Lakeville North fends off Mayo for Section 1AAAA title

<p>Temi Carda scored 8 of her team&#39;s final 12 points, including a clutch three-point play, as Lakeville North survived a stiff challenge from Rochester Mayo in the Section 1AAAA title game.</p> <p>The star senior point guard finished with a game-high 17 points to lead the Panthers to a 46-41 victory in a game that was a defensive slugfest played at a very deliberate pace.</p> <p>Mayo actually led 18-15 at halftime, but North took control with a 12-2 midway through the second half. However, the outcome remained in doubt until the closing seconds. North led just 38-36 when Carda scored her and-1 layup and Hallie Olson&#39;s third triple trey with 3 seconds remaining made it 44-41.</p> <p>North has now won 21 straight games and figures to slide into the state bracket as the #3 seed, as Marc posted earlier.</p> <p>Mayo saw its own 14-game winning streak snapped as the Spartans end he year at 22-7.</p> <p><strong>MVP — Carda</strong></p> <p>North had a handful of players step up throughout the game, but the Creighton recruit made all the plays when the chips were down. She and her teammates seemed hesitant to attack Mayo&#39;s vaunted matchup zone in the first half, but Carda led the charge after the break. For some perspective, Mayo entered allowing just 39 PPG. North posted 31 in the second half.</p> <p><strong>Defensive Player of the Game — Caitlyn Peterson</strong></p> <p>The 5-10 senior scored 13 big points, including a momentum-shifting basket to end the first half. But I loved her defense. Her quick hands in the first half earned North easy points, then she blocked a 3-pointer to earn a runout layup during the second-half surge.</p> <p><strong>Best Coaching Adjustment</strong></p> <p>Kudos to Mayo&#39;s Rich Decker for slowing the game down and making North play its preferred style. However, the best adjustment was made by North&#39;s Shelly Clemons. After Mayo star Liv Korngable scored 7 of her team&#39;s first 9 points, routinely getting where she wanted on the court, Clemons stuck 5-10 wing Olivia Bruce on her. Korngable managed just 6 points the rest of the way, getting no easy looks and having to work just to initiate the offense. Bruce didn&#39;t score and only took one shot, but I was still tempted to make her the MVP. Her energy and tenacity simply wore Korngable down.</p> <p><strong>Best Shooter — Hallie Olson</strong></p> <p>The 5-6 sniper hit North with 5 treys in their first meeting. She added three more in this one, including two big ones in the final three minutes to give Mayo some life.</p> <p>On a sidenote, North freshman Lauren Jensen absolutely torched Farmington in the semifinals. I didn&#39;t write that one up, but she drilled 5 treys off the bench en route to 25 points. She was much quieter in the section title game, finishing with just 3 points.</p> <p><strong>Brownie Points</strong></p> <p>In an unusual coaching decision, North&#39;s 6-2 Taylor Brown was asked to defend Korngable, Mayo&#39;s 5-9 point guard, to start the game. That didn&#39;t exactly go well. However, the mobile junior more than made up for it by scoring six straight points during North&#39;s decisive 12-2 spurt in the second half.</p> <p><strong>Best Underclassman — Foney Marcellino</strong></p> <p>Everyone has heard of Korngable, but did you know Marcellino actually led Mayo in scoring and rebounding this year? The 5-9 sophomore forward is a great leaper who finished with 10 points against North. She&#39;s crafty inside and has a smooth jumper out to 15 feet. She&#39;d benefit from improved ball skills, especially on drives, but she was efficient against North&#39;s size inside, as has been the case all season.</p> <p><strong>Big Play James</strong></p> <p>Ke James wasn&#39;t especially efficient inside en route to 7 points against a small Mayo squad (she was unstoppable with 22 in the first meeting), but she was a beast on defense. The 6-2 sophomore bumped every cutter and was a physical presence in the paint, much to the chagrin of the partisan crowd in Rochester. She also recorded a big steal in the closing seconds, jumping the passing lane to put Mayo in a bad spot.</p> <p><strong>Name to Know — Jenifer Giefer</strong></p> <p>Mayo&#39;s anchor in the middle isn&#39;t much of an offensive threat, but I&#39;m adding her here based strictly on potential. The 6-1 junior is always one of the fastest players on the court and rebounds well. The lanky lefty finished with just one basket and is fairly robotic with the ball, but she&#39;s an interesting small-school prospect for someone willing to put in the time.</p>