Defense wins and the Raiders know it

Roseville coach Jeff Crosby understands one of the oldest, and often overlooked, aspects of coaching basketball: defense wins. Crosby's Raiders proved it again Saturday in the section 5AAAA semifinals as they turned in another gritty, grinding, in-your-face display of defensive excellence in knocking off #2-seeded Champlin Park by a score of 62-58. In doing so, Roseville earned its place in the section final against Park Center, which stunned heavily-favored Centennial to advance. When Roseville wins, it is seldom because someone scored 25 or 30 points. That almost never happens. Roseville wins by stopping opponents from putting up those type of numbers. Crosby is a defensive evangelist. His staff scouts opponents as diligently as any other. Players receive reams of information on how to defend their upcoming opponent, both from a team perspective and individually. Maybe they should call it the Book of Jeff and stick it in the middle of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Of course, Crosby is not alone when it comes to emphasizing what happens when his team doesn't have the ball. As UCONN coach Geno Auriemma likes to say, "Championship teams at every level are built from the defensive end out." That's Roseville. When you preview a Raiders game, the chatter often involves this key question: who is Kaylee Nelson going to guard? That's because the 5'9 junior has quietly become one of the state's best on-ball defenders, the kind of tenacious, scrappy stopper who can effectively neutralize the very best point guards. Saturday, the conversation revolved around Erica Hicks, Champlin's highly-skilled senior. It seemed obvious that Hicks would be Nelson's assignment for the afternoon. Crosby had something else in mind. Instead of Nelson vs Hicks, he put Kaylee on Amanda Pollard, who is quicker and more athletic and would also require special attention. The Hicks assignment went to junior point guard Jada Hood, who is known more for her flashy offensive assets than anything else. The strategic decision paid off. Role player Hvidhyld came up big Roseville jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead before Champlin Park, spurred on by the insertion of speedy defender Miyah Dubose, went on a 18-2 run that had the Raiders reeling. With five minutes to go in the half, the Rebels were up by 11 but Roseville once again locked it down on D and went on a run of their own. Roseville tied the game at 29 going into the break on a pair of corner threes by Sarah Hvidhyld, an unsung senior who had a career game. "If you watch high school games or college games, you see role players step up," Crosby said. "Today we had that role player who made those big plays in a big environment. It was fun to see." In the second half, Roseville got the jump again on a pair of threes by Nelson and Hvidhyld to forge an 8-point cushion. Then Champlin got rolling and retook the lead before Roseville did the same. It was back and forth the rest of the way. In the end, as they have done so often, Roseville nursed a two-basket lead to the final buzzer. Hood and Johnston finished the game with 17 points apiece, while Hvidhyld and Nelson had 9 each and bruising power forward Josie Haug recorded 8. Pollard scored 17 for Champlin Park while Hicks had 12. The Rebels, who had winning streaks of 11 and 8 games this year, concluded their season with a record of 23-5. Roseville is now 21-7. Sacrificing stats for success It's a feat of coaching to get high school kids to buy into the defense-first mindset, but somehow Crosby does it year after year. That mentality, and Roseville's very physical approach to the game, mean the team is rarely out of it regardless of the opponents' pedigree. A lot of the credit goes to 6'1 power forward Jayda Johnston, Minnesota's 11th-ranked sophomore. Johnston is as hard-nosed as they come – yes, she's been known to cross the line on occasion – but her approach rubs off on the other Raiders. Like her teammates, Johnston gives up a lot of personal accolades playing at Roseville, where players rarely produce eye-catching offensive numbers. Hood could make more headlines playing elsewhere, as could 6'3 freshman Tamia Ugass. When choosing a high school, however, Ugass didn't come to Roseville to score; she came to learn how to stop other teams from scoring, an asset that will have as much or more impact on her big-time college prospects. Hood, Johnston and the rest of the Raiders now move on to face Park Center. While Roseville routinely wins 20 games a year despite a punishing schedule, they haven't advanced to state from their stacked section. Ironically, in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, Roseville may have its best opportunity yet to gain entrance to the big dance. After Saturday's win, Crosby was already thinking about how to defend Adalia McKenzie and the Pirates. "Park Center is quick and they are athletic and they can score some points," he said. "Fortunately we played them last year here, and we have seen them play a handful of times, so we have a pretty good idea of what we need to do." One thing is certain: Crosby will be preaching defense prior to the game and his flock of faithful Raiders will be saying 'Amen!'