Made the relatively easy trip up to Champlin Park High School on this cold, cold Tuesday night to take in another intriguing non-conference tune-up featuring visiting Eden Prairie and host Champlin Park. The Eagles were coming into this contest looking to make amends after the incredibly heartbreaking loss at Becker on the previous Friday while the Rebels were hoping to build on the good start that they had to this season.
Eden Prairie would hold the upper hand for most of this first half; looking confident and sharp in their offensive sets that helped them build an early 8-2 advantage. Senior point guard Molly Lenz would get things going with her drive and short jumper at the 17:44 mark and a lay-up off of an inbounds pass by fellow senior guard Ashley Fritz at the 17:16 mark had the Eagles up 4-0. Lenz would connect with a lay-up at the 16:11 mark and sophomore guard Vanessa Jordan would make a pretty drive and finish at the 15:25 mark for the aforementioned score. Champlin Park would cut the deficit down to four on a jumper from the right elbow area by senior guard Ashlee Burchette at the 12:37 mark but Eden Prairie would then widen the gap even more with a 7-0 push. A pair of free throws by slender sophomore reserve guard Remington Ehrman after she was fouled at the 12:14 mark and an Ehrman offensive rebound and putback at the 11:55 mark made it a 12-4 game and then the Eagles' silent assassin; senior guard Annika Anderson, would unleash a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 9:35 mark that grew Eden Prairie's lead to 15-4 and by this point the host Rebels looked to be in a heap of trouble.
Things would continue to look dire indeed for Champlin Park as this first half progressed. A lay-up by senior forward Kylie Bamlett with 8:57 left maintained the 11-point edge at 17-6 and another Anderson trey - this one from the top of the key with 8:11 left - upped the lead to 20-8. Strong sophomore reserve guard Ella Hardwick would make a big contribution for the Eagles as well with her nifty reverse lay-up with 7:23 left and when Lenz connected with a lay-up in transition with 5:46 left that made it 24-8, the Rebels definitely looked like they were in over their head. It was here that Champlin Park was finally able to break out of its prolonged slumber and get some semblance of offensive production. Burchette would nail a "3" from the left corner with 4:13 left and fellow senior guard Nicole Lillard would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:28 left. Junior guard Mariah Pates would connect with a short, one-handed shot with 1:50 left and Burchette would drain her second trey of the contest - this one from the right top area with 1:30 left. Junior guard Ava Holman would also snare an offensive rebound for a putback with :35.3 left that got the deficit back to ten points for the Rebels at 29-19 by the halftime break so while there was still obviously a lot of work to do, it was still a darn sight better than what it was six minutes ago.
Champlin Park would finally get back into single-digit range by the 16:24 mark of the second half when Burchette connected with a lay-up and although the Eagles' Anderson would connect with a lay-up of her own on Eden Prairie's subsequent possession at the 16:08 mark to protect the ten-point advantage at 31-21, the Rebels came out with a renewed spirit and determination as a 7-0 push had them right back in this contest. Lillard would connect with a lay-up at the 15:28 mark and then a Burchette "3" from the left wing area at the 15:00 mark had the deficit down to five at 31-26. Less than a minute later, Burchette would get sent to the charity stripe after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 14:29 mark and she would cash in on both attempts that now had Champlin Park back to within a single possession down 31-28 after trailing by as many as sixteen in the latter stages of the first half. Seeing their safety net dwindle as much as it did could have easily sent Eden Prairie into panic mode but this battle-tested and mentally tough Eagles team dug their heels in and went about building it back up. Two lay-ups in transition by Fritz - one at the 13:44 mark and another one at the 13:12 mark - had Eden Prairie's lead back up to seven at 35-28 and then free throws - one by Lenz after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 11:53 mark and two more by Bamlett after she was fouled at the 11:09 mark - restored that double-digit advantage that the Eagles enjoyed earlier by a 38-28 count. Lenz would also connect with a short, pull-up jumper in transition at the 9:48 mark and with a 40-30 Eden Prairie lead, order looked as if it had been restored.
That notion was emphasized even more when Eden Prairie's Fritz would connect with a lay-up in transition with 7:58 left that also drew a foul and allowed Fritz to knock down the obligatory "and one" along with a lay-up in transition by Anderson with 7:36 left for good measure that seemingly had the Eagles in the "safe" zone again with a sizable 45-32 advantage. But the host Rebels were not finished with their trickery just yet. Lillard would make a hard drive for a finish with 7:06 left as would Holman with 6:08 left that cut the deficit down to nine at 45-36. Holman would also knock down one charity stripe shot after getting fouled with 5:38 left and senior guard Rian Giles would then bury a "3" from the left corner with 5:11 left to keep Champlin Park in that nine-point range down down 49-40 with plenty of time left. Then, when the flashy Burchette connected with a lay-up in transition with 4:46 left that reduced the deficit down to seven points at 49-42, there was every reason to believe that the Rebels had one more run left in them. But Champlin Park could never find that one spark again that would allow them to get back to within striking distance that could have changed the outlook on this game. The Eagles again steadied the ship as Ehrman would knock down a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 4:26 left and then the crafty Lenz would get a three-point play the old-fashioned way with her drive and finish that drew a foul resulting in the obligatory "and one" with 3:46 left that now had Eden Prairie's safety net back in double-digit range again with a 54-42 advantage. With 2:04 left, Lenz would strike again with a short jumper in the lane to make it a 56-45 ballgame. The Rebels would attempt one last gasp as Pates would drain a "3" from the left wing with 1:41 left and Burchette would have one last round of heroics for Champlin Park with her three-point bomb from the left top area with 1:07 left that cut the Eagles lead down to seven at 58-51 but Eden Prairie's Fritz would seal the deal with her score in the paint with :51.4 left that also drew a foul and resulted in the "and one" that would give the Eagles their final margin of victory with a 61-51 triumph.
Given the incredibly tough loss at Becker just a few short nights ago, you had to think that this was a solid response by Eden Prairie and they never panicked when Champlin Park made a serious run at them early on in the second half. Champlin Park meanwhile is an intriguing team; maybe not yet quite ready for prime time but always dangerous and athletic and they can cause a lot of problems with their pressure and trapping defensive ploys. It was a very balanced scoring attack for the Eagles that helped pave the way to victory on this night - and what a night it was for Fritz as her 18 points led the way for her team (and tied for high-scoring honors on this night as well). The steady as a rock Lenz was right behind with 17 points and Anderson; although she didn't have one of her better nights from behind the arc, still more than made up for that as she tallied 12 points. Bamlett meanwhile had "only" four points on this night but was an absolute monster on the boards with 10 rebounds. No surprise that Burchette led the way for Champlin Park on this night with her 18 points while Giles finished with 10 points.
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