Breakdown 2013 Maple Grove vs Rochester John Marshall 12-7-13

Was up bright and early on this frigid Saturday morning; the first Saturday in a while that I wasn’t getting geared up for a big UCLA gameday.  It was nice for a change being able to relax after last week’s thumping of crosstown rival USC in the Coliseum by a 35-14 count.  And yes, we OWN LA!

 

Okay, enough of my ranting.  This morning’s first matchup in the 2013 Breakdown over at the Lindbergh Center at Hopkins High School featured an intriguing non-conference match-up between Maple Grove out of the Northwest Suburban Conference and Rochester John Marshall out of the Big 9 Conference.  From being a close observer of the Northwest Suburban Conference, I had a pretty decent idea about what I would be getting out of Maple Grove; even with some new faces inserted into the starting line-up.  Rochester John Marshall, though, I knew nothing about although the first thing that struck me during warm-ups was the noticeable size advantage they would have over the Crimson.

 

Perhaps it was the 9:30 A.M. start that had both teams a bit sloppy early on with turnovers and mistakes.  As a result, a good portion of the first half was marred with several turnovers and mistakes by both sides which likely played a factor in keeping the game close.  Sophomore forward Nicole Fautsch was doing the damge for the Rockets and sophomore Mackenzie Barta along with junior forward Julie Hagert paced the Crimson.  A “3” from Barta from the right top area had Maple Grove up by a 7-4 score by the 15:23 mark but Rochester John Marshall would battle right back behind Fautsch and tie things up at 7-all at the 12:42 mark.  Maple Grove would earn another four point advantage by the 11:39 mark by a score of 11-7 but again the Rockets would battle back and tie things at 11-all by the 10:27mark.

 

Things would remain very close; very tight over the course of the next six minutes but you could see a pattern developing.  Rochester John Marshall was getting its points in the paint thanks to Fautsch and fellow sophomore twin tower Jamie Ruden while Maple Grove was countering with solid guard play from Hagert, Barta and senior Kaela Jones.  But what had to be a red flag from Rochester John Marshall Coach Phil Schroeder’s view was that he was not getting any production from his guards and that is what would ultimately be the Rockets downfall in this game.  With the Crimson clinging to a one point 22-21 lead, Jones drilled a “3” from the right corner with 3:32 left to expand the Maple Grove lead to four.  Then Barta slithered inside to snare an offensive rebound in the land of giants to get a putback and got fouled in the process and the obligatory charity stripe shot suddenly had the Crimson up by seven at 28-21 with 2:40 left and had Schroeder quickly calling for a thirty second timeout to reassess things.  But Maple Grove was far from finished.  A lay-up by Jones in transition with 2:18 left plus a foray into the paint for a score by Hagert and an encore transition lay-up by Jones with :50 left bulged the lead to a cozy 34-21 margin going into the locker room at the break.    

 

But Schroeder had to know that his team had a decided advantage underneath and his squad sought to exploit that advantage in the opening minutes of the second half.  And it would be Ruden who would go on a spree in this ensuing spurt.  She scored inside at the 17:52 mark and got fouled in the process.  Another freebie on the ensuing possession after being fouled and then a jumper from the right elbow area at the 16:26 mark along with a turnaround jumper near the charity stripe at the 16:02 plus a strong drive and finish at the 15:34 mark suddenly cut the deficit to a much more-manageable 35-30 margin and now had Maple Grove Head Coach Mark Cook calling for a timeout to search for answers to this immediate crisis.   

 

The Crimson, facing a decided disadvantage in the paint, could have easily found themselves in a huge pile of doo-doo right then and there.  Rather, they ditched the proverbial panic button and calmly righted the ship.  Senior guard Cora Bourbonais found the range from behind the arc from the left wing to get the lead back up to 38-30 and, despite a score from Ruden off the glass a bit later, the Crimson would answer the call.  Barta would finish a transition opportunity at the 10:51 mark and then diminutive junior reserve Hailey Barker would get the lead back up to double-digits with her “3” from the right top area with 9:51 left.  The lead would become thirteen with 9:26 left when Jones muscled her way inside for a score and drew a foul in the process that, coupled with the free throw, made it a 48-35 game.  A lay-up by sophomore reserve Allie Schmidt with 6:48 left and another foray and finish in the paint by Jones with 5:32 left now had Maple Grove up 52-37 and once again had Rochester John Marshall’s Schroeder clamoring for a timeout.  With a double-digit lead and time becoming a factor, Cook had his Maple Grove squad milk the clock coming down the stretch which resulted in several trips to the charity stripe to ice the issue and the Crimson walked away with a solid 57-42 win on this Saturday morning.

 

Afterward, Cook was very pleased with his squad’s effort; particularly with staying calm and focused when the Rockets made their early second-half push.  “During that timeout, I stressed that we had to have help-side defense; we put the guard Barta on Ruden.”  I also asked about the junior reserve Barker who hit a key “3” in the decisive Maple Grove run.  “She has good energy; smart and very active on the floor.”  As for the sophomore Barta, Cook was gushing with joy and pride.  “Look out for her!”  Finally, I asked how a victory on this day was important going forward as they move into Northwest Suburban Conference play.  Cook said matter of factly, “The NWSC is the best conference and the deepest as well….This win is huge going forward because we know we’ll get a tough game every night in the NWSC.”  I have to agree with him 110% here.  When you look at the NWSC right now with Anoka suddenly in the forefront for not only conference AND section honors but also a decent chance of making it to the big stage plus perennial powerhouses such as Osseo and Centennial also right there in the mix plus a very, very talented Park Center squad that will almost certainly be one of the favorites to make it to State in Class AAA (and maybe win the whole thing, too) along with this Maple Grove team that has a very nice blend of youth and experience that Cook just loves, you’ve just got one heckuva cluster of good teams that have to beat each other up BEFORE they have to fight for survival in section play.  Needless to say, this should be a fun winter.