Champlin Park vs Elk River 1-17-17

Made the run on U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline out to Elk River on this unseasonably warm mid-January evening to take in an important Northwest Suburban Conference game between visiting Champlin Park and host Elk River.  The Elks; undefeated and ranked number two in the state endured two big challenges this last week in knocking off Centennial on the road last week Tuesday night and then knocking off arch-rival STMA at home on Friday night in a tight one. On this night, they would face yet another stiff test as the Rebels were coming into this game on an eight-game win streak and a lot of momentum to boot.  Needless to say, I got my money's worth on this night.

One of the reasons for the Elks success thus far this season has been an array of weapons on offense; notably senior guard Gabi Haack but for most of the first half, it was defense that took center stage for both teams.  With the game tied at 2-all, Champlin Park junior forward Gabby Mocchi dropped two free throws after getting fouled at the 13:42 mark for a 4-2 Rebel lead.  Elk River, which seemed to be struggling mightily on offense in the early going thanks to a pesky and long Rebel defense, finally shook off the cobwebs as one "3" from the left corner by senior guard Danielle Lachmiller and one by Gabi Haack from the right top area at the 11:04 mark propelled the Elks back into the lead at 8-4 and, presumably anyway, onto bigger and better things.  But Champlin Park came right back and tied the score at 8 a piece on a score by junior guard Erica Hicks at the 10:47 mark and a Mocchi lay-up at the 10:24 mark.  A lay-up at the 10:05 mark by Elk senior forward Sidney Wentland at the 10:05 mark had Elk River up 10-8 but that was matched by a jumper in the lane by Rebel junior guard Amanda Pollard at the 9:34 mark so Champlin Park was showing right from the get-go that they had every intention of hanging with the second-ranked team in the state and then some.

Another Pollard score; a lay-up at the 9:07 mark, put the Rebels up 12-10 but Elk River looked like it would get into position to snatch control of this game on the strength of back-to-back treys - both from the right wing - by (who else?) Gabi Haack.  One with 8:49 left and the second with 7:32 left had the Elks up 16-12 and the general thought of those in attendance last night thought that this outburst might finally convince Champlin Park to go away quietly into the night.  But a stubborn Rebel squad had vastly different ideas.  A lay-up by junior reserve forward Megan Munneke with 7:16 left and a "3" from the top of the key by Hicks with 6:13 left cut Elk River's lead down to a scant point at 18-17 and a Munneke jumper from the left elbow with 4:37 left and a tough drive and finish by Mocchi with 3:24 left knotted the game at 21 a piece.  Champlin Park took the lead with 1:32 left on a lay-up by Hicks that made it 23-21 before a somewhat shocked Elk team regained the advantage on a "3" from the right corner by diminutive freshman guard Lydia Haack with 1:16 left for a 24-23 Elk River lead but Rebel senior guard/forward Allison Gerads gave her squad the lead going into the locker room at the half with her jumper in the lane with exactly 1:00 left that made it 25-24.  And when the halftime buzzer did sound, nothing seemed right for the Elks as Champlin Park's long and athletic defense seemed to have thrown things out of sorts for the home squad and you could feel the uneasiness of the partisan Elk River crowd in the gym.

The other strange thing about the first half was that the Rebels had kept Elk River senior point guard Ava Kramer scoreless in the first half; eliminating an important piece of that explosive Elk offense but that changed at the beginning of the second half when she was camping out in the left corner and drained a "3" at the 17:42 mark that propelled Elk River back into the lead at 27-25.  But any hopes of that score being any sort of a dagger in the heart of the Rebels were soon dashed as back-to-back scores by Hicks - one in the paint at the 17:27 mark and a coast-to-coast lay-up at the 16:48 mark - shoved Champlin Park back out in front 29-27.  Gabi Haack would try and recapture the momentum for her Elk teammates as she connected with a lay-up at the 16:28 mark that also drew a foul and the "and one" by the future Bradley Brave got Elk River back out in front 30-29.  But that did nothing to deter the Rebels as they proceeded to go on a 6-1 push.  Hicks knocked down a jumper in the lane at the 16:17 mark and a drive and finish by Mocchi at the 13:08 mark had Champlin Park up 33-30. Two Mocchi freebies at the 14:11 mark pushed the Rebel lead to 35-31 and now there was some genuine worry among the Elk River contingent.  Just as it was in the beginning of this second half, it was Ava Kramer to the rescue again.  A short jumper at the 13:34 mark and a lay-up at the 13:12 mark tied the game at 35-all.  But just when the Elk River crowd was about to heave a sigh of relief, right back came the Rebels.  One Pollard free throw at the 12:54 mark and then a steal and lay-up the other way by Pollard on the ensuing Elk possession gave Champlin Park a 38-35 lead and a short jumper off of an inbounds pass by Gerads at the 11:45 mark maintained that three-point edge at 40-37.

Legendary NFL Films narrator; the late John Facenda, once said, "Great teams aren't always great. They're just great when they have to be."  So just when it looked like Elk River was most vulnerable and the Rebels seemingly setting the tone in this contest, the Elks responded.  Two Ava Kramer free throws at the 11:30 mark cut the Champlin Park lead down to one point at 40-39 and then Gabi Haack tried to single-handedly take the game over.  She snared a steal near mid-court and then dashed the other way for a lay-up that also drew a foul and the ensuing freebie got Elk River back in front 42-40.  Gabi Haack was sent to the line again at the 9:14 mark in a transition opportunity and sank the front-end of the two shot attempt for a 43-40 Elk advantage.  The back-end attempt rattled out but right there for the offensive rebound and putback was Wentland that suddenly had Elk River up 45-40.  The Rebels narrowed the deficit to one point on two free throws by Hicks at the 9:02 mark and a Gerads lay-up in transition with 8:45 left but the Elks proceeded to go on a 6-0 push.  Wentland connected with a lay-up with 8:19 left as did Lachmiller with 7:46 left for a 49-44 Elk River lead and when Gabi Haack connected with a lay-up in transition with 7:15 left, it seemed as if the air had been let out of the Champlin Park balloon and Head Coach Josh Steck called an immediate timeout to try and rectify the situation.  But just when the Elks looked to be in a position to loosen up with a 51-44 lead, the Rebels dug deep and responded.  Two Munneke free throws with 6:07 left and a Gerads "3" from the left wing area with 5:24 left had Champlin Park back to within a single possession trailing 51-49 and a Hicks "3" from the right wing area with 4:05 left trimmed the deficit to a scant point at 53-52.  Elk River was unable to immediately hold off this latest Rebel challenge so while the Elks were trying desperately to protect a one-point lead, Hicks struck again with 2:47 left with a drive and finish that suddenly had Champlin Park up by one at 54-53.  The Elks; specifically Gabi Haack, now found that sense of urgency and she responded with 1:52 left with a tough lay-up that had Elk River up 55-54 but on the ensuing Rebel possession, Pollard was fouled on a drive into traffic and was able to get the front end to go down for a 55-all deadlock.  Champlin Park was then able to get a stop on the other end and with just less than a minute left, they had the chance they were waiting for.  They carefully and patiently worked the ball around the perimeter; milking the clock; looking for an opening; just a crack in that vaunted Elk defense.  With time winding down, Pollard appeared to be on the verge of making a decisive move but the ball careened off of her leg and a host of Elks gave chase to the errant ball.  The ball went out of bounds and the Rebels maintained possession but with just :00.6 left and they were unable to get a quality good-look shot off on the inbounds pass so off to overtime we went tied at 55.

The Elk River contingent, now genuinely worried that the Elks unbeaten streak might come to an end on their home floor, had to have felt vastly better when a "3" by Lydia Haack from the right corner with 3:48 left in the extra session and one free throw by big sis Gabi Haack with 3:29 left put the Elks up 59-55.  Still, Champlin Park was unwilling to concede this incredibly tough battle.  Two Munneke free throws with 3:05 left and one more by Pollard after she was fouled in a transition opportunity after a steal cut the Elk lead down to a tenuous point at 59-58.  But when the Rebels needed to get that one big play; that one big basket, it just wasn't there and Elk River was there to take advantage. Wentland connected with a big lay-up with 1:54 left that got the lead back to three points and after the Elks got a stop on the other end, Elk River Head Coach Jeremy Digiovanni now wanted to protect that three-point edge.  They patiently worked the ball on the offensive end and each time the Rebels would try to make a move defensively to snare a steal, Digiovanni used timeouts with 1:14 and :47.9 left to ensure that his best ballhandlers were on the floor.  Finally, with :27.9 left, Lydia Haack was fouled and the youngster calmly sank two freebies that made it a two-possession game at 63-58. Champlin Park was unable to convert on its ensuing possession and Lachmiller was  able to snare the rebound and she was immediately fouled with :17.3 left and was able to get one of the two charity stripe shots to go down for a 64-58 Elk River lead.  The Rebels were at least able to throw one more small scare into the home team and its fans when Hicks connected with a lay-up with :11.9 left that drew a foul and her "and one" had Champlin Park back within a single possession trailing 64-61.  As you would expect, the Elks made sure that the ball got into Gabi Haack's hands on the inbounds pass and she was immediately fouled with :10.8 left and she made no mistake by sinking both free throw attempts for a 66-61 Elk River lead.  But a stubborn Rebel squad refused to fold as Hicks was able to connect with a lay-up with :03.5 left and Champlin Park's Steck called another timeout to see if he could dial up one more miracle for his team.  This time, however, the Elks politely but firmly closed the door on this gamey Champlin Park squad as they got the ball to Gabi Haack on the inbounds pass and she was fouled with just :00.8 left and her two free throws sealed the deal for a 68-63 Elk River win that finally had the home crowd heaving a collective sigh of relief.

You have to give Champlin Park a lot of credit for coming into Elk River and throwing a huge scare into the second-ranked team in the state.  And what's probably most disappointing to Steck and his team is that this one was out there for them to steal.  I think that, defensively anyway, they did what they set out to do.  Nobody is going to completely stop Gabi Haack from scoring and they probably had to "pick their poison" so to speak on how to at least neutralize her somewhat.  Rather, I think what did in the Rebels in the end was that they weren't always efficient on the offensive end when they needed to be.  A missed short jumper here.  A missed "bunny" there.  A ball careening off a leg or a foot when they were trying to drive inside.  Those little things caught up with them at the end, IMHO.  Meanwhile, one could probably argue as well that the Elks may have had a bit of the dreaded letdown phenomenon that that hits everybody now and then.  I got to speak with Gabi Haack a bit afterward and she admitted that maybe they weren't as focused as they needed to be.  Then again, it has to be something of a reassurance for the Elk faithful that their team can find a way to respond even when they're not clicking on all cylinders.  I spoke with Digiovanni afterward as well and while he said he didn't think there would be any letdown, he admitted that there probably was and he said that his squad didn't come out focused and energized initially as he hoped that they would.  But he also said that he spoke with his squad in the locker room after the game as said that he hopes it's not a habit that they don't bring their "A" game into every contest.  And in the always tough and competitive Northwest Suburban Conference, that's a dangerous proposition for sure and it almost cost them tonight.  Gabi Haack, as you would expect, led the way for Elk River on this night with her 25 points and surprisingly it was her younger sister, Lydia Haack following up with her 13 points while Wentland added 10 points.  On the Champlin Park side, it was a fantastic night scoring-wise for Hicks as she led all scorers with her 27 points while Mocchi was the only other player in double figures for the Rebels with her 10 points.