Mahtomedi knocks off Sibley to win Game of the Week #12

Prep Girls Hoops Kansas Scouting Report

Grant McGinnis February 9, 2018 @ 05:00 AM

You can tell a lot about the stature of a team from the nature of their post-game conversation. On Wednesday night in Mendota Heights, the Henry Sibley Spartans were pretty happy with what they had accomplished, but the Mahtomedi Zephyrs were not. You would not have known that it was the Zephyrs who had just recorded a 47-33 victory to win the Northstar Girls Hoops Game of the Week. "I thought we played OK," said Mahtomedi coach Eric Prose. "At times we looked great, at times we did not. I thought in the second half we stopped doing what we do well and it was uncharacteristic for us." The reason for the discrepancy is clear. Henry Sibley is a .500 basketball team still finding its way under a new coach. They have come a long way since November, but it doesn't always show up on the scoreboard. Mahtomedi, the #1 team in class 3A, is 19-1 and have their sights set on a much bigger prize. For Henry Sibley, it was an accomplishment holding Mahtomedi senior Emma Grothaus to 20 points and the Zephyrs to less than 50. "I thought defensively we really stepped up and got after them," said coach Harry Jenness, Jr. "Our man defense is our bread and butter, but we tried to mix it up and did some different things." It's true that Sibley's switch to the 1-3-1 in the second half did cause Mahtomedi problems. The Zephyrs lost their rhythm at times and were out of sync. That was in the latter stages, however. For most of the game, Mahtomedi was pretty good. After sophomore Jaelyn Orth scored the opening basket for Henry Sibley, Grothaus reeled off four straight buckets to stake Mahtomedi to a lead they would never relinquish. The Zephyrs were patient in the first half, methodically running their half-court offense and waiting for just the right opening. More often than not that opportunity involved Grothaus, the #7 ranked senior in the state, who is unstoppable most of the time. "The big thing is her length, especially when she's driving," Jenness said. "She is able to finish at the rim. Even with Tori (Nelson) having such long arms herself, Emma seems to just stretch her arm even further. There's nothing you can do." Nelson, the #7 junior in the state, is Sibley's be-all, end-all, but even she couldn't hang with Grothaus as Mahtomedi forged a 23-14 lead at the half. In the second it was more of the same as the lead grew to as much as 23. The shots may not have been falling on this night for Henry Sibley but things are moving in the right direction for the Warriors. In past years, Sibley appeared to rely entirely on Nelson to carry the day. Some nights that was good enough, but not always. Jenness has tried to instill belief in his other players that they, too, can make things happen. "We can't just let Tori go out and do it all. We knew that from day one, and every single girl has stepped up," he said. "The girls have really bought into what we are teaching and preaching. I think there's a lot of excitement and it has just been building. I'm hoping by the end of the month when sections start that we have that belief no matter who we play." Prose and his Mahtomedi squad are hoping for much more. They started the season knowing that Grothaus and fellow D1 commit Annika Sougstad would have a huge impact, and they felt reasonably confident that veterans Eve Ferrell, Josey Underwood, Hanna Loughlin and Lydia Maule would do their part. What Prose is most happy about is the continued improvement of sophomore Saley Underwood and the emergence of freshman Ella Hronski. "We have some younger kids who are stepping up and starting to believe, and I think the older kids are starting to realize that we need these kids, too." Prose explained. "We have some really great shooters among our younger kids and I give them the green light." The ingredients are all there for the Zephyrs, it would seem, but is it a recipe that can bake up a state championship? In a 3A field that includes a host of legitimate contenders – Holy Angels, Cooper, DeLaSalle and Grand Rapids among them – are the Zephyrs good enough to win it all? "Do I have to answer that question?" Prose said with a laugh. "We don't want to jump ahead of ourselves. We don't even talk about next week. We're just talking about Hill-Murray on Friday. I know one thing: We have yet to play our best game. We have played great halves, but we haven't played two solid halves. When we get there I think we're going to be a handful for a lot of teams."