The nightcap up at Anoka High School on this Friday somewhat appropriately featured two Northwest Suburban Conference rivals going at it for the Section 5AAAA Championship Game with a berth in the State Tournament at stake. The heavy favorite in this one would be #1-seeded Centennial which took care of business on Tuesday night against Osseo while upstart Champlin Park; the #2 seed, fought off a stingy Maple Grove squad in what was arguably the Northwest Suburban Conference Invitational earlier in the week here at Anoka. The Rebels, who struggled at times during the regular season, now found themselves just one game away from completing an unlikely magic carpet ride to the State Tournament but they would have to get over a huge hurdle in this one; going up against a Centennial squad that won the Northwest Suburban Conference title and was primed and ready to take their fortunes to the next level. Both schools had a strong student section and both contingents were vocal early on and ready to go.
Both teams would trade stabs and jabs in the opening minutes but the Rebels appeared to have the upper hand early as they got out to a 6-2 lead thanks to a score in the paint by lanky sophomore post Hanna Crymble at the 16:42 mark along with two free throws by speedy senior guard Alexis Alexander at the 15:16 mark and a pretty drive and shot off the glass at the 13:37 mark by freshman reserve guard/forward Sydney Hilley. Centennial would soon tie the game at 6-all on a drive and finish by junior guard Jaycie Gerding at the 12:52 mark and a jumper from the left wing at the 10:35 mark by senior forward Jasmin Bretoi who had a huge game on Tuesday night against Osseo. But the Cougars were only halfway on this 11-0 burst they were embarking on as a free throw by senior reserve guard Hayley Hofmann with 9:09 left and a "3" from the left top area by senior guard Destinee Morris had Centennial up 10-6. A drive along the left baseline and finish by Gerding got her fouled as well and she sank the obligatory freebie to complete this run for a 13-6 Cougar advantage with 8:00 left.
Champlin Park would manage to gradually draw closer; closing the gap to 15-13 thanks to a Hilley free throw with 6:39 left and some strong offensive rebounding by both Hilley and senior post Mariya Sampson that resulted in easy scores for the tall Rebel duo. The red-clad Cougars, however, would step on the gas pedal again just before the half. A "3" from freshman reserve guard Paige Comer from the right wing with 2:42 left and two charity stripe shots by Comer with 1:55 left upped the Centennial lead to 20-13. Free throws by both Gerding and senior guard Katie Werth had the Cougars up double digits for the first time in this contest at 23-13 with 1:25 left and a Comer score in the paint with :54 left made it a 25-13 game before Champlin Park's Alexander finally stopped the bleeding by uncorking a "3" from the right top area with just :12 left that got the Rebels back to within single digits trailing 25-16 by the halftime buzzer but it would arguably be an uphill battle the rest of the way for this Champlin Park squad.
Centennial sought to keep their conference rival in the rearview mirror once the second half got underway. An offensive rebound and putback by strong senior and battle-tested post Jill Conrad at the 17:46 mark and a free throw by fellow senior Daizjay Morris after she was fouled in a transition attempt at the 17:22 mark expanded the Cougar advantage to 28-16. Champlin Park could have been in a serious hole right then and there but this Rebel team surprisingly struck back and closed the gap back to single digits once again. A lay-up in transition by Alexander at the 16:14 mark and a score in the paint by Crymble at the 15:33 mark got Champlin Park back in the game trailing 28-20 and they cut into the Cougar advantage even more when they employed some full-court pressure and snared a steal that resulted in a quick score by senior guard Genevae Adkins at the 15:30 mark that whittled Centennial's lead down to 28-22 and could have given reason for Head Coach Greg Amundson's squad to break out the proverbial panic button.
Instead, the Cougars hunkered down and responded with a game-changing 12-0 run over the next three minutes that helped pave the way to ultimate victory. A short jumper by Daizjay Morris at the 14:59 mark along with free throws by both Bretoi and Grow and a score in the paint after a steal by Destinee Morris that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the ensuing charity stripe shot now had Centennial up 40-22 with 12:32 left and left the Rebels grasping for whatever few lifelines remained for them in this game. A lay-up by Alexander at the 12:04 mark and a "3" from the left corner by senior reserve guard Taylor Severn helped cut the Cougar advantage down to thirteen at 40-27 at the 11:30 mark but this time Champlin Park could only make incremental dents and nicks on the cushion the Cougars had now established. A score in the paint by Sampson and a lay-up by willowy freshman guard/forward Allison Gerads had the Rebels back to within ten trailing 42-32 with 9:07 left but they could never get any closer than that. Centennial's Conrad muscled her way into the paint for a score and got fouled in the process by Champlin Park's Sampson that now saddled her with 4 fouls and Conrad converted on the obligatory free throw for a 45-32 Cougar advantage and now there was no looking back now that Centennial was in the bonus. Timely free throws by Destinee Morris and a short jumper by freshman reserve post Sarah Grow had the Cougars back up comfortably by a 49-33 count with 7:03 left. A lay-up by Werth with 6:33 left along with two free throws by Gerding with 4:54 left and a Gerding lay-up in transition with 4:35 left now had Centennial up by twenty at 55-35. With a hefty advantage and time becoming a factor, the Cougars began milking the clock for all it was worth on their ensuing offensive possessions that would often end in easy Centennial scores or trips to the charity stripe. A Bretoi lay-up in transition after a steal had the Cougars up 57-35 and a lay-up by Daizjay Morris with 2:33 left along with an easy lay-up off of an inbounds pass to Conrad that fooled everyone sealed the deal for a 61-35 advantage with 2:10 left. Champlin Park's Alexander connected with one last "3" from the left wing with 1:20 left but the Cougars were celebrating a berth into the State Tournament with a resounding 61-43 victory.
A disappointed Champlin Park Head Coach Jake Kuppe tried to keep things in perspective afterward and shared some thoughts about this game with me. "We rebounded like animals early on" Kuppe said but lamented that that seemed to fade as the game progressed. "We had some missed lay-ups and free throws as well" Kuppe said and undoubtedly those played a factor as well. This Champlin Park team has come a long way in Kuppe's first season at the helm and despite losing some fine seniors such as Adkins, Sampson, Alexander, Severn and Kelli Heytens the future appears bright for the Rebels as Kuppe admitted that "we have some very nice young talent coming up." Meanwhile, Centennial's Amundson was basking in the moment of enjoying his first trip to the State Tournament at the helm of this strong program that has had its share of success over the years. I first asked Amundson about how the Cougars kept their cool when Champlin Park had closed the gap to six points early on in the second half. Amundson: "I just told them to keep playing their game; to keep playing defense." I also asked Amundson about what it means to him personally to take this Centennial program to the big stage. "It's very big for me" Amundson replied. Amundson came to Centennial after long-time Centennial Head Coach Jill Becken stepped down from a successful program in North Dakota. "Minnesota is tough!.....It caps my career but we're not stopping here!" Amundson gleefully replied. Centennial may or may not be one of the favorites in the Class AAAA State Tournament this next week but no matter where they're seeded, they're going to be one tough team to beat if they're clicking on all cylinders. And with an arguably wide-open field in this year's tournament, they may have arrived at just the right time.
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