Saturday standouts at the Hall of Fame Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While it's below zero outside, things were heating up in the gym at Anoka-Ramsey Community College on Saturday. We got see a lot of good basketball including the marquee match-up of the event with DelaSalle and Minnetonka locking horns in the nightcap. The usual suspects showed up and showed out, but there were also some other players flying under the radar that made an impact as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">White Bear Lake vs. Spring Lake Park</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two squads kicked off the varsity schedule with a hotly contested game that was chock full of physical play, good post play, and timely outside shooting. Early on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='772240' first='Sarah' last='Peopard']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='215980' first='Bella' last='Sutch'] carried the load for their respective squads in a well played 1st half that had White Bear Lake holding a slim 28-22 lead going into the break. Peopard was hot early from beyond the arc finishing 4-of-9 from trey land to end up with 17 for the game to lead White Bear Lake. Both squads would have 8 different players score at least 2 points. The difference in the game would be the discrepancy from 3-point land. The Bears shot 8-for-23 while Spring Lake Park went 1-for-8. That coupled with 26 turnovers will make it hard for any team to pull off a win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2nd half wasn't nearly as clean as there were 6 fouls called before Spring Lake Park would take the lid off the rim to go on a 6-0 run to knot the game up at 28-28. Things would go back and forth before the Bears would extend the lead with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='339107' first='Jordyn' last='Schmittdiel'] and <strong>Heidi Barber</strong> heating up to help the Bears take control of the game. Schmittdiel was active on both sides of the ball putting in 15 points, grabbing 9 boards, 3 steals and a blocked shot. That's stat stuffing at it's finest. Barber was held scoreless in the 1st half but came up big when Spring Lake Park began to make a run, knocking down 2 3's and a pair of free throws to finish with 8 points. Sutch and company just ran out of gas and shots stop falling as the Bears would pull away with a 61-45 win. Sutch led all scorers with 18 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">St. Peter vs Mahtomedi</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The energy from the fans coupled with the play on the court gave the feel that something major was on the line in this contest. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'] was active early with 6 points and 4 rebounds in the 1st 5 minutes of the game. Toss in 2 triples from junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='208187' first='Annika' last='Southworth'] and you have an early Saints advantage 15-9. The Zephyrs from Mahtomedi led by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='453781' first='Ella' last='Frazier'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='296747' first='Anna' last='Greene'] kept them close in the 1st half with poise and timely buckets. The Saints went cold and the the Zephyrs heated up including Frazier shooting the gap for a steal and breakaway lay-up to put Mahtomedi up 28-23 forcing a Saints timeout to regroup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holmgren kept the Saints close with 2 and 1 opportunities converting on 1 of them to keep the Saints within striking distance. Mahtomedi would lead 32-30 going into the break and looked to be in control. Basketball is the ultimate game of runs and this one was no different. Everything was going the Zephyrs way to start the 2nd half, they couldn't miss and the Saints were struggling to keep it together. With the 3 point shot and a shot clock, you're never out of a game. [player_tooltip player_id='208187' first='Annika' last='Southworth'] and her younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='764209' first='Kylie' last='Southworth'] went to work. They reeled off 3 consecutive triples to pull even at 45. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'] continued her hot shooting in the 2nd to put the Saints up 58-52 before [player_tooltip player_id='296747' first='Anna' last='Greene'] answered with a 3 of her own to pull within 3 at 58-55. Annika and Rhyan continued their hot shooting to put the Mahtomedi up 69-62 before Frazier knocked down a 3 and got a steal and a lay up to pull within 3 with 39 seconds remaining. The Saints would miss 2 of 3 free throw attempts while [player_tooltip player_id='296747' first='Anna' last='Greene'] made two and had a chance to put Mahtomedi up 1 after driving to the bucket to make a tough lay-up while drawing a foul. She would go on to miss the free throw and St. Peter would hold on to win a thriller in overtime, 81-80. [player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'] led all scorers with 34 points with [player_tooltip player_id='208187' first='Annika' last='Southworth'] going 5-10 from 3 to finish with 24 and sister [player_tooltip player_id='764209' first='Kylie' last='Southworth'] knocked down 4-8 from beyond the arc to finish with 14. [player_tooltip player_id='296747' first='Anna' last='Greene'] led Mahtomedi with 24 points and 11 boards while also getting contributions from <strong>Ella Ketti </strong>with 16, [player_tooltip player_id='659117' first='Delaney' last='Dumermuth'] with 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Minnetonka vs. DeLaSalle</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following an overtime thriller is one thing, but to top it is quite another. Early on it appeared that this one would live up to the lofty expectations, but the [player_tooltip player_id='252387' first='Aaliyah' last='Crump'] led Skippers had other ideas. It was certainly intense in the early going and [player_tooltip player_id='296527' first='Aneisha' last='Scott'] did everything she could in the 1st half to keep the Islanders within striking distance. But Crump and super senior [player_tooltip player_id='215958' first='Tori' last='McKinney'] would not be denied. Combining for 25 1st-half points and 13 boards, the dynamic duo put their stamp on this game from the jump. Neither one shows much emotion, they just let their play do all the talking. Crump was also tasked with guarding the Islanders [player_tooltip player_id='595567' first='Jordyn' last='Johnson'] and did an excellent job of making it tough for DelaSalle to get the ball inside where if Johnson catches it, just put the 2 points in the books. Tonka took a 42-32 lead into the break and that would be as close as the Islanders would get for the remainder of the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Skippers would get up by as many as 27 in the 2nd half with the Islanders unable to get it below 15 the rest of the way. One of the few bright spots for DelaSalle in the 2nd half was Scott joining the illustrious 1,000-point club with a nice spin move and pull-up jumper in the lane. The team stormed the court showing their appreciation for their very talented teammate. Once play resumed, Tonka went right back to business. Crump was in her bag knocking down long bombs, taking rebounds coast to coast for beautiful finishes at the rim with either hand, and dropping dimes getting her teammates involved. Tonka's team defense is what blew the game open forcing the Islanders into uncharacteristic tough shots and untimely turnovers. Crump would end the game with 38 points, 14 boards and 6 helpers while McKinney poured in 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Scott led the Islanders with 24 points with Johnson finishing with 9 helping the Skippers to an 82-57 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->