Roseville sneaks past Elk River in the Game of the Week

<p><span style="color:black">Coaching a tight game in the waning moments is never easy, but for Elk River&#39;s Jeremy Digiovanni and Roseville&#39;s Jeff Crosby, Thursday night&#39;s Game of the Week encounter was more taxing than most. Last year, Digiovanni watched his Miss Basketball senior <strong>Gabi Haack</strong> engineer one close victory after another en route to a perfect 32-0 season and a state championship. Meanwhile, Crosby knew he could always count on rock-steady senior <strong>Kaia Porter</strong> to come through in the clutch as the Raiders captured a share of the Suburban East Conference title.  Thursday night, it wasn&#39;t like that at all as two rebuilding basketball teams tried desperately to win a game pock-marked by failed execution and unforced errors. When the final buzzer sounded, Roseville snuck out with a 37-35 home court victory, and Digiovanni and Crosby were relieved it was over.</span></p> <p><span style="color:black">"It was not pretty basketball," Crosby said. "We were just inconsistent. We can practice those situations at the end of the game all we want, but until the pressure is on and the fans are there, you don&#39;t really know. For the players who have been here, they have seen Kaia Porter do it. Now it&#39;s their turn."</span></p> <p><span style="color:black">Roseville jumped out to an early 10-point lead before Elk River found its legs, defending hard on the perimeter and making it difficult for the Raiders to get the ball over half court. The pressure forced several Roseville turnovers but the Raiders still led 21-16 at the half. Elk River got the jump in the second period. When speedy sophomore <strong>Mikayla Kanenwisher</strong> of the Elks drained a three from the corner, the game was tied at 25. Roseville grabbed the upper hand with just under three minutes remaining. That&#39;s when junior guard <strong>Kaylee Nelson</strong> made a 3-pointer that was followed shortly thereafter by a <strong>Jada Hood</strong> floater giving Roseville a 37-30 lead with a minute to play. </span></p> <p><span style="color:black">From there, it was a comedy of errors as Roseville made a pair of ill-timed turnovers that led to a pair of free throws by <strong>Lydia Haack</strong> and a Kanenwisher trey. Roseville turned the ball over on the ensuing inbound play, giving the Elks a chance to tie or win. Digiovanni called time out with 34 seconds left, and again at the 11-second mark, but Elk River could not get a shot off until an <strong>Alexa Engebretson</strong> jumper at the buzzer fell well short. "We&#39;re trying different combinations to see who can play in certain situations, who plays well together," Digiovanni said. "At the end of the game, we&#39;re trying to see who can go out there and win the ball game. We shied away from a couple of shots there at the end and some of that is our youth."</span></p> <p><span style="color:black">Last year, Elk River won eight games by two baskets or less; Roseville did that six times. Coaching a senior-laden, championship squad is one thing; coaching a lineup littered with 9th and 10th graders is quite another. "It&#39;s night and day different," Digiovanni said. "I mean, we&#39;re playing a lot of kids that don&#39;t have a whole lot of varsity experience so it&#39;s a learning curve, both for the older kids who are still here from last year&#39;s team and for the younger girls that are just coming up for the first time. Varsity basketball is a big jump up from JV and 9th grade ball. A couple of them even played travel ball last year."</span></p> <p><span style="color:black">The loss leaves Elk River at 1-2 while Roseville pushed its record to 2-0. The Raiders will host Blaine on Saturday; Elk River has Anoka at home on Tuesday. Both coaches are trying to be patient. "Our goal is simple: to get better every day," Digiovanni said. "We think we can compete with most teams that we&#39;re going to play if we defend well and if we take care of the ball." Thursday night that was a big &#39;if.&#39;</span></p> <p><strong><span style="color:black">Player of the Game</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="color:black">Jayda Johnston</span></strong><span style="color:black">, Roseville – The gritty 6&#39;1" power forward is made for a game like this. Despite not practicing in recent days due to a sore knee, Johnston made her presence felt at both ends of the floor. A top 20 player in the Class of 2020, Jayda is really, really hard to play against – ice bags, anyone? – and can put the ball in the hole. Johnston had a number of important defensive stops and scored 8 hard-fought points that helped Roseville secure the victory.</span></p> <p><strong><span style="color:black">Individual Scoring</span></strong></p> <p><span style="color:black">Roseville:  Jada Hood 11, Jayda Johnston 8, Tamia Ugass 5, Tiana Iserman 5, Kaylee Nelson 4, Drea Barnes 2, Josie Haug 2.</span></p> <p><span style="color:black">Elk River:  Lydia Haack 8, Matia Person 8, Mikayla Kanenwisher 7, Johanna Langbehn 6, Madison Leuthold 2, Alexa Engebretson 2, Ally Gramstad 3</span></p>