So that means we are in the rarefied air of state.
The Wednesday game was the "rubber match" game between the two powers. It was Lakers versus Streeters. 'Waska appears to be seeded in a pretty modest position: No. 5. I would have expected their stock to be a little higher. It won't matter in the end if 'Waska takes it all. It really doesn't matter even now.
My, what heights the Lakers have reached. Our fans here in MACA know full well the kind of overwhelming play the Lakers can show.
Sauk Centre was actually seeded fourth. 'Waska rose to the occasion and prevailed over the Streeters by seven, 60-53. This was a state quarter-final game. Now the 'Waska record is 28-3. But their task is major for the next round. There isn't much of a break between games. So 'Waska's next assignment is to play on Friday against the No. 1 seed.
Uh-oh, here we go seeing the name of a private school come up. Sometimes the private schools can be world-beaters, sometimes not. So we'll have to wait and see. 'Waska now faces Providence Academy. And oh my they're undefeated at 30-0!
Game-time Friday is 6 p.m. and the site is again Williams Arena at the U of M. Providence Academy is known as the "Lions." Maybe they are world-beaters: they are coming off an 84-50 win over Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, the 8th seed.
Is 'Waska up to this daunting challenge? I'd say "yes."
MACA fans know full well how the aggressive Lakers can take command. 'Waska had a halftime lead of 58-4 against our Tigers. Maybe I shouldn't bring that up. Oh well, MACA is done so let's all root for the Lakers now. We're talking Class AA.
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| Maddyn Greenway |
And oh, Maddyn is the daughter of former Minnesota Viking linebacker Chad Greenway!
'Waska resolve
'Waska player Addy Kath, looking ahead, was quoted in the West Central Tribune saying "we just got to take it to 'em."
I remember typing " 'em" in a quote attributed to a Morris coach once, and that person thought she really didn't talk that way! Maybe it's best to just type "them." Voice of experience. Hey, I'm 70 years old and I'm certainly a fan of the Lakers right now, partly because I have family connections to Glenwood. You'll see a big stone slab with "Williams" on it in the old portion of Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. That's my family!
Hey, the 'Waska win over Sauk Centre was anything but routine. The Lakers in fact were playing from behind for much of the game. In fact they did not get their first lead until a little over eight minutes left at 48-46. Then the score became deadlocked at 50-50.
The Lakers started asserting themselves. Sydney Dahl worked through traffic close to the hoop. A basket by Lauryn Ankeny seemed decisive as it put the Lakers up by seven, 57-50. The clock showed just 1:07 left to play.
Kath pointed out that her team tends to come on strong in the second half. Well in their first half against MACA - the first matchup of these teams - 'Waska certainly showed it's a first half team as well.
It would be fun to see an MACA team perform by these standards. We can close our eyes and dream I guess. For the Lakers the "future is now." That's the place to be. MACA may be spinning its wheels longer.
Sauk Centre failed on some long-range shot tries. The Lakers were poised just well enough at the freethrow line. So the pieces were in place for 'Waska to close out this hard-earned win. It's anybody's guess how things will go in the next game. But as Chris Berman of ESPN has always said, "that's why they play the game."
Well, Providence Academy is far from being the only team with glittering credentials in state. Fans on Wednesday saw Crosby-Ironton, the No. 2 seed, defeat No. 7 Barnesville 75-50. Also, the No. 3 seed Minnehaha Academy stopped No. 6 Caledonia 68-63. So C-I will play Minnehaha at 8 pm. Friday at Williams Arena. The game for all the AA marbles is set for 6 p.m. Saturday.
Where else but at Williams Arena? It's a storied place having hosted so many games from the one-class days of boys basketball, from a time when people didn't talk about "boys basketball," it was just "basketball." The girls today are just as high-profile. Caitlin Clark helped push for the last step toward that.
But now there's a new issue and it concerns "trans." Gavin Newsom is trying to lead his Democratic Party to a new attitude about that. He turns thumbs down on "trans" kids playing girls sports. That's my position too.
The recent death of Gene Hackman brought back memories of 1950s basketball, as his "Hoosiers" movie was set then. Girls were just cheerleaders. I do not believe any major movies have been inspired by girls or women's basketball. It's about time. A biopic about Caitlin Clark?
I occasionally see mistakes in the West Central Tribune's coverage. Nothing to get excited about. Let me just say as a former newspaper sports person that when you get into post-season basketball, it's hard to keep all the details straight all the time. That's especially true if you're following more than one team.
We all had to adjust to the four-class system. But this system is so superior to what we had previously. Let me assert here that the two-class system did not address all concerns, not even close. But the one-class system was really unforgivable.
One-class was set up so small schools could play for the "sub-district title." That really meant a lot in olden times. School trophy cases were set up to display sub-district trophies.
Thorfinnson leads charge
OK let's look at the Wednesday stats. It was Megan Thorfinnson leading the way for 'Waska scoring: 17 points. Sydney Dahl's point total was 13 and Lauryn Ankeny put in 12. Here are the rest: Jayda Kolstoe 8, Addyson Kath 5 , Alia Randt 3 and Olivia Danielson 2.
'Waska was pretty productive with 3-pointers. Kolstoe led this charge with three 3-pointers. Dahl and Thorfinnson each made two while Kath and Randt each made one.
Kolstoe with her seven rebounds led there. Ankeny's three assists made her tops. Danielson topped steals with three. Dahl and Thorfinnson each blocked a shot.
The top Sauk Centre scorer was Dierra Kortan with 21 points. Kortan made three 3-pointers. A worthy opponent, Sauk Centre. But many are called, few are chosen.
Girls basketball did not even exist until I was a junior in high school.
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| Go Lakers! |
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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