28.5 “The Bubble” NW Stars Navy vs Clutch Cardinal

<strong>28.5 "The Bubble" Session II: NW Stars Navy 47 - Clutch Cardinal 27 </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sunday morning we were treated to a Portland/Beaverton battle at 28.5 “The Bubble” in that of NW Stars Navy versus Clutch Players Cardinal.  This was a game of familiar turf as several of these players have matched up throughout the years, particularly Mountainside’s [player_tooltip player_id="158517" first="Halle" last="Hageman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="207819" first="Carly" last="Stone"] as Clutch showcases players mostly from the Metro League.  The Stars started thing off on a 8-0 run, fueled by [player_tooltip player_id="158545" first="Rhyan" last="Mogel"] who hit the five points including an inside score and a three.  Hageman found [player_tooltip player_id="158489" first="Truitt" last="Reilly"] inside.  Edwards score inside as Jazzy Davidson had a nice three.  Skoro free throws made things 13 - 2, right after [player_tooltip player_id="158494" first="Molly" last="Block"] hit a three for Clutch.  Hageman free throws were followed by a three by Naro.  Reilly scored the next three points for Stars in the form of an inside score and free-throw on the next possession.  </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mogel found the rim along with Reilly, making things 19 - 8.  Edwards hit a free throw and Keeney rebounded the second, putting it in.  Mogel and Keeney scored for their teams inside as a Hageman pull-up ended the half as the Stars were up 23 - 13.  Keeney hit some free throws as [player_tooltip player_id="158489" first="Truitt" last="Reilly"] scored inside.  Borter had a nice hook shot followed by a Mogel free throw.  Winthrop had a nice dribble penetration kick out to Borter in the corner.  Hageman left-handed finish, Reilly inside score, Mogel free throws made it 32 - 20 Stars.  Edwards found Keeney up the court for an easy score.  Hageman had a tough and-one sequence followed by Keeney free throws.  Ultimately the game would go back and forth in this sequence, with a Borter inside score, Hageman three and Mogel scores as the Stars took this one 47 - 27.</span> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>NW Stars Navy</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204586" first="Kasidy" last="Javernik"]: 3 points, 1 assist, 3 steals</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158545" first="Rhyan" last="Mogel"]: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158489" first="Truitt" last="Reilly"]: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 steals</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jazzy Davidson: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="207819" first="Carly" last="Stone"]: 3 rebounds, 2 assists</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158517" first="Halle" last="Hageman"]: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204583" first="Carly" last="Robb"]: 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 block, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158542" first="Kennedie" last="Shuler"]: 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="207820" first="Mia" last="Skoro"]: 3 points, 1 steal</span> <strong>Clutch Cardinal</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204575" first="Afton" last="Keeney"]: 11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 block, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204582" first="Bridget" last="Winthrop"]: 3 rebounds 1 assist, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204588" first="Alexa" last="Borter"]: 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158494" first="Molly" last="Block"]: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="211119" first="Avery" last="Edwards"]: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mackenzie Naro: 5 points, 1 rebound</span> <strong>Breakdown: </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158489" first="Truitt" last="Reilly"] versus [player_tooltip player_id="204575" first="Afton" last="Keeney"]</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Two incredibly skilled forwards with a blue-collar approach to the game, this was a battle that was as entertaining as any two adversaries as the two duke it out to a draw.  Their stats were nearly identical (Reilly - 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 3 steals, Keeney 11 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal) as they took turns battling it out in the paint over the course of the game.  In what was a chess match, they out-maneuvered each other skillfully playing head on in a highly competitive battle between two juggernauts.  Such a match-up clearly brought the best out of both players as they knew each other’s strengths as soon as they stepped out on the court.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;">Familiarity </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The game was somewhat stagnant in the first half, as each team was timidly waiting for the other to make a mistake and capitalize and make a move.  Both team’s first possessions ended up on a miss as you could feel the nerves in this one.  The NW Stars collected themselves quickly as she jumped out to an 8 - 0 lead, due in part to Mogel’s high octane activity on offense.  In what was truly a low-scoring affair in the first half, it was just as close as the score had revealed as the two teams tried their best to clog the paint defensively in order to stifle their opponent and it worked as the game was very much a chess match.  </span>