The first night game of the opening day of the state tournament had the Class AAA teams stealing the spotlight. The first game featured #1 seed and Section 5AAA champ Orono going up against Section 8AAA champ Thief River Falls. The Prowlers; unseeded in this field were again one of those teams I had not seen before while the Spartans I had caught in action back in January at their victory over Waconia. I was very impressed with Orono as they have a very nice blend of size and speed and I knew then that they'd be a force in this field and tonight's game didn't do anything to change my thinking.
A score in the paint at the 17:35 mark by lanky junior post Meghan Mandel got the Spartans off on the right foot but a pesky TR Falls team was not about to buckle under the pressure of a raucous Orono student section; closing the gap to 7-5 before the Spartans were able to go on a 4-0 spurt to increase their lead to 11-5 and a "3" from the left corner by savvy senior guard Kiera Nelson at the 12:07 mark extended the lead to 14-6 but the Prowlers managed to battle back and get the deficit back into the six-point range when 6'3" post Jenna Tadych scored in the paint at the 11:05 mark that trimmed the Orono lead down to 16-10. The Spartans, however, would embark on a 10-2 run that made it 26-10 before TR Falls could get the deficit back to ten with 7:20 left. Two free throws by junior reserve forward Rachel Rudd with 7:07 left and a "3" from the left top area by sophomore guard Tori Andrew gave the Spartans a 31-16 lead with 2:54 left before TR Falls managed to forge yet another mini-comeback. Two free throws by freshman guard Kylea Praska with 2:33 left and a pair of freebies by senior forward/post Madison Brekke trimmed the deficit down to eleven points at 31-20. With 1:08 left, Brekke struck again as she connected with a jumper in the lane to get the Prowlers back to within single digits trailing 31-22 and two more Praska charity stripe shots with :21.9 left had TR Falls trailing 33-24 before a late Orono score made it 35-24 when the buzzer sounded. The Spartans had a relatively balanced scoring attack in the first half with Mandel's nine points leading the way. TR Falls did as well with Praska's seven points leading the way but the Prowlers were also guilty of 12 first half turnovers which offset a solid rebounding performance.
An 8-2 burst by the Spartans opened up yet more separation between the number-one seeded team and their pesky opponent for a 41-26 advantage and that lead soon ballooned to 47-27 by the 12:T18 mark. A Rudd "3" from the left top area with 11:32 left made it 53-31 and this one was slowly but surely slipping away for TR Falls Head Coach Jeff Loe. A Nelson "3" from the top of the key made it 56-32 and a Nelson lay-up with 8:56 that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie made it 59-34 and the Spartans were clearly on their way. Even worse for TR Falls was the fact that when the Spartans weren't scoring, they were getting several offensive rebounds and eating precious time off the clock. TR Falls tried valiantly to fight back; a "3" from the right top area by junior guard Meleah Biermaier with 4:01 left got some more points on the board for the Prowlers but it didn't make much of a dent in the deficit. The thing that impressed me watching this Orono team inflicting destruction in this second half was that they have so many ways that they can hurt you; whether it's in transition with one of their guards or going down low into the blocks with Mandel. They're tough. They're hot. They're lucky. They think they've got everything going for them just right and their 70-42 victory suggests that they just might be right.
I spoke with Orono senior reserve guard Sydney Reiners afterward and, despite the fact that she didn't score on this night and does not figure heavily into the scoring option for the Spartans on a normal basis, her contributions away from scoring are just fine with her. "I try to control the things I can control such as boxing out, rebounding, and going for loose balls" she said. I also asked her about what this state tournament means to her and her team on a personal basis. "We've been through a lot" she said; referring to a mere three years ago when this Spartan team struggled mightily on the floor. Orno Head Coach Ellen Wiese was in a great mood after this resounding victory. "I thought we played really well.....Our strategy to wear them down worked" she said. I asked her about the different scoring options this squad seems to have and how they can hurt you in so many ways. Here, Wiese stressed the other end of the ball. "If you don't play defense, you're not going to play" as she really stresses defense with her team which leads to offensive opportunities. She spoke glowingly of Nelson; the senior guard who led all scorers on this night with 18 points and called her "an outstanding scorer". Being able to do this at Target Center backed by a raucous student section was "a blast" according to Wiese. She also spoke about a time not so long ago when, as Wiese put it quite bluntly, "We sucked." But this squad has come a heckuva long way in a relatively short period of time. I also asked Wiese if she felt that they could win it all. "Absolutely!" she replied.
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