Region 5 Tournament Analysis

[Region5SportsFan]

Apologies to the "Region 5 -2009--2010" thread where a smattering of tournament talk has taken place already. I prefer to keep topics a little more specific so I'm starting this one.

Unfortunately, Im a bit too busy for the in-depth regional coverage I did last year, but we can still do a bit of analysis.


GAME 1
(1)Standing Rock Warriors
def
(4)Washburn Cardinals

Game thoughts: Long really didn't take a lot of shots, only 15. Washburn played her pretty good and tight and she seemed content to pass it up a lot of the time when she was covered. That's actually a really good sign over last year where she forced up a lot shots in coverage, my bet is that scouting colleges put that in their plus column (although she did put up a few questionable three pointers). Washburn had a dreadful night shooting except for Leidholm who hit 3 big three pointers and gave the team some life in the second half. Standing Rock forced a lot of turnovers on defense and that was hands down the deciding factor. If you can't hold on to the ball on offense, you aren't going to win the big games.



GAME 2
(3)New Salem Holstines
def
(2)Sheridan County Coyotes

Game thoughts: Sheridan County was in trouble from the get-go. They sank shots to get the place they got in the district tournament, but they weren't making anything and that spelled trouble for them even when they had the lead. The inside game from Martwick was a bit subdued and I thought they should have went to her more when the shots weren't falling. Big props to New Salem for how to handled the pressure of being down in the second half. They came up with some big stops and converted on the other end to turn the game on it's head.


GAME 3
(3)Underwood Comets
def
(2)Grant County Coyotes

Game thoughts: The Comets are amazingly lucky that Alix Auck has come as far as she has, cause they would have lost this game without her. She had almost all of the points for the Comets in the first half. Dammen was guarded pretty well and never really tried that much to drive inside. Bentz is a freak, and I mean that in the best way possible. She's nearly a complete player as a freshman and she almost put the Coyotes over the top. I thought that the late game performance out of Underwood's role-players gave them the win in the end tho.



GAME 4
(1)Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky Trojans
def
(4)Flasher

Game thoughts: Oops, I skipped the game to have supper with a friend. Analysis, anyone? I do like that The Trojans have FINALLY started to do a bit of the high-low post offense this year, although they aren't very consistent with it,


Advice for teams going home:

Washburn: No pure ball handler for Washburn right now, Schell can't do everything if the team is expecting to win. Posts need to work on their post moves, turn and shoot only works until defenders realize that you can only turn and shoot because then you end up eating the ball. Leidholm really forged herself a place on the team this year, she's a perfect fit for shooting guard in that lineup. Call it what you will, but adding Clayton next year is going to help a ton in the ball handling department.

Sheridan County: If I'm not mistaken, this is the end of Sheridan County's basketball program. They have nothing to be ashamed of, they had a good run in the district tournament and probably could have won this game but it was not to be. I can only imagine how hard it is to run a successful program with only 8 girls, but they did good. A number of the remaining girls will make good additions to whichever program they join up with, especially Tkach. Also, mad props to Neilie Dockter and her sweet shoes. I'm going to actually miss going to games in McClusky and Goodrich.

Grant County: Ashley Bentz is one of the most promising basketball players I have ever seen. Leading the team with 16ppg, 9rpg, and 5apg as a Freshman, she almost has a senior feel to her when shes playing. She has definitely improved since last year, but still needs more work on her shooting. She is also very stone faced while playing, someone tell that girl to have some fun out there and her game will pick up because of it. Numbers look to be sparse next year, but if Lince becomes less of a string-bean while getting some post moves down and Wells steps up as a Senior and continues this year's output, they will be a Regional tournament team again.

Flasher: Oops, due to weather and job responsibilities, I didn't make it to Flasher this year so I know very little about this team. Sorry!


Final Thoughts: A lot of girls basketball players have a very bad habit of falling on their knees instead of just going all the way to the ground when they get knocked down. Its small wonder there are so many players wearing knee braces. Coaches should start coaching the best way to fall to the ground, I think.

Also, still hating the three-ref system. Its inconsistent at best. I haven't spoken to any this year about it, but like I said last year, the ones I talked to seemed to prefer the 2 man system.

[rock83]

Good analysis, not sure about the falling thing, but other than that pretty good analysis. Speaking of post work this part has really gone down hill in the last few years. I think it is probably because we dont have girls work individually on skills. I dont know of one player in region 5 that has great post moves. they all do a turn around or maybe a drop step. Some are successful because they are taller or get alot of put backs, but can you think of a player that has good post moves inthe region. Look at the region teams, Standing Rock only White Bull and she does a little drop step and a sweeping layup going baseline each time. Flasher, none. New Salem, there post is mainly a turn around or faceup shooter, Grant County Benz dont see her in the post enough to tell, she is needed with the ball in her hand. Sheridan County turn arounds. Turtle Lake Bayless uses her size to shoot over people, Underwood Auck has really improved alot and has become a nice player, but she mainly does a turnaround and put backs. Washburn, Schell probably their best post player is very limited and only right handed. Am I missing someone, i think it just comes down to the time spent on their skills. A lot of good athletes without alot of great skill.

Apologies to the "Region 5 -2009--2010" thread where a smattering of tournament talk has taken place already. I prefer to keep topics a little more specific so I'm starting this one.

Unfortunately, Im a bit too busy for the in-depth regional coverage I did last year, but we can still do a bit of analysis.


GAME 1
(1)Standing Rock Warriors
def
(4)Washburn Cardinals

Game thoughts: Long really didn't take a lot of shots, only 15. Washburn played her pretty good and tight and she seemed content to pass it up a lot of the time when she was covered. That's actually a really good sign over last year where she forced up a lot shots in coverage, my bet is that scouting colleges put that in their plus column (although she did put up a few questionable three pointers). Washburn had a dreadful night shooting except for Leidholm who hit 3 big three pointers and gave the team some life in the second half. Standing Rock forced a lot of turnovers on defense and that was hands down the deciding factor. If you can't hold on to the ball on offense, you aren't going to win the big games.



GAME 2
(3)New Salem Holstines
def
(2)Sheridan County Coyotes

Game thoughts: Sheridan County was in trouble from the get-go. They sank shots to get the place they got in the district tournament, but they weren't making anything and that spelled trouble for them even when they had the lead. The inside game from Martwick was a bit subdued and I thought they should have went to her more when the shots weren't falling. Big props to New Salem for how to handled the pressure of being down in the second half. They came up with some big stops and converted on the other end to turn the game on it's head.


GAME 3
(3)Underwood Comets
def
(2)Grant County Coyotes

Game thoughts: The Comets are amazingly lucky that Alix Auck has come as far as she has, cause they would have lost this game without her. She had almost all of the points for the Comets in the first half. Dammen was guarded pretty well and never really tried that much to drive inside. Bentz is a freak, and I mean that in the best way possible. She's nearly a complete player as a freshman and she almost put the Coyotes over the top. I thought that the late game performance out of Underwood's role-players gave them the win in the end tho.



GAME 4
(1)Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky Trojans
def
(4)Flasher

Game thoughts: Oops, I skipped the game to have supper with a friend. Analysis, anyone? I do like that The Trojans have FINALLY started to do a bit of the high-low post offense this year, although they aren't very consistent with it,


Advice for teams going home:

Washburn: No pure ball handler for Washburn right now, Schell can't do everything if the team is expecting to win. Posts need to work on their post moves, turn and shoot only works until defenders realize that you can only turn and shoot because then you end up eating the ball. Leidholm really forged herself a place on the team this year, she's a perfect fit for shooting guard in that lineup. Call it what you will, but adding Clayton next year is going to help a ton in the ball handling department.

Sheridan County: If I'm not mistaken, this is the end of Sheridan County's basketball program. They have nothing to be ashamed of, they had a good run in the district tournament and probably could have won this game but it was not to be. I can only imagine how hard it is to run a successful program with only 8 girls, but they did good. A number of the remaining girls will make good additions to whichever program they join up with, especially Tkach. Also, mad props to Neilie Dockter and her sweet shoes. I'm going to actually miss going to games in McClusky and Goodrich.

Grant County: Ashley Bentz is one of the most promising basketball players I have ever seen. Leading the team with 16ppg, 9rpg, and 5apg as a Freshman, she almost has a senior feel to her when shes playing. She has definitely improved since last year, but still needs more work on her shooting. She is also very stone faced while playing, someone tell that girl to have some fun out there and her game will pick up because of it. Numbers look to be sparse next year, but if Lince becomes less of a string-bean while getting some post moves down and Wells steps up as a Senior and continues this year's output, they will be a Regional tournament team again.

Flasher: Oops, due to weather and job responsibilities, I didn't make it to Flasher this year so I know very little about this team. Sorry!


Final Thoughts: A lot of girls basketball players have a very bad habit of falling on their knees instead of just going all the way to the ground when they get knocked down. Its small wonder there are so many players wearing knee braces. Coaches should start coaching the best way to fall to the ground, I think.

Also, still hating the three-ref system. Its inconsistent at best. I haven't spoken to any this year about it, but like I said last year, the ones I talked to seemed to prefer the 2 man system.

[Region5SportsFan]

Good analysis, not sure about the falling thing, but other than that pretty good analysis. Speaking of post work this part has really gone down hill in the last few years. I think it is probably because we dont have girls work individually on skills. I dont know of one player in region 5 that has great post moves. they all do a turn around or maybe a drop step. Some are successful because they are taller or get alot of put backs, but can you think of a player that has good post moves inthe region. Look at the region teams, Standing Rock only White Bull and she does a little drop step and a sweeping layup going baseline each time. Flasher, none. New Salem, there post is mainly a turn around or faceup shooter, Grant County Benz dont see her in the post enough to tell, she is needed with the ball in her hand. Sheridan County turn arounds. Turtle Lake Bayless uses her size to shoot over people, Underwood Auck has really improved alot and has become a nice player, but she mainly does a turnaround and put backs. Washburn, Schell probably their best post player is very limited and only right handed. Am I missing someone, i think it just comes down to the time spent on their skills. A lot of good athletes without alot of great skill.

None of them have great post moves, no.

I just don't think there are any dedicated assistant coaches that are post players in this region to tell the truth. If I was choosing, a post coach would be on the list for assistant every time. There has been some good post play in the region, but nothing great. I think there are a number that can improve to be very good, however. Next year will tell.

If I had to praise some tho, Martwick, White Bull, and Wolf are more physical than most and that's a great foundation to have.

[usedtowearajock]

Polls, Ratings, win - loss records, the only thing that really matters is DETERMINATION!!!

Way to go Lady Trojans!!!! It's not done yet!!

[Region5SportsFan]

GAME 5
(1)Standing Rock Warriors
def
(3)New Salem Holsteins

Game Thoughts: This one was all Standing Rock. They forced turnover after turnover which lead to transition basket after transition basket. New Salem had a really hard time finding open shots and a lot of them just weren't falling. I would have liked to see Standing Rock work a bit more in their half-court set in the second half, but no luck there because the transition baskets were just too easy for them. There's not much to say really, it was about what you'd expect after these two teams met in the regular season. Jeers for keeping Long on the court late in the game, its not worth the small risk that she might get injured when your team is already up by 25-30 points.

GAME 6
(1)Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky Trojans
def
(3)Underwood Comets

Game Thoughts: The first half really hurt the Comets. Dammen continued to struggle like she did in the Monday night's game. A couple of Trojan defenders sandwiched Auck in the post all game long and kept her impact to a minimum. Regardless, the game was still close going into the second half. However, Everett got red hot and was nailing shots like crazy late in the game, giving the Trojan's a huge boost. Dammen finally found her shot in the 4th quarter, but it was too little too late because the TLMM long range shooting was more than enough to hold on to the lead.

About 'the incident': I know that there is a big pink banner on this forum that says 'do not complain about officials', so I hope the moderators understand how criticism is different than complaining.
I do not imply that the game ended with the wrong winner when i say this, because TLMM deserved the win in this game, but the officials let this game get completely out of hand. They decided to call it loose and that's just fine in theory. However, they let players get away with big hacks and would then call an occasional touch-foul instead. Calling loose games often results in players getting (and forgive the terminology) 'catty' with one another. Players started swinging arms after plays were called dead and just overall being confrontational with one another... at this point, if you are calling the game like this where tensions run high, you need to penalize the players doing these things. They didn't and it only got worse on both sides.

Of course, it all culminated with a broken nose after an elbow to the face of Auck. Allow me to be crystal clear: I do not think nor am I implying that it was an intentional elbow to the face. That being said, my biggest problem wasn't the non-call (tho I do firmly believe that it should have been a player control foul), it was that after what was obviously an elbow to face connection, none of the three man official team took a moment to check on Auck who was bleeding down her face and on to her jersey seconds after being struck. Even worse yet, she stood on the court for a good 20-30 seconds longer, reached the half line and almost ran back into the game because none of the officials bothered to take notice despite pleading from both her and her coach.

I understand all too well that to be a good official you have to believe in your calls and non-calls 100% while you are on the court... but when this attitude overrides your attention to player welfare, you need to rethink your approach. Very disappointed with the officials in this game, 2 of which that I know are good officials and good guys.

Props to Underwood's coach for having a sense of time and place. Normally, in a situation like this, a coach will go to bat for their player and get a well-earned technical foul (some coaches I played under would have gotten themselves ejected in this situation), but since this was a regional game and they still had a chance to come back, she kept a very level head.

As for the Technical Foul Auck received after she got patched up and came back into the game. She gave a bit of a jaband said something to the girl that broke her nose when there were only seconds left on the clock, it didnt seem like anything too serious. She shouldn't have done it, but i can understand why she did. I realize it may not be kosher to say, but in a normal game you would go back out there and head hunt that person on a screen and knock them off their feet. Again, Regional game, she couldn't do that, so she took her minor revenge just before the game ended.





Final Thoughts: TLMM probably matches up the best with Standing Rock out of all the other teams in the tournament. TLMM needs to stop the SR transition game that basically consists of getting the rebound and launching it down court to Long. Standing Rock needs to stop Anderson and Everett from getting hot out on the three-point line. It actually has the makings of a really really good game, and I'll be interesting to see what each team comes out with. I would like to see TLMM use a high-low post game, which would be really effective against the shorter SR team. I would like to see SR slow things down a bit and find their shots in the half-court, because they have a tendency to throw things up if they can't find a shot after a run or 2 through the offense.

Good luck to both teams.

[NDFan09]

I would agree with most of this, with one exception. I don't think TLM matches up the best with SR simply because of the pressure that SR can put on their ballhandlers. Versus Underwood the other night I thought they looked a little rattled against full court pressure and SR will bring it for a lot longer. TLM has had people really outplay their season performances in tournament play thus far - they will need that and then a little more to pull this off tonite. If not I'm afraid it could get out of reach.

[WarriorsFan10]

I Agree!

I would agree with most of this, with one exception. I don't think TLM matches up the best with SR simply because of the pressure that SR can put on their ballhandlers. Versus Underwood the other night I thought they looked a little rattled against full court pressure and SR will bring it for a lot longer. TLM has had people really outplay their season performances in tournament play thus far - they will need that and then a little more to pull this off tonite. If not I'm afraid it could get out of reach.

[Region5SportsFan]

I would agree with most of this, with one exception. I don't think TLM matches up the best with SR simply because of the pressure that SR can put on their ballhandlers. Versus Underwood the other night I thought they looked a little rattled against full court pressure and SR will bring it for a lot longer. TLM has had people really outplay their season performances in tournament play thus far - they will need that and then a little more to pull this off tonite. If not I'm afraid it could get out of reach.

So you are saying Underwood would match up with them better? I may be able to see that POV, but I don't agree with it. On a person by person basis, I think that TLMM is the best match against SR. Everett against Long and doubling down against White Bull has a chance to work because of their height.

But of course, this all hinges on the idea that they are going to play like they have in the post-season and not like they did during the regular season.

[rock83]

The best matchup may have happened the first round for Standing Rock. Washburn has more quickness and some better ball handlers. Dont think Turtle Lake has the quickness or ball handlers to stay with Standing Rock. Washburn had trouble with Standing Rocks pressure and they handle the ball better than Turtle Lake. Although if bayless gets Standing Rock in foul trouble and they are able to handle the pressure fairly well then it could be interesting. There is no comparison with everett and long. Long is in a whole league above everett and there is now way they can have everett guard long. Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person. Long is going to have a pile of points tonight.
I think that turtle lake will have to play zone because they dont have the quickness to stay with long. But you never know

I would agree with most of this, with one exception. I don't think TLM matches up the best with SR simply because of the pressure that SR can put on their ballhandlers. Versus Underwood the other night I thought they looked a little rattled against full court pressure and SR will bring it for a lot longer. TLM has had people really outplay their season performances in tournament play thus far - they will need that and then a little more to pull this off tonite. If not I'm afraid it could get out of reach.

So you are saying Underwood would match up with them better? I may be able to see that POV, but I don't agree with it. On a person by person basis, I think that TLMM is the best match against SR. Everett against Long and doubling down against White Bull has a chance to work because of their height.

But of course, this all hinges on the idea that they are going to play like they have in the post-season and not like they did during the regular season.

[NDFan09]

I would agree with most of this, with one exception. I don't think TLM matches up the best with SR simply because of the pressure that SR can put on their ballhandlers. Versus Underwood the other night I thought they looked a little rattled against full court pressure and SR will bring it for a lot longer. TLM has had people really outplay their season performances in tournament play thus far - they will need that and then a little more to pull this off tonite. If not I'm afraid it could get out of reach.

So you are saying Underwood would match up with them better? I may be able to see that POV, but I don't agree with it. On a person by person basis, I think that TLMM is the best match against SR. Everett against Long and doubling down against White Bull has a chance to work because of their height.

But of course, this all hinges on the idea that they are going to play like they have in the post-season and not like they did during the regular season.

That last sentence says it all. Based on what I have seen over the course of the entire season I would say that either Washburn or Underwood would have had a better chance at handling SR's pressure than TLM. One fan's opinion. Washburn had there chance. Underwood didn't earn their chance. TlM gets theirs tonite. Time will tell.

[rock83]

True and well said.

I would agree with most of this, with one exception. I don't think TLM matches up the best with SR simply because of the pressure that SR can put on their ballhandlers. Versus Underwood the other night I thought they looked a little rattled against full court pressure and SR will bring it for a lot longer. TLM has had people really outplay their season performances in tournament play thus far - they will need that and then a little more to pull this off tonite. If not I'm afraid it could get out of reach.

So you are saying Underwood would match up with them better? I may be able to see that POV, but I don't agree with it. On a person by person basis, I think that TLMM is the best match against SR. Everett against Long and doubling down against White Bull has a chance to work because of their height.

But of course, this all hinges on the idea that they are going to play like they have in the post-season and not like they did during the regular season.

That last sentence says it all. Based on what I have seen over the course of the entire season I would say that either Washburn or Underwood would have had a better chance at handling SR's pressure than TLM. One fan's opinion. Washburn had there chance. Underwood didn't earn their chance. TlM gets theirs tonite. Time will tell.

[espnjunkie]

I agree and didn't see TLM play during season but based on their record I would assume they're pleasantly surprised to be in this situation...but if we make the same argument based on post season play I would say TLM has as good of a chance as either Underwood or Washburn would have and considering TLM beat them both - it's sort of an unfair statement to make (today) even though it carries some weight considering regular season play. Not sure if TLM is on a lucky streak or just peaking at the right time but this is girls bb and either explanation for their recent success could result in an upset tonight. Anyone know the point margin between SR's win over Wash and TLM's win over Washburn? Maybe means nothing but it should be at least considered as part of the discussion.

[rock83]

Washburn beat TLM once and TLM beat Washburn once. That isnt the point it comes down to matchups. TLM can beat another team all they want but they may not match up as well against another team. They dont have quickness and against Standing Rock that isnt a good thing. They also dont handle pressure real well and that isnt good against standing rock as well. Not saying standing rock is going to win but the matchups dont favor TLM as well as maybe another team.

I agree and didn't see TLM play during season but based on their record I would assume they're pleasantly surprised to be in this situation...but if we make the same argument based on post season play I would say TLM has as good of a chance as either Underwood or Washburn would have and considering TLM beat them both - it's sort of an unfair statement to make (today) even though it carries some weight considering regular season play. Not sure if TLM is on a lucky streak or just peaking at the right time but this is girls bb and either explanation for their recent success could result in an upset tonight. Anyone know the point margin between SR's win over Wash and TLM's win over Washburn? Maybe means nothing but it should be at least considered as part of the discussion.

[dedicated Spectator]

The best matchup may have happened the first round for Standing Rock. Washburn has more quickness and some better ball handlers. Dont think Turtle Lake has the quickness or ball handlers to stay with Standing Rock. Washburn had trouble with Standing Rocks pressure and they handle the ball better than Turtle Lake. Although if bayless gets Standing Rock in foul trouble and they are able to handle the pressure fairly well then it could be interesting. There is no comparison with everett and long. Long is in a whole league above everett and there is now way they can have everett guard long. Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person. Long is going to have a pile of points tonight.
I think that turtle lake will have to play zone because they dont have the quickness to stay with long. But you never know

Based on the overly harsh remarks made against Everett, I would have to say someone has a beef against TLM and a good little ball-handler. I've seen all the teams play, as well as I'm sure everyone else has and Everett is one of THE best ball handler's in the district. No one has impressed me as much in the ball handling department as her and another little girl from the Garrison School. In fact every team I've seen play could have used a player with Everett's ball handling skills. As for her with-standing SR's pressure, she may have to dig a little deep, but so would anyone else. Kudos to TLM for beating the teams they had to beat just to play in tonight's game! I'd support any one of the district 10 teams that made it to the Championship round.

[rock83]

I dont think to many people would disagree that Long is a much better player than everett. Why if you say that do you have a beef with something. I really like the way Long plays the game, she plays hard without any theatrics. She acts like she has been there before.

The best matchup may have happened the first round for Standing Rock. Washburn has more quickness and some better ball handlers. Dont think Turtle Lake has the quickness or ball handlers to stay with Standing Rock. Washburn had trouble with Standing Rocks pressure and they handle the ball better than Turtle Lake. Although if bayless gets Standing Rock in foul trouble and they are able to handle the pressure fairly well then it could be interesting. There is no comparison with everett and long. Long is in a whole league above everett and there is now way they can have everett guard long. Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person. Long is going to have a pile of points tonight.
I think that turtle lake will have to play zone because they dont have the quickness to stay with long. But you never know

Based on the overly harsh remarks made against Everett, I would have to say someone has a beef against TLM and a good little ball-handler. I've seen all the teams play, as well as I'm sure everyone else has and Everett is one of THE best ball handler's in the district. Her and another little girl from the Garrison School. In fact every team I've seen play could have used a player with Everett's ball handling skills. As for her with-standing SR's pressure, she may have to dig a little deep, but so would anyone else. Kudos to TLM for beating the teams they had to beat just to play in tonight's game! I'd support any one of the district 10 teams that made it to the Championship round.

[dedicated Spectator]

I dont think to many people would disagree that Long is a much better player than everett. Why if you say that do you have a beef with something. I really like the way Long plays the game, she plays hard without any theatrics. She acts like she has been there before.

The best matchup may have happened the first round for Standing Rock. Washburn has more quickness and some better ball handlers. Dont think Turtle Lake has the quickness or ball handlers to stay with Standing Rock. Washburn had trouble with Standing Rocks pressure and they handle the ball better than Turtle Lake. Although if bayless gets Standing Rock in foul trouble and they are able to handle the pressure fairly well then it could be interesting. There is no comparison with everett and long. Long is in a whole league above everett and there is now way they can have everett guard long. Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person. Long is going to have a pile of points tonight.
I think that turtle lake will have to play zone because they dont have the quickness to stay with long. But you never know

I'm in no way making a response in reference to comparisons with Shauna long. I'm responding to your comment "Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person." Anyone is a strong statement. Hmm I wonder! Have you seen all of TLM's games?

[rock83]

Ok, i shouldnt have said anyone. She has difficulty guarding or getting by fairly quick guards.

I dont think to many people would disagree that Long is a much better player than everett. Why if you say that do you have a beef with something. I really like the way Long plays the game, she plays hard without any theatrics. She acts like she has been there before.

The best matchup may have happened the first round for Standing Rock. Washburn has more quickness and some better ball handlers. Dont think Turtle Lake has the quickness or ball handlers to stay with Standing Rock. Washburn had trouble with Standing Rocks pressure and they handle the ball better than Turtle Lake. Although if bayless gets Standing Rock in foul trouble and they are able to handle the pressure fairly well then it could be interesting. There is no comparison with everett and long. Long is in a whole league above everett and there is now way they can have everett guard long. Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person. Long is going to have a pile of points tonight.
I think that turtle lake will have to play zone because they dont have the quickness to stay with long. But you never know

I'm in no way making a response in reference to comparisons with Shauna long. I'm responding to your comment "Everett doesnt have quickness to get by anyone or to guard a quick person." Anyone is a strong statement. Hmm I wonder! Have you seen all of TLM's games?

[Region5SportsFan]

I really like the way Long plays the game, she plays hard without any theatrics. She acts like she has been there before.

I dislike when people put player enthusiasm during a close game in a negative light. As long as they don't actively taunt the other team's crowd, bench, or players, I'm all for signs of excitement.

I also like the way Long plays the game because she is very collected and at home on the court, but as for theatrics... she has cut back on her showboating from last year, but it still appears from time to time and it typically still ends (just like it did last year) with the ball sailing out of bounds.

[underdog]

T.L.- M. is a tale of two teams. They won the county tourney pretty easily, and then did'nt play very well for and good part of the season. They have played extemely well as of late it when has mattered the most, and have defeated some quality teams in the process and deserve to be where there are at. They match up better with SR RIGHT NOW than any other team in the tourney. I beleive SR beat Washburn by ten the other night. I cannot remember the score, but T.L. beat Washburn by more than ten in the opening round of the disticts. I think that has to say something about the way they are executing.

I think T.L. deserves a little credit for where they are at. If either team comes out flat, the game could be over in a hurry. Guess we'll see in a few hrs.

[rock83]

So if Turtle Lake gets beat by 11 that makes washburn a better team. Scores dont matter, its how teams matchup and play against the team they are playing.

T.L.- M. is a tale of two teams. They won the county tourney pretty easily, and then did'nt play very well for and good part of the season. They have played extemely well as of late it when has mattered the most, and have defeated some quality teams in the process and deserve to be where there are at. They match up better with SR RIGHT NOW than any other team in the tourney. I beleive SR beat Washburn by ten the other night. I cannot remember the score, but T.L. beat Washburn by more than ten in the opening round of the disticts. I think that has to say something about the way they are executing.

I think T.L. deserves a little credit for where they are at. If either team comes out flat, the game could be over in a hurry. Guess we'll see in a few hrs.

[mrsbasketball]

To sum it all up from tonight.. Standing Rock is very quick compared to TLM. They couldn't keep up with those girls. Standing Rock did a very nice job by staying patient on their offense and breaking down TLM's defense. I don't know why anyone would think that Everett could stop Long, Everett's lazy on Defense. TLM just couldn't keep up with Standing Rock.

So the point here is.... that.. STANDING ROCK IS GOING TO STATE good luck lady's! you did a great job tonight

[comet#1]

I dont think anyone was watching the same game a mrsbasketball... turtle lake was playing a zone in the first half and sondrol was chasing her in the second half mrsbasketballs elevator must not go all the way to the top hehe

[Region5SportsFan]

GAME 7
(3)New Salem Holsteins
def
(3)Underwood Comets

Game Thoughts: This game was a bit of a surprise. After being witness to their double overtime game earlier in the season, I thought that it would play a bit closer. New Salem did a good job controlling Underwood's scorers and Wolf was especially good inside for the Holsteins... they also handled the ball exceptionally well in the second half. All and all, Underwood's problems in the post-season continued on into today and it landed them in 4th place. They seem to have a bit of a curse going these past couple of years when it comes taking their good season play into the extra innings.


GAME 8
(1)Standing Rock Warriors
def
(1)Turtle Lake Mercer McClusky Trojans

Game Thoughts: Very very odd call by TLMM to go pure Zone in the first half. They basically dared Long to beat them from the outside and she made them pay. Actually, she wasn't shooting all that well tonight but she could get all the looks she wanted out of the zone so she casted up plenty of shots to make up for misses. Other shooters on the team also had a good game against the zone. By the time TLMM switched to a chaser in the second half with Sondrol chasing Long, the damage had already been done. Sondrol actually did a really nice job on her tho and held her back quite well. TLMM left a ton of wide open, easy layups on the board and combined with an outside shooting game that never got a chance to get started, the offense for TLMM was very tame.
What little offense they did have was mostly post entries that were super-effective, but ended with missed layups too often to keep them in the game.

The outcome wasn't all that surprising, but the zone defense was the most baffling part of the game for me.



Advice for teams going home:

Underwood: The Comets might have a problem in the point guard position next year. Dammen is almost as big of a loss as Horst was last year when it comes to the overall makeup of the team. Eslinger and Mormon are a couple of role-players that work hard so that will also be hard to replace. They do have some options for who to give the ball to next year, but Auck is going to need effective guard play to be effective herself. If they work heavy on their front court and give Auck some more attention as a post player (last year's offseason did wonders), they will be a good team next year. Tho likely not as great as the last couple.

New Salem: I'm not that worried about New Salem really. Yes, they are losing a lot of players to graduation this year. But they keep Wolf who has real potential to be a very serious post threat with a bit of footwork practice and they also have Karlie Schroeder who is nearly ready to take on the lead point guard spot as an eighth grader after an off-season of passing drills. Bueligen will also be back, so Im looking to see New Salem back in the regional tournament next year.

Turtle Lake-Mercer: I'm sorry, I've been adding 'McClusky' to their name this whole time when that's only true for the boys team thus far. Next year tho, the McClusky will likely be added and I THINK that they will be picking up Tkach and some other underclassmen from now disbanded Sheridan County. They'll need those players because they are losing a HUGE part of their talent to graduation... including nearly all of their height. They completely underutilized their height to begin with, so maybe that won't be too much of a problem in the long term. Outside shooting is still intact, but they will need someone to step up into the post position next year. Despite what others may think, I think Everett has shown real promise as a point guard, but I would like to see her work on her penetration and defensive skills a bit more. Depending on who they get out of McClusky, TLM(M) will probably be a regional contender again.



As for how to beat Standing Rock in the State Tournament? See my post from last year's regional tournament, its still true this year.


Final Thoughts: Thats it! Another year down. If any basketball players are reading this, I would like to hear about your team's off-season plans when you learn of them. I typically keep up on area teams though the summer to see everyone's improvements. Good luck out there!

[NDFan09]

Well, so much for the great pressure debate. SR rarely crossed the half line defensively. I was impressed by how they looked much more comfortable being patient on offense than they did last year. Good Luck SR. Let's get Region 5 playing in the evening games on the weekend.

[WarriorsFan10]

No it is...Standing Rock is playing a lot better than last year.. for one they're taking their time on offense, picked up on their defense.. CONGRATS TO THE LADY WARRIORS!!! I KNOW ALBERT'S LOOKING DOWN AND SMILING ON HIS TEAM!!! Congrats Coach Gates on Coach of the Year!! and to Megan Long, who scored 2 points in the Region 5 championship game!!! Now go out play every game like its your last one!!!! PLAY HARD!!! WICALA!!!!