Elk River vs Blaine 2-3-17

Wandered up to the far northern 'burb of Blaine on this Friday night to take in this Northwest Suburban Conference girl's hoops clash between visiting Elk River which made its way east on U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline and host Blaine.  The Elks have been rolling along mightily this year; coming into this contest with a 19-0 record and in the third of four consecutive road games.  Blaine meanwhile has been struggling this season as they came into this contest with a 6-13 record overall and 0-8 in Northwest Suburban Conference play.

Elk River went right to work on the opening tip-off as back-to-back scores by senior standout and future Bradley Brave Gabi Haack - a lay-up at the 17:44 mark and a "3" from the right corner at the 17:14 mark - gave the Elks a quick 5-0 lead.  Blaine would counter on a "3" from the left top area by senior forward Makenna Pearson at the 16:44 mark and a score in the paint by junior guard Tiffany Johnson at the 16:00 mark that had the Bengals back to within a single possession trailing 7-5.  But any hopes of Blaine staying close to the second-ranked team in the state quickly went out the window as the Elks embarked on an 11-0 blitz.  Gabi Haack first connected on a lay-up that drew a foul at the 15:49 mark and her "and one" pushed the lead to 10-5.  Then it was fellow senior point guard Ava Kramer making Blaine pay as she snared a steal and darted the other way for a lay-up at the 15:29 mark that pushed the lead to 12-5.  Less than a minute later it was Ava Kramer striking again with a lay-up in transition at the 14:39 mark and two Ava Kramer free throws at the 13:58 mark pushed the lead to double-digits at 16-5.  Gabi Haack's drive along the right baseline and finish at the 11:45 mark capped this run before Blaine could make a dent in the cushion.  Senior guard Emily Fleek's three-point bomb from the right top area at the 11:29 mark and fellow senior guard Jordan Sauve's trey from the top of the key at the 10:27 mark had the Bengals back to within single-digit range trailing 18-11 but Elk River moved quickly to rebuild that cushion.  Senior guard Kelsie Cox; now recovered from the hand injury she suffered earlier in the season vs Park Center, nailed a "3" from the left corner at the 10:12 mark and a short, one-handed jumper off of an inbounds pass by fellow senior forward Sidney Wentland at the 9:49 mark had the lead back up to twelve points at 23-11.

A 12-4 Elk burst beginning with 8:27 left in the first half ended any doubt whatsoever as to how this game was going to go.  Gabi Haack's drive and finish started this decisive move and a lay-up by junior reserve forward Matia Person with 7:29 left got the lead to fourteen at 27-13.  Then Wentland; the Denver U commit, launched a "3" from the right wing area with 6:51 left and a jumper from the left wing area by junior reserve guard Madison Leuthold with 6:20 left made it a 32-13 game. Wentland's drive and finish with 4:04 left made it 34-15 before Blaine's lanky junior reserve forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo could stop some of the bleeding with her lay-up with 3:47 left.  Elk River would not let up on the gas pedal as one Gabi Haack freebie with 2:44 left and a three-point bomb by Ava Kramer from the right wing area with 2:10 left got the lead to 39-18 and then diminutive freshman guard Lydia Haack drained a "3" from the left wing area with 1:16 left that ballooned the lead to 41-20.  The Bengals cut into the large cushion right before the halftime buzzer as one Sauve free throw with :25.1 left and a lay-up in transition by Mbanefo with just :11 left trimmed the deficit down to eighteen points as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime intermission but it was clear by this point that Elk River was firmly in control of this one.

And the Elks erased any further doubt among the partisan Blaine crowd as to how this one was going to turn out early on in the second half.  Wentland snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 16:39 mark and a Lydia Haack lay-up at the 16:19 mark got the lead back to twenty at 45-25.  Wentland connected with a lay-up at the 15:51 mark and a score in the paint by Cox at the 15:26 mark made it a 49-27 game.  Back-to-back scores by Wentland - a drive along the left baseline and finish at the 14:18 mark and a "3" from the left wing area at the 13:55 mark - pushed the lead to 54-29 and Blaine Head Coach Chris Brustuen had no choice but to call a timeout to try and stop the massive bleeding.  But Elk River continued to show why it's the second-ranked team in the state as two Ava Kramer free throws at the 13:07 mark and an Ava Kramer short shot off the glass at the 11:58 mark bulged the lead to 58-32.  Wentland dropped two free throws at the 11:17 mark and Gabi Haack unleashed terror from behind the arc with her "3" from the right corner at the 10:28 mark for a 63-32 lead.  A Gabi Haack lay-up at the 9:59 mark and a "3" from the left top area by Cox at the 9:25 mark made it 68-32 and we were getting dangerously close to the MSHSL's "Mercy Rule" with running time to close things out.  But a proud Bengal team refused to wave the white flag.  Mbanefo got into the paint for a score and got fouled in the process and her "and one" at the 9:14 mark along with one freebie by Fleek with 7:34 left and a "3" by senior forward Abby Howe from the right wing area with 6:55 left got Blaine back to within thirty trailing 68-39.  A Mbanefo score in the paint with 5:44 left gave the Bengals some more fight even though this contest had been long decided.  Sauve banged home a "3" from the top of the key with 1:07 left and both Elk River Head Coach Jeremy Digiovanni and Blaine's Brustuen sent in reserves in the final moment as the Elks waltzed to a 77-49 win.

Elk River's Digiovanni admitted afterward that, despite the comfortable win, there were still some areas that his squad needs to work on.  But, at the same time, his core group of seniors (Gabi Haack, Ava Kramer, Sidney Wentland, Kelsie Cox, Danielle Lachmiller and reserve Hayley Ackermann) are keenly aware that they're in the home stretch of the regular season and that this is their last run and they're focused and prepared.  And, considering that the Elks were without the services of Lachmiller on this night who was out with strep throat, they still have enough depth of the bench (Lydia Haack, Leuthold and Person) that can step in and perform admirably.  I know that there's people out there who will disagree with me but this is one of the main reasons why I think Elk River is the best team out there.  They're so complete and can get the job done in the half court and in transition as well and they create a lot of match-up problems for opponents.  When they're on, they're incredibly tough to beat.  On this night, the Elks had an incredibly balanced scoring attack with four players in double-figures scoring-wise.  As you would no doubt guess, Gabi Haack led the way with her 20 points while Wentland was right behind with 18 points.  Ava Kramer chipped in with 13 points and Cox added 12 points.  For Blaine, Sauve was the only player in double figures with 11 points.