Rogers vs Elk River Synopsis 12-21-18

Made my way out on U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline out to Elk River on this Friday night to take in this intriguing non-conference clash between visiting Rogers out of the Mississippi 8 Conference and host Elk River of the Northwest Suburban Conference.  While this was a non-conference clash, both teams reside in Section 8AAAA and a victory in this game could have implications down the road for seeding in the Section Tournament.  Both teams have been in the process of trying to return to their glory days; particularly Elk River which is two years removed from their amazing undefeated state title run of two seasons ago.  The players who helped make that happen have graduated now and a set of new young faces have come to take their place and carve their own identity.

The Elks drew first blood in this contest when junior point guard Lydia Haack made a hard drive and connected with a lay-up at the 17:42 mark of the first half but Rogers would take the lead when junior guard Alaina Brenning knocked down a short jumper at the 17:26 mark and followed that up with a pull-up jumper in transition at the 15:22 mark.  Elk River, however would respond with a 7-0 push as Haack connected with a lay-up at the 15:10 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Elks back out in front 5-4.  Two free throws by fellow junior forward Alexa Engebretson at the 14:46 mark and a lay-up by lanky sophomore forward Johanna Langbehn at the 14:15 mark made it 9-4 and Rogers Head Coach Greg Amundson felt compelled to take a thirty-second timeout to get his team calmed down a bit.  That short stoppage in play certainly seemed to help the Royals as they got back to within a single possession again.  Freshman guard Ellie Buzzelle drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 13:58 mark to close the gap to two points and a Buzzelle drive and finish at the 12:23 mark kept Rogers in that two-point range down 11-9.  It was here though that the Elks got a 9-0 run going that opened up some distance on their opponent.  Engebretson drilled a "3" from the left corner at the 11:58 mark and a short jumper from the left side by senior reserve forward Selena Nelson at the 11:36 mark made it 16-9.  Junior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up at the 10:47 mark and two Nelson freebies at the 10:20 mark after she was fouled got the Elk River lead to 20-9.  The Royals tried to stop the bleeding when senior reserve forward Autumn Yelich snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:28 mark but the Elks were able to slowly grow their lead.  Haack connected with a lay-up at the 9:15 mark as did sophomore guard Ellie Maass with 8:04 left that kept the lead at eleven at 24-13.  A Haack lay-up in transition with 6:40 left and a Mikayla Kanenwisher "3" from the left top area with 5:51 left had the lead at fourteen at 29-15.  With 5:39 left, the diminutive Haack would strike again with a steal and lay-up the other way that also drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw suddenly had the lead up to seventeen points at 32-15.  Two free throws by Haack with 5:22 left and a score in the paint by Maass with 3:08 left along with a Haack lay-up with 1:21 left had Elk River up by twenty at 39-19.  Rogers' Yelich would get to the charity stripe with :59 left before the halftime buzzer where she would drop two free throws but down 39-21 at the half, the Royals had a lot of making up to do.

As bleak as things were looking for the Rogers contingent at this point there was good reason for them not to give up hope; especially since the Royals were able to get off on solid footing on the second half and suddenly make a game of this again.  A Buzzelle drive and finish at the 17:48 mark and a "3" from the right corner by senior guard Ashley Hanauska at the 15:53 mark had the deficit down to thirteen points at 39-26.  Elk River managed to widen the gap again as junior reserve guard Abby Barschdorf made a drive and finish at the 14:58 mark as did Maass at the 14:29 mark that got the lead back up to seventeen at 43-26 but Rogers was not going away just yet.  Brenning nailed a "3" from the right corner at the 14:16 mark and a drive and finish by Hanauska at the 13:54 mark had the deficit down to twelve points at 43-31.  Two free throws by eighth-grade forward Clara Glad at the 13:01 mark and a short running jumper in the lane by Yelich at the 12:29 mark had the deficit down to ten points at 45-35.  Buzzelle would drop one freebie at the 11:24 mark then then senior post Emily Rubbelke got into the paint for a score at the 10:53 mark that finally allowed the Royals to crawl back into single-digit range down 47-38.  Elk River, however, was not having any comeback attempts made on them on this night when so many fans and former alumni players were in the stands.  An Engebretson "3" from the left top area at the 10:28 mark got the lead back to twelve at 50-38 and two free throws by sophomore reserve guard Elly Bahr at the 9:57 mark had the lead to fourteen at 52-38.  Rogers tried to cut into this again as junior reserve guard Ali Karels got two free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 9:50 mark and sophomore reserve post Matlyn Jensen got a jumper to go down from the left wing area at the 9:10 mark but the Elks stepped on the gas pedal again.  Mikayla Kanenwisher connected with a lay-up with 8:40 left and a drive and pretty reverse lay-up by Haack with 7:46 left had the lead back up to fourteen points at 56-42.  The Royals would attempt another bid as Rubbelke got into the paint for a score with 7:33 left and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had the deficit down to eleven and an offensive rebound and putback by Glad with 7:04 left did the same down 58-47 but Rogers would never see the single-digit range again.  Elk River's Haack would connect with a lay-up with 6:30 left and two Mikayla Kanenwisher free throws with 5:45 left had the lead at fifteen points at 62-47.  Maass would drop one free throw with 5:02 left and then Engebretson would deliver a dagger "3" from the left corner with 4:14 left that made it 66-51.  Engebretson would also add two free throws with 3:55 left to maintain the fifteen-point cushion at 68-53.  The Royals' Amundson would call for a thirty-second timeout a short time later but the damage had already been done as any comeback attempt had long gone out the window by this point.  The Elks began the process of icing this one as Haack was sent to the charity stripe with 3:37 left where she casually dropped two free throws with 3:37 left.  Mikayla Kanenwisher would add one of her own with :44.1 left and two more by Haack with :27.4 left for insurance purposes let Elk River get this important win by a 73-60 count.

I think the thing that impressed me about the Elks on this night is that they've definitely taken a step forward from where they were last year in a rebuilding process from losing a great group of seniors from that undefeated state championship of the 2016-17 season.  This core group of players are a year older and more experienced now and, if they can manage to stay healthy, can be a factor; not only in the Northwest Suburban Conference but in Section 8AAAA as well.  They're not 2017-good but I think they're definitely in the process of carving their own identity which I think is important for them.  Moreover, I think this is especially true for Haack who had to play in the shadow of her older sister Gabi who's now a standout at Bradley.  She just looks so much more confident out there than she did even a year ago and feels totally comfortable in running the show at the all-important point guard spot.  And the fact that she led all scorers with her 26 points on this night along with 10 rebounds for a "double-double" should come as no surprise either.  Engebretson would add 13 points for the Elks on this night and both Mikayla Kanenwisher and Maass would have 11 points each.  Rogers' Buzzelle was the only player in double figures scoring wise for the Royals on this night with her 16 points.