Section 5AAAA Championship Game - Spring Lake Park vs Centennial 3-7-19

Made the journey back up to Blaine High School on this Thursday evening for the Section 5AAAA Championship Game that pitted upstart and fourth-seeded Spring Lake Park going up against heavily-favored and second-seeded Centennial.  The Panthers, of course, had pulled off the unthinkable the previous Saturday; knocking off top-seeded Park Center to advance to this title game while Centennial had routinely dismissed defending 5AAAA champ Roseville with ease in the other semifinal.  While there was little doubt that the Cougars would be the big favorite in this game, Centennial Head Coach Jill Becken had been through too many of these wars before to know that you simply don't take anyone lightly this time of the year and her squad not only looked ready to go but was likely peaking at the right time as well. 

Spring Lake Park Head Coach Randy Eatherton employed a 2-3 zone defense from the outset but that didn't seem to deter a hot-shooting Cougar team as they went right to work.  After willowy sophomore forward Jodi Anderson knocked down two free throws after getting fouled at the 16:28 mark, senior post Sara Stapleton snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 15:40 mark to give Centennial a 4-0 lead.  Then slender senior shooting guard Taylor McAulay would drain one of her patented lefty three-point bombs - this one coming from the left wing area at the 14:39 mark - that now had the Cougars up 7-0.  Spring Lake Park junior guard Joelle Talso finally got her team on the scoreboard at the 14:20 mark with her short shot but Centennial's Stapleton would add two more scores - one in the paint at the 14:04 mark and a short turnaround jumper off the glass at the 13:34 mark - that now had the Cougars up 11-2 and the Panthers in a big hole early on; something that Spring Lake Park's Eatherton had likely feared most.  Still, the Panthers were resourceful enough to close the gap to four points as senior guard Jocelyn Talso drained a "3" from the right corner at the 13:02 mark and a short jumper in the lane by Joelle Talso at the 12:42 mark had Spring Lake Park closer down 11-7.  But the Cougars would respond with a 7-0 push that would open up more distance.  Anderson would let loose with a "3" from the left corner at the 11:45 mark and a short, turnaround jumper by senior forward/post Sarah Lavell at the 11:08 mark put Centennial up by nine at 16-7.  Stapleton would power her way into the paint for another score at the 10:16 mark that now made it an 18-7 ballgame and the Panthers' Eatherton had seen enough by this point to know that a full timeout was warranted. 

Spring Lake Park freshman guard Averi Dunbar would give her team a bit of a lift with her three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 9:23 mark but, unlike last Saturday, the Panthers simply had no answers on defense to stop a bigger and stronger Centennial team.  McAulay would respond for her team with back-to-back treys - one from the left top area with 7:38 left and another one from the right wing area with 7:07 left - that pushed the Cougar lead to fourteen at 24-10.  Spring Lake Park would keep the deficit at fourteen as a score in the paint by Jocelyn Talso with 6:49 left and a short, one-handed shot by sophomore forward Madi Ngene with 5:53 left had the Panthers down twelve at 26-14 but making up any meaningful ground was becoming increasingly a tougher proposition and Centennial wasted little time in launching a back-breaking 10-0 run that Spring Lake Park could never recover from.  Up-and-coming sophomore reserve post Jenna Guyer snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 5:06 left and followed that up a bit later with a lay-up with 3:42 left that pushed the lead to sixteen at 30-14.  Junior reserve guard Grace Johnson would then drain a "3" from the left top area with 3:09 left and Anderson would connect with a lay-up with 1:09 left to make it 35-14.  One free throw by Stapleton with :16.6 left was the cherry on this run as the Cougars took a seemingly insurmountable 36-14 lead with them into the locker room at the halftime break. 

Spring Lake Park's Eatherton tried to make some tweaks on the defensive end once the second half got going but not much was going to stop a determined Cougar team on this night.  Lavell's short shot off the glass at the 15:56 mark was the start of a 7-2 push that only opened up more space.  Two McAulay freebies at the 15:19 mark and one more by senior forward Mady Sanders at the 14:23 mark now had Centennial up 41-14.  Stapleton's score in the paint off of an inbounds pass at the 13:54 capped this particular run before the Panthers could get a couple of scores.  Junior reserve forward Ashlea Nienow got two free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 12:34 mark and a short jumper in the lane by Jocelyn Talso got the deficit down to twenty-three points at 43-20 but that was only cold comfort for the Spring Lake Park contingent as they could clearly see this Cinderella-type run in the sectionals coming to a screeching halt.  The Cougars would then go on a 10-2 run that put this one officially out of reach.  Senior reserve forward Cate Flynn snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 11:09 mark and one Anderson free throw at the 10:33 mark got the lead to 46-20.  Then the graceful McAulay would cruelly drain a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:42 mark and two Lavell scores in the paint - one with 8:08 left and another with 6:20 left - now had Centennial safely up 53-22. 

The Cougars' Becken gradually was able to get her reserves in the game with such a sizable lead and got some nice contributions from them; particularly Guyer who continues to impress.  She would sink two free throws after getting fouled with 5:52 left and after an Anderson lay-up with 5:17 left, Guyer would get into the paint for a score with 3:21 left that had Centennial up 59-24.  Freshman reserve guard Camille Cummings would get into the books with her offensive rebound for a putback with 2:34 left that got the lead to 61-24.  The Panthers' Eatherton got his reserves to make some contributions down the stretch as well.  Sophomore reserve guard Taylor Falvey snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 1:51 left and senior reserve post Courtney Walsh knocked down a jumper from the right wing area with 1:24 left.  Centennial freshman reserve guard Haley Mulberry knocked down a short jumper with 1:07 left and Spring Lake Park sophomore reserve guard Adrianna Fannemel got the last score of the game with her lay-up with :41 left but it would be the Cougars getting their ticket punched for Williams Arena and the Girl's State Tournament with a 63-30 blowout win. 

I caught up with Centennial's Becken while her squad was busied with cutting down the nets to congratulate her.  I asked her first if her team is capable of making a run at the Barn and she replied "I sure hope so....I'm just glad we're going!".  Normally, I might take a little exception to the "just glad to be going" part but, in a funny kind of way, I can understand where Becken is coming from as well.  Remember, it was just a year ago when Park Center upset a top-seeded and heavily-favored Centennial team in the Section 5AAAA semifinals that had to have been a hard one for the Cougar faithful to follow.  And who can ever forget that epic 5AAAA Championship Game from 2008 when an undefeated and top-ranked Centennial team was knocked off by Osseo; a team that the Cougars had handily defeated twice during the regular season.  Sometimes, it's all about timing and having things work out for you and, as odd as it may sound, things may be falling into place for this Centennial team at precisely the right time.  This just may be the one team at the State Tournament that can surprise the heck out of you.  Meanwhile, you have to tip your hat to this Spring Lake Park team as well.  NO one; especially your's truly, would have given them a chance in hades to have made it to the Section 5AAAA Championship Game but yet they shocked the world in knocking off top-seeded Park Center; taking them completely out of their game the previous weekend.  To be sure, the Panthers will lose some nice players to graduation including half of the prolific Talso Sister duo in Jocelyn along with Katelyn Kloubec, Leah Sheedlo and Walsh but they have an exciting young group coming back for next year - including the younger Joelle Talso - and this will definitely be a team you'll want to keep your eye on.  Centennial was so impressive on this night with their balanced scoring effort as McAulay led the way with her 14 points while Anderson was not far behind with her 12 points and Stapleton added 11 points.  Spring Lake Park was led by Joelle Talso's eight points.