a state title.
I have to think that Anoka’s one of those teams as well. The seniors on this squad (Fredenburg,
Lundberg, Meyer, Ashley and Amber Bray, Samantha Brannen and Samantha Adamich) have all had a couple
tastes of the state tournament and you have to think that, this time around,
they want to do more than just get there.
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