Section 5AAAA Semifinal Game - Roseville vs Centennial 3-2-19

After the post-game melee from Spring Lake Park's upset of top-seeded Park Center had finally calmed down a bit, the two teams for the second semifinal game on this afternoon - third-seeded and defending 5AAAA champ Roseville along with second-seed and highly-regarded Centennial took the floor to begin warm-ups for their contest.  This would be my first look at the Raiders since the Section 5AAAA tournament last year and their appearance at the State Tournament as well.  Roseville finished 12-4 in the always-tough Suburban East Conference; tied with Forest Lake for second-place honors while the Cougars blazed through the Northwest Suburban Conference; their only blemish coming on the road at Park Center back in early January.  But one big piece of the puzzle for Centennial that had been missing for a good chunk of the regular season was now back and healthy again - senior post Sara Stapleton - and having her back gave this Cougar team perhaps the one added boost it had been seeking for so long this season - and maybe just at the right time as well.

Indeed Centennial got off to a great start in this contest as they opened up a gap from the get-go.  A jumper from the right elbow area by slender senior guard Taylor McAulay at the 17:14 mark coupled with a pretty reverse lay-up by the aforementioned Stapleton at the 16:22 mark had the Cougars up 4-0 and then the southpaw McAulay would unleash a three-point bomb from the right wing area off of an inbounds pass at the 13:12 mark to make it 7-1.  Roseville would close the gap to four points when senior guard Drea Barnes maneuvered into the paint for a score at the 10:39 mark and two free throws by senior guard Kaylee Nelson at the 9:52 mark kept the Raiders in that four-point range down 9-5 in a game where defense thus far was taking center stage. 

Centennial would step on the gas again with 8:34 left in the first half as lanky sophomore reserve post Jenna Guyer got into the action with her score in the paint that also drew a foul and allowed this up-and-coming youngster to sink the obligatory free throw for a 12-5 Cougar advantage.  That advantage grew to 14-5 when the reliable McAulay connected with a lay-up with 7:46 left before Roseville could finally snap out of its offensive funk and get things going again.  Junior Jayda Johnston knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with 7:33 left and then flashy senior guard Jada Hood drained a "3" from the right top area with 5:47 left that had the Raiders back in striking distance again down 14-10 and one Nelson freebie with 5:21 left had Roseville back within a single possession down 14-11.  With 4:44 left, the Raiders found themselves in the double-bonus when Hood was fouled and her two free throws kept Roseville close down only 16-13.  But the Cougars would go right back to work to give themselves more breathing room.  Senior forward/post Sara Lavell would get back-to-back scores - a short, turnaround jumper with 3:44 left and a score in the paint with 2:46 left - that pushed the Centennial lead to seven at 20-13 and although the Raiders' Johnston would respond with a drive and tough finish with 2:27 left, the Cougars would start doing damage from the free throw line to further widen the gap - something that Roseville likely thought they'd be doing instead.  One free throw by willowy sophomore forward Jodi Anderson with 2:14 left and two more by senior forward Mady Sanders with 1:43 left had the Centennial lead up to eight at 23-15 and with 1:17 left, Guyer would get fouled that now had the Cougars in the double-bonus.  The sophomore would drop both of those free throw attempts that not only grew the lead to ten at 25-15 but Roseville had another problem as well as Johnston had collected her second foul of the day.  This allowed the Cougars to establish even more distance before the halftime break.  Anderson would get sent to the charity stripe twice in the span of thirty seconds - to drop one free throw with 1:04 left and two more with :44.3 left - to make it 28-15 and two more free throws by McAulay with just :08.8 left allowed Centennial to take a somewhat comfortable 30-17 lead with them into the locker room at the halftime break. 

Roseville's Johnston would single-handedly try to keep her team in the thick of things in the opening moments of the second half with two three-point bombs from the right corner - eerily reminiscent of what Spring Lake Park's Talso Sister duo did in the previous game - one at the 17:38 mark and then again at the 16:25 mark - that had the Raiders in the ten-point range down 33-23 but getting closer than that was proving to be a bridge too far as they simply were unable to string together a meaningful run that might have put them back in striking distance again.  Centennial slowly but surely started widening the gap again as a Stapleton score in the paint at the 16:09 mark and two Anderson free throws at the 15:43 mark upped the Cougar safety net to fourteen at 37-23.  Then McAulay was able to get a three-point play the old-fashioned way with her pretty lay-up at the 15:06 mark that also drew a foul along with the ensuing "and one" that pushed the lead to 40-23.  Roseville's Johnston again tried to come to the rescue for her squad with a score in the paint at the 14:44 mark but again, the Raiders needed to put together a string of points and it just wasn't happening on this day.  Centennial junior reserve guard Grace Johnson uncorked a "3" from the right wing area at the 14:29 mark to push the lead to eighteen points at 43-25 and then Roseville's situation seemed to hit rock bottom when sophomore post Tamia Ugass collected her fourth foul of the day at the 14:11 mark and a bit later, fellow sophomore reserve forward Rai'Janee Meadows was done for the day with her fifth and final foul at the 12:52 mark.  That allowed the Cougars to widen the gap even further as McAulay dropped two free throws at the 12:15 mark that not only upped the lead to twenty but now Centennial was in the bonus as well.  McAulay would add a pretty one-handed shot on the lane at the 11:48 mark and a Stapleton jumper from the right wing area at the 10:18 mark made it 49-25 and by this point it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Cougars had smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Roseville's massive bleeding continued as the Cougars' Anderson would get sent to the line after getting fouled by Ugass who retired to the bench for the day and the rising sophomore would get one free throw out of the deal with 8:34 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by McAulay with 7:39 left made it 52-25.  Then Grace Johnson would add the cherry on top of this big run by Centennial with her three-point bomb from the right top area with 7:00 left that made it 55-25 before the Raiders could get a bit of a reprieve on Johnston's drive and finish with 6:41 left but Johnston would soon be relegated to the pine when she fouled out for the day with 5:00 left in a frustrating finish for her.  With such a big lead at her disposal, Centennial Head Coach Jill Becken now saw a perfect opportunity to start emptying her bench as did Roseville Head Coach Jeff Crosby.  Raider junior reserve guard Simone Hall was able to bang home a "3" from the top of the key with 2:41 left and Centennial senior reserve guard Anna DeBilzan got into the books with her lay-up with 2:01 left as the Cougars cruised into the Section 5AAAA Championship Game with a resounding 57-30 victory.

I managed to touch base with Centennial's Becken afterward to congratulate her on her squad's impressive victory on this day and I mentioned to her that I thought this team has taken some gigantic steps forward since I last saw them back in January when they beat Champlin Park at home in Circle Pines.  There's no question that, with Stapleton back in the line-up, this really allows some of the other players such as McAulay, Lavell and Anderson to focus more on their strengths.  But here's another benefit that the Cougars got during Stapleton's absence that maybe many didn't anticipate:  It allowed not only Lavell to develop into a bigger presence down low but it also allowed senior reserve forward Cate Flynn and the youngster; Guyer to get more polished and confident in the games they got during this period and now you see them being a real force coming off the bench to provide solid minutes down in the paint when Stapleton needs a breather.  On this day, Centennial pretty much muscled Roseville out of the paint and forced them to shoot over the top and the Raiders misfired all game long for the most part.  McAulay was the only player in double figures scoring-wise for Centennial on this day but she had a fabulous day with 18 points.  Johnston led the way for Roseville with her 16 points.