Well, here we go at Target Center as the 2014 Minnesota Girls State Tournament gets underway. The first game tap this morning featured the #1 seeded team Eastview taking on St. Paul Central which was a surprise entrant into the State Tournament by virtue of its victory over White Bear Lake in the Section 4AAAA Championship game. Eastview would be a heavy favorite in this one but once you're here, you can NEVER, ever take anything for granted. You have to bring your "A" game and be ready to play. As ESPN's Chris Berman always says, "THAT's why the play the game."
The Minutemen would get off to a 5-3 lead early on in this one thanks to a "3" from the left top by senior guard Lyric Williams and a score in the paint by strong senior guard Asiya Smith but Eastview would soon come back to knot the issue at 7-all on a pretty lay-up by senior forward Kari Opatz. But this unheralded and underdog St. Paul Central team refused to be fazed on the big stage and were calm, collected and cool and had a 12-9 lead by the 11:21 mark after sophomore reserve guard Kennedy Gay made a foray into the paint and got fouled and got a charity stripe out of it and maintained that three point advantage for a 14-11 lead with 8:21 left. The Lightning, however, started taking control of this one by the 6:51 mark on a lay-up by junior guard Madison Guebert to tie things up at 16-all and an offensive rebound and putback by Opatz with 6:09 left had Eastview back out in front 18-16 and St. Paul Central Head Coach Marta Waalen; not wanting this one to get away from her squad, called a timeout to talk about it with her squad.
The break in the action initially helped the Minutemen as senior guard Lyric Williams scored on a lay-up attempt and got fouled in the process with 3:54 left and her obligatory freebie knotted the issue at 22 a piece. An offensive rebound and putback by senior post Rayna Sherow had St. Paul Central back up 26-24 with 2:15 left and a Sherow score in the paint allowed the Minutemen to hold a slim 28-27 advantage. Eastview was finally able to grab a 30-28 lead on Opatz's three from the top of the key with just :09 left that they took to the locker room with them when the buzzer sounded to end the first half. Not a commanding lead that most were expecting but a lead nonetheless. Still, St. Paul Central had to be encouraged by their first half performance and, perhaps just as important, how they were able to get into the paint for scores as well. The Minutemen had a balanced scoring attack in the first half with Sherow's eight points leading the way while Williams had six points. Eastview was led not surprisingly by Guebert who poured in sixteen first-half points and Opatz finished up the first half with ten points. Rebounds were very, very close with the Minutemen holding a 15-14 advantage.
St. Paul Central came out of the gate in the second half and a "3" by Williams helped the Minutemen grab a 33-30 lead that had the St. Paul Central student section going wild. A "3" from senior guard Jada Jones from the top of the key at the 15:00 mark put the Minutemen out in front 36-32 and two free throws by junior guard Chelcie Kizart made it a 38-32 game and this top-seeded Eastview team that has had to play the bridesmaid's role had every reason to look for that panic button on their bench. But the Lightning's senior star Guebert would not panic and her heroics brought this team right back into the thick of things. A "3" from the left wing at the 13:37 mark and another "3" from the left corner at the 12:37 mark helped bring Eastview to within two at 40-38. At the 11:25 mark, Guebert would make a hard drive and lay-up attempt that got her fouled and her ensuing charity stripe shots suddenly had things tied up again at 42-all. The Lightning were able to grab a 46-42 lead after Opatz knocked down two free throws and, at the moment, it looked as if Eastview was FINALLY able to assume some level of control.
But this pesky St. Paul squad refused to go away easily and they slowly battled their way back. A Sherow score in the paint with 9:06 left whittled the Eastview advantage down to two at 46-44 and another Sherow foray into the paint; despite the 2-1-2 zone that the Lightning were showing, resulted in a score and still another tied up ballgame at 48-all with 7:23 left. The fouls were piling up on the Minutemen, however and Eastview was able to regain a 55-52 advantage with under four minutes left. But things were still wayyy too close for comfort from an Eastview standpoint and a Sherow score in the paint sliced the Lightning advantage down to a scant point point at 55-54 with 3:18 left. But with things at the danger point for Eastview, it was Guebert again to the rescue for the #1-seeded Lightning. A "3" from the left top area had the Lightning back up by four at 58-54 and two Opatz freebies increased that lead to 60-54 with under 1:40 left. St. Paul Central tried to throw one more scare at the Lightning when Kizart snared a steal and went the other way for a lay-up with 1:02 left to cut Eastview's lead down to 58-54 but St. Paul Central could get no closer. Free throws by Guebert late in the contest allowed Eastview Head Coach Melissa Guebert (her Mom) to heave a HUGE sigh of relief as Eastview moved on with a 63-58 victory.
Indeed, a relieved Melissa Guebert heaved that proverbial sigh of relief when she emerged from the locker room. I asked her about how her team stayed composed when they stared at that six-point 38-32 deficit by the 14:26 mark of the second half and how they responded when they had to. "They know what they can do and they count on each other" responded Guebert. I also asked her if getting through a tough game like this from the get go can help her team going forward into the semifinals. "It's a great advantage!" Guebert said. "I believe it is because they feel the competitiveness right away." Melissa Guebert's 29 points paced Eastview in this one and that was closely followed by Opatz's 26 points. Sherow led St. Paul Central with 16 points which was followed by Kizart's 14 points. The one statistic that stood out to me in this one was St. Paul Central's 35-27 advantage on the boards and you can bet that Melissa Guebert will be talking about that with her team as they prepare for the winner of the Eden Prairie - Anoka game in the semifinals.
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