Made the trek over to Osseo HS on this rainy/somewhat icy night to take in the much-anticipated Northwest Surburban Conference clash between giant-killer Centennial and host Osseo. Centennial, fresh off its huge upset of unbeaten #1-ranked Hopkins on Tuesday night was facing an Osseo team looking to gain some much-needed momentum - and consistency - in this up and down season for them so far. On this night, they would find both.
It was the visiting Cougars who grabbed the early 2-0 lead in this one as willowy senior forward Paige Waytashek grabbed the opening tip and raced in for an uncontested lay-up at the 17:55 mark and held a 4-2 lead after the 17:22 mark. But Osseo would be quick to respond and they took advantage of several missed Centennial shots. Junior forward Ayo Porte was able to snare an offensive rebound and get a putback to tie things up at 4-all by the 16:49 mark and then it was junior guard Madi Malone who connected with a jumper from the right top area to give the Orioles a 6-4 lead by the 16:22 mark. Osseo would then go on a 6-1 mini-run that upped their lead to 12-5 by the 14:15 mark with seniors Janay Morton and Phillis Webb leading the way. Centennial momentarily halted the Oriole assault when junior reserve guard Jasmin Bretoi connected with a "3" from the left corner at the 13:32 mark but Osseo would come right back and get the lead to eight at 22-14 with 6:19 left as the Orioles were hitting from the perimeter and Webb was doing considerable damage with her ability to be able to drive and finish inside.
But Centennial would show flashes on this night as to why they're one of the elite programs in the metro area and why they should be considered one of the top challengers to Hopkins come March. Bretoi would connect again from behind the arc; this one from the right corner with 5:16 left and then it was time for Centennial's Morris Sisters to get in on the act as junior Destinee hit a running jumper with 4:41 left and then banged home a "3" from the top of the key with 4:05 left to tie things up at 22-all. Then it was Destinee's sister Daizjah hitting a jumper from the right baseline with 2:02 left and suddenly Centennial had regained the lead at 24-22. Osseo, which found itself struggling in finding its rythm would find a way to right the ship before halftime however. After Morton knocked down two freebies to tie things up at 24-all with !:52 left, Centennial would take one more brief lead with 1:28 left as Waytashek was able to connect on a jumper in transition but with under a minute left it would again be Morton and Webb who would give the Orioles the advantage as Morton hit a jumper off the glass with :35 left and then it was Webb who used her amazing athleticism and quickness to snare a steal and get a lay-up the other way as the Orioles took a slim 28-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
The late first half run by Centennial would be as good as it would get for the Cougars on this night, however, as Osseo came out with a vengeance in the second half and quickly set the tone. First, it was Webb with a lay-up in transition at the 17:40 mark. Then it was Malone swishing a "3" from the left corner at the 16:56 mark. Then it was Morton who connected with a lay-up in transition and was fouled in the process and got the obligatory freebie from the charity stripe. Finally, it was Porte who capped this stunning 10-0 run by muscling her way inside to finish at the 16:06 mark that had the Cougars reeling and prompted Head Coach Greg Amundson to call a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. But the Orioles were far from finished in making their statement on this night. Senior forward Belinda Barfknecht was able to get a tough shot off the glass to go in at the 15:08 mark that upped the Osseo lead to 40-26 and then scores by by Morton and Webb ballooned the Osseo lead to 47-28 by the 12:48 mark.
Centennial tried to cut into the lead but they simply looked out of whack in the second half to sustain anything significant. Junior post Jill Conrad was able to score inside at the 11:55 mark and then it was the Morris Sisters again with their usual flair as Destinee hit a "3" from the left wing at the 9:24 mark and then Daizjah was able to knock down a free throw after being fouled with 8:49 left. Waytashek was able to score off the glass with 8:16 left and also got a rebound and putback with 6:51 left that cut the Osseo lead down to 55-41 but she was never able to find that magical touch that allowed her to reign terror from behind the arc as she did on Tuesday night against Hopkins and was rendered virtually ineffective after she picked up her 4th foul by the 4:58 mark. Morton and Webb, however, never let go of the choke-hold they had on the Cougars as Morton banged home a "3" from the left top area with 6:24 left and then it was Webb with a steal and lay-up with 4:44 left and then a steal off a Centennial pass in the backcourt that allowed her to score inside with 4:00 left that got the Oriole lead back up to 62-44. Osseo would cruise the rest of the way to a somewhat surprising 67-47 knockout punch of Centennial on this night. Osseo Head Coach John Rieser said it was important for them to get into transition and they definitely did that on this night. He also stressed to his team at the half when things were still tight that this was an opportunity for them and they had to come out and grab it (which they obviously did). Rieser, however, pooh-poohed the notion that parity had perhaps settled in on the Class 4AAAA field as he still feels that Hoplins is by far and away the best out there although he noted that there are up and coming challengers and his goal is to get Osseo to be one of those teams. Centennial's Amundson was reluctant to use the word "letdown" on this loss but admitted that the team had really put all its marbles on the game with Hopkins on Tuesday night and just didn't have much on the platter on this night and that they have to get back to work.
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