Made the trek down to the southwest side of town on this pleasant-enough early March Friday evening to Minnetonka High School - a venue that I haven't been to in eons - to take in this heavyweight Section 2AAAA Championship Game between second-seeded Eden Prairie and top-seeded and host Minnetonka. The Eagles had cruised past Waconia and Chaska enroute to this championship bout while the Skippers got a bye in the first round and then unceremoniously dumped Prior Lake last Saturday to earn the right to host this contest. Both teams are very well-coached - Eden Prairie in the hands of Ellen Wiese and Minnetonka under the tutelage of Brian Cosgriff and both teams feature vastly different styles with different types of athletes that help achieve their ends. The fact that the Minnetonka Gymnasium was packed on this night - with both schools bringing their rowdy student sections for this classic, you knew you were walking into a good one and getting your money's worth.
With both student sections giving their best, both Eden Prairie and Minnetonka spent the first two minutes of this first half trying to shake off the early game jitters that included easy missed shots and a bevy of turnovers and mistakes. Finally, at the 16:36 mark, the Eagles would draw first blood when slender junior guard Tori Schlagel used her 5'9" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback but the actual recovery process from these early game jitters easily went to the Skippers as they reeled off a 9-0 run to give them the upper hand. Do-it-all junior sensation guard Aaliyah Crump would make a quick dart into the lane and knock down a short jumper at the 16:22 mark to tie the contest and then sophomore guard Lanelle Wright would connect with a jumper from the left wing area at the 15:21 mark to push 'Tonka out in front by a 4-2 count and that lead would expand to 6-2 when Crump made another daring drive into the lane full of traffic to get a pretty little floater to go down at the 13:54 mark. Senior guard Grace Hamdorf would punctuate this early Skipper run with a three-point bomb from the left corner at the 13:08 mark that grew the lead to 9-2 before Eden Prairie finally stopped some of the bleeding on one free throw by junior combo guard/forward Ella Hardwick after she was fouled at the 12:46 mark. But the Skippers would get their lead to 11-3 when Wright would make a quick dart into the lane for a finish at the 11:55 mark to make it an eight-point game at 11-3 before the Eagles could even find some reasonable traction on the offensive end. Schlagel would connect with a very tough lay-up at the 11:10 mark and would follow that up a bit later at the 10:34 mark with two free throws after getting fouled that made the deficit much more-manageable down 11-7. But Minnetonka would get more breathing space when senior reserve guard Sydney Cummings buried a "3" from the left corner at the 10:10 mark to make it a 14-7 game and given how Eden Prairie had been struggling over the last few minutes with misses on easy lay-ups and "bunnies", a seven-point deficit seemed larger than what it really was.
The Eagles would attempt to make inroads again with 8:17 left in this first half when strong junior forward Rae Ehrman banged home a "3" from the left corner that again had Eden Prairie right back to within striking distance down 14-10 but the Skippers had vastly different ideas when it came to letting its opponent close the gap and Minnetonka - specifically senior guard Tori McKinney- went to work. The future Minnesota Golden Gopher would first drain a "3" from the top of the key with 5:21 left to re-establish the seven point advantage at 17-10 and less than a minute later with 4:10 left, Tori McKinney would connect with a jumper from the left side to up the 'Tonka lead to 19-10. A minute after that with 3:10 left, Tori McKinney would strike again by using her 6'1" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback that now had the Skippers up 21-10 and Eden Prairie definitely appeared to be in a lot of trouble at this point. To the Eagles credit, they didn't fold up shop as Hardwick would connect with a lay-up with 2:48 left and then Schlagel would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 1:55 left that closed the gap to eight points at 22-14. With just :28 left, sophomore reserve guard Jazmyn Hooks would sneak into the paint for a score that cut the deficit down to six at 22-16 and certainly seemed to have Eden Prairie in much better position. Still, with :01 left on the clock, the Skippers would get the last laugh of this wild and weird first half as Wright would make a daring drive into traffic for a finish that allowed Minnetonka to take a 24-16 lead into the locker room at the half and in a game where defense seemed to take center stage, this eight-point deficit that the Eagles were facing seemed a lot larger than what it was and as both teams headed to their locker rooms, I couldn't help but say to myself, "How many lay-ups and 'bunnies' can Eden Prairie miss in one half?"
The beginning of the second half mirrored that of the first half in that it took over three minutes before the cobwebs got dusted off of a basket as Eden Prairie's shooting woes continued and the Skippers weren't faring a heckuva lot better. Finally, Minnetonka broke the ice when the athletic Crump snared a steal and raced the other way for an easy lay-up at the 14:41 mark that now had the 'Tonka student section in a frenzy with a ten-point 26-16 advantage. The Eagles would launch their first comeback bid as junior guard Camryn Dennin banged home a "3" from the left top area at the 14:23 mark to get Eden Prairie back to within single digit range again down 26-19 but that was effectively wiped away when the Skippers' Crump would bury a "3" of her own from the left top area at the 12:34 mark to re-establish the ten-point cushion at 29-19 and down by ten in this defensive slugfest with shooting woes galore, it seemed as if Eden Prairie might've reached the point of no return.
Undaunted, the Eagles would give it another go as Hooks would slither into the paint for her second score of the evening at the 11:36 mark that got the deficit down to eight and a jumper from the free throw line area by Hardwick at the 11:01 mark narrowed the gap even more at 29-23. Minnetonka would increase its safety net back to nine when Tori McKinney drained a "3" from the right top area at the 10:36 mark to make it 32-23 but Eden Prairie would not be deterred this time around. Junior guard Vanessa Jordan would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 9:20 mark and then the Eagles hunkered down on defense to give themselves more opportunities. Hooks would again slither into the paint for a tough score with 7:19 left that suddenly had the deficit down to five at 32-27. With 6:44 left, Hooks would come up big again for this Eden Prairie team as she used her strong 5'8" frame to muscle into the paint again to score that suddenly had the Eagles back to within a single possession down 32-29 and with the Eden Prairie student section and fans going wild, the Skippers were the beneficiary of a much-needed stoppage in play with a media timeout. But even this opportunity for everyone to catch their collective breaths didn't faze the Eagles as Schlagel would show her worth by burying a cold-hearted "3" from the right top area with 6:03 left that finally had this contest leveled again at 32 a piece. Minnetonka would poke its nose out in front again when Tori McKinney got a three-point play the old-fashioned way with a drive and finish with 5:41 left that also drew a foul along with the obligatory "and one" to make it 35-32 Skippers but Eden Prairie wasted little time in getting this game knotted up again. Schlagel would drop a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 5:24 left and Hardwick would get one to go down after getting fouled with 3:05 left that not only tied the game at 35 but now the Eagles were in the bonus as well. This cat-and-mouse game would continue as 'Tonka's Wright would knock down a short jumper in the lane with 2:31 left but the Eagles would respond with a Hardwick score in the paint with 2:08 left that had things even-steven again at 37. You could feel the tension building building coming down the home stretch as each side sought to gain whatever little advantage they could find. With 1:48 left, the Skippers' Wright would get fouled and she would get both free throws to go down to put Minnetonka back out in front again 39-37. Eden Prairie would have a golden opportunity slip through its hands when the Eagles' Dennin got fouled with 1:37 left but the young junior was unable to get the free throw attempt to cooperate but the Skippers would inadvertently leave the door open on the other end when they committed a costly turnover. With 1:19 left, Eden Prairie's Wiese would call a timeout to set up strategy and the Eagles again let an opportunity slip through their hands as Minnetonka was able to force a loose ball from Hardwick and a mad scramble ensued for the rock with 1:04 left. No foul was called and eventually Eden Prairie would get this game tied once more when Hardwick was fouled with :15.6 and she would calmly step to the line and get both free throw attempts to go down to make it 39-all. Minnetonka's Cosgriff would call a timeout in hopes of setting up a potential game-winning play but, as it turned out, he didn't have to. On the Skippers subsequent possession, the controversy of the evening would take place when Tori McKinney; in the process of bringing the ball upcourt, was fouled by Eden Prairie's Schlagel who tried to reach in - perhaps a bit too hard - in an attempt to wrest the ball loose with :10.6 left. But much to the consternation of the Eagles' Wiese and the Eden Prairie contingent, the officials slapped Schlagel with an intentional foul that not only awarded Minnetonka with two free throws but also possession of the ball afterward. As it turned out, McKinney would get both free throw attempts to go down and when the Skippers assumed possession of the ball, Wright would be fouled with :06.4 left and a chance to make it a two-possession game which would have effectively extinguished any hopes that Eden Prairie had. But Wright would be unable to get the free throw attempt to go down and that left one final chance for the Eagles as Hooks would get the rebound and Wiese would call one last timeout in hopes of drawing up some magic. Schlagel would inbounds the ball and get it to Hardwick who stormed upcourt. But when Hardwick neared the free throw line area on the Eden Prairie side of the court, she attempted to pass the ball and, in the process, was called for traveling with a tenth of a second left on the clock. That effectively killed off the last wisp of hope the Eagles had as Minnetonka punched its ticket to the Barn with a thrilling 41-39 victory.
When I finally caught up with Minnetonka's Cosgriff afterward; who was basking in the excitement of this win, I mentioned to him that every possession in this game seemed to be a battle in itself and he was quick to concur; pointing out that the two regular season contests were like this. But he had a lot of praise for Eden Praire. "They shoot the ball....They're tough defensively.....They're going to be very physical with you and we couldn't seem to hit a shot in the second half so we're very fortunate to come out of this, no doubt." When I pointed out that this Minnetonka team has had its shares of highs and lows during the regular season, Cosgriff pointed out that "We always say that the season is a marathon....There's going to be some times during the marathon where you're feeling really good and some times when you're feeling really bad and you have to keep persevering and understanding that it's not a sprint. It's a marathon......And state championship games aren't won in January or February but they're won in March and now we get to go." I couldn't help but point out to him of all the previous successes he's had on the big stage before and Cosgriff; with a bit of a cheshire cat grin on his face replied, "I've been there a couple of times."
Undoubtedly, Eden Prairie can only look back on this game and think, "What if?". You can be sure that the controversial call with :10.6 left on Schlagel will go down in infamy in Eagles lore. Here's my feeling on it: If an intentional foul with its subsequent ramifications is going to be called, I would certainly hope that it's called in a situation where something egregious happens that warrants a call like that being made. In this particular instance, while one could say that Schlagel was perhaps a bit overzealous in trying to reach in and wrest the ball loose (and I wouldn't have any argument with that), it's really tough for me to wrap my arms around with the idea of an intentional foul like this being called in that particular situation with the amount of time that was left on the clock. I would much rather see the game being determined by the players on the floor. Alas, I don't get to make those kinds of decisions and in the end, it is what it is. And before we pin the blame on the officials for anything, let's be clear here as well: Eden Prairie certainly had a big hand in their own demise on this night with a TON of missed lay-ups, bunnies and other mistakes that wound up costing them in the end - let's just be fair here. So you can't just point to one thing on this night when you look back at it.
A bit of a surprise when you look back on the scoring on this night and you see that it was the one-two punch of Tori McKinney and Wright pacing the way for the Skippers with their 15 and 11 points, respectively. But not so much of a surprise that the one-two punch for Eden Prairie was the Schlagel-Hardwick duo as they finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
