28.5 League Championships: Clutch Cardinal vs New Mexico Stars

<strong>Final: Clutch Cardinal 53 - New Mexico Stars 48</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Clutch Cardinal played a worthy opponent in that of the New Mexico Stars as they escaped with a narrow victory in which they had a defensive stand in the minute minutes of the game.  The two teams started exchanging blows for the most part of the first half before a short spurt by Clutch Cardinal before the half ended.  Things started with Clutch Cardinal skipping rocks as Borter gave it to [player_tooltip player_id="204582" first="Bridget" last="Winthrop"] who found [player_tooltip player_id="211119" first="Avery" last="Edwards"] at the rim.  [player_tooltip player_id="158494" first="Molly" last="Block"] followed with a superb jumper as on the next possession BLock found Mackenzie Naro with a triple.  [player_tooltip player_id="207833" first="Emily" last="Rice"] found Borter for a score as Borter found Winthrop at the rim to make it 11-13.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ava Shandy board and bucket followed by a Borter to Edwards find.  [player_tooltip player_id="211119" first="Avery" last="Edwards"] scored followed by an [player_tooltip player_id="207833" first="Emily" last="Rice"] pump-fake to the rim move.  Rice scored off an isolation lay-up and again as she was a pivotal part of their victory throughout the game.  Borter to Edwards triple followed by an [player_tooltip player_id="207833" first="Emily" last="Rice"] to Ava Shandy find to finish the half as Clutch Cardinal was up 31-22.  Clutch Cardinal’s second half wasn’t as dynamic as their first half as they would be tested but ultimately come through clutch at the end of the game.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Borter to Winthrop jumper began the second half followed by a Shandy to Rice triple.  Rice to Borter find followed by a Winthrop to Naro score.  Winthrop found Edwards at the rim as Rice found Winthrop.  Rice to Naro triple followed by a Naro to Rice find.  On two back to back possession on defense, Clutch Cardinal stuffed New Mexico Stars at the rim, first by [player_tooltip player_id="204582" first="Bridget" last="Winthrop"], then by [player_tooltip player_id="204588" first="Alexa" last="Borter"].  They played clock management and held on to win the game, as they played excellent team defense to seal the victory.</span> <strong>Stats:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204588" first="Alexa" last="Borter"]: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="204582" first="Bridget" last="Winthrop"]: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ava Shandy: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="211119" first="Avery" last="Edwards"]: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mackenzie Naro: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Hannah Rice: 2 rebounds</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="158494" first="Molly" last="Block"]: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="207833" first="Emily" last="Rice"]: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal</span> <strong>Breakdown:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="207833" first="Emily" last="Rice"]: Pleasant Surprise</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="207833" first="Emily" last="Rice"] is a systems oriented guard from Beaverton as she showed her selfless play, routinely checking and making plays for others.  Rice also scored on three straight possessions for Clutch Cardinal that sparked a late run in the first half.  She finished with a superb stat-line with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists - indicative of her ability to affect the game in numerous ways and provide as an all-around guard with superior decision making skills.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Solid Forward Play</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With the absence of [player_tooltip player_id="204575" first="Afton" last="Keeney"] this weekend, Clutch Cardinal looked no further than the interior tandem of [player_tooltip player_id="204588" first="Alexa" last="Borter"] and [player_tooltip player_id="204582" first="Bridget" last="Winthrop"].  Borter is the versatile all-around forward who does it all.  She defends, rebounds, facilitators, and scores all around the court but has a certain physicality that cannot be denied.  [player_tooltip player_id="204582" first="Bridget" last="Winthrop"] is the forward with length that is matched with her discipline on the defensive end as she finished with an astounding 4 block total.  It is not a coincidence that Borter and Winthrop each had a huge block at the end of the game to seal the victory for Clutch Cardinal.  These two had each other’s backs - quite literally as they both can play strongside and helpside and provided for some huge moments down the stretch.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="211119" first="Avery" last="Edwards"] and Mackenzie Naro</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Edwards is the shooter who also has upside as an all-around playmaker as she has the size to go with IQ to make plays all around the floor.  She finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals as her length allows her to make plays and her awareness and effort puts her over the top.  Mackenzie Naro is the sharpshooter who plays a team oriented game as she sank two for three from deep - continuing to show her efficient shooting game.  Naro finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds.  These two were another added layer at the guard positions for Clutch Cardinal as they provided a spark on offense to help Clutch Cardinal on that end of the floor.</span>