The second game on tap on this Thursday night up at Anoka was the Section 5AAAA Championship Game featuring yet another Northwestern Suburban Conference perennial powerhouse - Centennial; which was also the defending section champ from a year ago. The opponent, however, was unexpected. Not number two-seeded Osseo or number three-seed Maple Grove but upstart sixth seed Wayzata which knocked off Maple Grove and Osseo in succession to advance to the section final. While the defending section champ Cougars would be the decided favorites to repeat and advance on to yet another appearance at the state tournament, the Trojans would make an impression on this night and, buoyed by a strong student section cheering them on, they Wayzata was riding high.
Early on though, the Trojans initially looked like they might be in over their heads a bit as Centennial established a 9-2 lead over the game's first five minutes. Senior guard/forward Jaycie Gerding's "3" from the left top area at the 16:49 mark and sophomore guard Nikki Clark's drive and finish off the glass at the 15:36 mark gave the Cougars a 5-2 lead. Gerding would strike again at the 14:55 mark with a jumper from the left wing and a score in the paint by lanky sophomore post Sarah Grow at the 13:31 mark completed the opening blitz. A score in the paint by Grow at the 11:22 mark made it an 11-3 game and the Trojans were stymied in their half-court sets and forays into the paint resulted in several shots being swatted away into oblivion. Freshman forward Sydney Stapleton's "3" from the right corner with 9:48 gave Centennial a 14-5 lead and it looked like things were pointing toward a long night for Wayzata.
But Trojan Head Coach Mike Schumacher's squad is an experienced one; dominted by juniors and seniors and they were able to settled down and get some things going on offense against this long and talented Centennial squad. Junior guard Hannah Heiring's lay-up with 8:37 left and two free throws by senior guard Liz Waytas with 8:23 left trimmed the Cougar's lead down to 14-9. Centennial was able to push the lead to 17-9 on free throws by Stapleton but a Heiring jumper off the glass off of an inbounds pass with 7:13 left and a score in the paint by sophomore post Camryn Hay with 6:44 left got the deficit down to six at 19-13. A free throw by senior reserve guard Lauren Houts with 4:02 left and a lay-up by junior guard Annie Robertson with 2:41 left pulled Wayzata closer trailing 19-16. Gerding connected on a lay-up in transition with 2:01 left and got fouled in the process and her ensuing freebie got the Cougar lead back to six at 22-16 but the Trojans were able to counter. Quick junior reserve guard Sydney Hayden slithered in for a lay-up with 1:46 left and free throws by both Waytas and Hayden in the closing seconds of the first half got Wayzata close again trailing 26-23 once the buzzer sounded for intermission. For some reason, you just had the feeling that all the early momentum that Centennial had established had gone out the window as did their early sizable lead.
Further evidence of that showed early on in the second half. Waytas got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 17:22 mark that cut the Cougar lead down to two at 26-24. Three-point shooting for the Trojans was a sore spot in the first half but that all changed in the second half. Robertson finally found her touch from the left top area at the 16:34 mark that gave Wayzata its first lead at 27-26 since the opening moments of the first half and Centennial Head Coach Greg Amundson; not at all liking how things were developing in the early going of this second half, called a timeout to discuss things with his squad. But that stoppage in play certainly didn't seem to cool off Robertson as she was able to launch yet another "3" from the right corner at the 16:02 mark that made it a 30-26 game. A Heiring jumper from the free throw line area at the 14:30 mark and a score in the paint by the diminutive Hayden at the 14:05 mark got the Trojan lead to six at 34-28. Centennial was able to trim the deficit down to two on two scores by Grow - a lay-up at the 13:39 mark and a score in the paint at the 12:43 mark but a "3" from the top of the key by sophomore reserve guard Sydney Franks at the 12:22 mark gave the Trojans another spark. A short jumper by Houts from the left side at the 11:40 mark and a Heiring lay-up in transition at the 10:33 mark after a steal established a 41-36 lead for Wayzata and Centennial appeared to be reeling.
This young Centennial squad; dominated by freshman and sophmores with only two seniors (Gerding and reserve Kayla Lodico) could have folded and closed up shop right then and there but they somehow found a way to hunker down and dig in their collective heels. Two Grow free throws at the 10:16 mark and one more by Clark with 8:22 left helped make it a one-possession game trailing 41-39 and, more importantly, the Cougars were also in the bonus by this point as well. A Gerding jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc with 8:01 left tied the issue at 41-all and the Trojan's Schumacher; seeing all that early second-half momentum slipping away, called a timeout. Wayzata would re-establish a four-point advantage on one free throw by Waytas with 7:08 left and another Robertson trey from the right corner with 6:58 left to make it 45-41 but Centennial would fight their way back again. Pairs of free throws by Gerding with 6:09 left and freshman reserve guard Justine Watson brought the Cougars back to within a single possession trailing 47-45 and a jumper by Stapleton along the right baseline with 5:20 left knotted things up again at 47. A score in the paint by Grow with 4:44 left gave Centennial the lead at 49-47. The Trojans would get things knotted up at 49-all on free throws by Heiring with 4:21 left and 3:08 left and two more free throws by Robertson with 2:14 left gave Wayzata the lead again at 51-50. But the Cougars simply did all the right things at the right times in the last two minutes. Sophomore guard Paige Comer connected with a huge pull-up jumper with 1:44 left that put Centennial back in front for good at 52-51. Just as important, the Cougars were now in the double-bonus as well. Two Grow free throws with 1:42 left and one by Comer with 1:03 left built a four-point 55-51 advantage. The Trojans; unable to connect with any three-point attempts when they really, really needed them forced them to foul to preserve what little clock was left. Comer connected with a pair of charity stripe shots with :25.9 left and Gerding got one to go down with :11.3 left that gave Centennial another section title with a hard-fought 58-53 win.
I asked Amundson afterward while his squad was in the process of cutting down the net if there was ever any panic that may have set in when things seemed to go awry early in the second half. He replied in the negative. "Our kids are prepared for every situation" he said. "They work hard on that in practice." I also talked to him about getting back to state which, considering all the great players that Centennial graduated from a year ago, may have seemed like a bridge too far for this young squad. "Getting to state is certainly a bonus with this young team.....It was really our goal" he said. Amundson also added that "We don't care who we wind up playing." The Cougars; who lost to Lakeville North in the opening quarterfinal round last year, seemingly have something to prove this time around and don't be surprised if they wind up making splash.
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