A late start prevented me from getting the first game this A.M. between Grand Rapids and Winona (won by second-seeded Winona) but the last of the Class AAA Quarterfinal games looked to be an intriguing one that pitted third-seeded St. Paul Como Park going up against unseeded Becker. On paper anyway, this one appeared to be a "W" for the high-flying Cougars and star senior forward Andrayah Adams but, as we found out yesterday.
For the Cougars, the objective had to be to get the ball to Andrayah Adams and let her do what she does but St. Paul Como Park missed out on several easy opportunities early on and the Bulldogs were only to happy to capitalize. A pair of treys - one by senior guard Alexa Hanowski at the 16:10 mark and another by fellow senior guard Amanda Lindsay - along with a Lindsay jumper along the right baseline at the 13:23 mark had Becker out in front 8-5 and although a short jumper by Andrayah Adams allowed the Cougars to close the gap to one point at 8-7, a lay-up by Lindsay after a steal eventually enabled the Bulldogs to grab a 13-9 lead by the 10:48 mark. But as good as Andrayah Adams is and all the attention she garners, the limelight in the first half was stolen by a relatively unknown 8th grade reserve guard, Mackenzie Kramer. She dazzled the crowd at Mariucci Arena with her behind the back and between the leg dribbles and scoring ability and with the Bulldogs holding a rather uncertain 19-14 lead, a couple of between the leg dribbles and a drive and finish by the kid with no nerves now had Becker up 21-14 with 6:45 left and two Lindsay free throws with 6:27 left upped the Bulldog lead to nine at 23-14 and by this point things were looking pretty rosy for the town located just north of the Twin Cities on U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline. Down the stretch of the first half, however, the Becker offense stagnated somewhat and that gave the Cougars the opening they needed to get back into this one. One free throw by sophomoreguard Mikayla Van Nett with 5:04 left and an offensive rebound and putback by freshman post Elaina Jones with 4:03 left cut the Bulldog lead down to seven at 24-17 and a Van Nett lay-up in transition with 3:19 left cut even further into Becker's dwindling cushion at 24-19. Andrayah Adams, seemingly frustrated throughout much of the first half, finally found the range from three-point land with 1:49 left and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve guard Autumn Tucker now cut the Bulldog lead down to a scant point at 25-24 and all that early Becker momentum seemed to vanish into thin air at the halftime break.
A 9-2 opening run in the second half by Becker; highlighted by two scores in the paint by senior post Alex Johnson, had the Bulldogs up 34-26 and a beleaguered St. Paul Como Park Head Coach Alexis Gray-Lawson had no choice but to take a match to a thirty-second timeout to discuss things with her team. That stoppage in play paid dividends for the Cougars as they ratched up their defensive intensity and looked for any and all opportunities to use their speed in transition to whittle away at the Bulldog cushion. Two Van Nett free throws at the 14:00 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by sophomore guard Raiyne Adams at the 13:29 mark cut Becker's lead to six at 38-32 and a "3" from the right corner by eighth grade reserve guard Sydney Jackson had the Cougars closer trailing 39-35. Becker's own eighth grade phenom, Kramer, appeared to save the day for the Bulldogs with her three-point bomb at the 12:24 mark but St. Paul Como Park was not yet done with its offensive assault. A "3" from the left top area off the glass by Raiyne Adams at the 12:01 mark and one Jones free throw at the 11:06 mark cut the deficit to four points again at 43-39 and a Raiyne Adams lay-up in transition at the 10:28 mark had the Cougars back to within a single possession trailing 43-41. Sophomore reserve guard Autumn Tucker's short jumper tied the game at 43-all and it looked as if Becker may have been spent both physically and emotionally by this point. But this is where the Bulldogs were able to catch their collective breaths and put a halt to the St. Paul Como Park comeback attempt. A 5-0 Becker run; highlighted by a "3" from the top of the key by Lindsay with 7:49 left pushed the Bulldogs back to a 48-43 advantage but St. Paul Como Park would make another small push to close the gap to two points at 50-48 thanks to a lay-up by Van Nett with 7:03 left that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory freebie. That's as close as the Cougars could get as a 5-0 Becker push capped by a score in the paint by Johnson with 5:39 left made it a 55-48 game. A Johnson offensive rebound for a putback put St. Paul Como Park further in the hole at 57-49 with 4:39 left and although the Cougars had numerous opportunities to make another run, missed lay-up attempts and, more importantly, missed free throws would doom St. Paul Como Park on this day as the Cougars left several crucial scoring opportunities on the table. With the Bulldogs hanging on by four points at 57-53, one Johnson free throw with 1:30 left and one by Lindsay with :56 left made it a 59-54 ballgame but a Van Nett trey from the right wing area with :39 left gave St. Paul Como Park one last wisp of hope. The Cougars fouled Becker's Hanowski with :21 left but the senior could only get the front end to go down for a 60-57 lead giving St. Paul Como Park one last ghost of a chance to tie this one in regulation. Van Nett would unleash a desperation three-point attempt with :06 left that missed its mark and fell safely into Hanowski's arms with :04 left. She was immediately fouled but this time Hanowski dropped both free throw attempts to seal Becker's upset win by a score of 62-57.
I asked a bubbly and enthusiastic Lindsay of Becker about this upset victory afterward and she was quick to admit that her early "3" in this game seemed to spark a lot of confidence in her on both ends of the floor. About those last few minutes when things were hanging in the balance? Lindsay: "We've played a lot of games this year that were close and we said 'You know what? It's just another game out there.....Go out there, keep your head up and do what we normally do.' " I also got a chance to chat with the eighth grader, Kramer, about this game and what it's like to be in this pressure cooker with her older teammates. "They (her teammates) don't really treat me like an eighth-grader so it really helps with team bonding." The performance that this youngster put on today was nothing short of remarkable. Though she didn't lead the team in scoring, her ten points and nine rebounds played a huge part in getting Becker this win today. Lindsay's 18 points led the way for the Bulldogs on this day and Johnson recorded a double-double with her 14 points and 18 rebounds. On the flip side, missed free throws cost St. Paul Como Park on this day as the went 12-26 for 46.2% for the game and that's simply not going to get the job done in a close game. Surprisingly, it was Van Nett's 14 points that led the way for the Cougars on this day while Raiyne Adams added 12 points and Andrayah Adams chipped in with 11 points.
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