alexandriacardinals

[If you don’t enjoy watching Lauren Trumm play basketball . . .  ~ Roger Riley]

OK, that may not be an exact quote.  But it was words to that effect as we ambled across the parking lot at Halenbeck Hall on the campus of St. Cloud State University last night after the Cardinals had dispatched the Thief River Falls Prowlers in the section 8AAA semi-finals.  Regarding the above photo, we had to clear a spot in the back seat for Roger for our journey to the Granite City, so everything ended up in the trunk – including our “LT’s-on-a-stick.”  So, we of course forgot to bring them with us into the arena.  So (again with the “so”?), I told the supervisor she would have to pose with them after the game.  But she was in her bathrobe as soon as we got home – no chance for a photo now!  So (yes, again with the “so”), this morning I made her hold them up in bed because I wanted to start this post – she agreed only if she did not “actually appear” in the photo.

[The final score, the band, and the ubiquitous “Got Wood?” (for Cara) banner.]

So ( 😉 ), this morning we’d like to begin with the game opening video.  Once we all suffer through the first two minutes of nervous sloppiness by both teams (or, more likely from the camera guy), you catch the exact flavor of the rest of the game – and how Lauren could have a perfectly symmetrical 18-18=36 points night.  The video ends with the Cards taking a 6 – 0 lead after three straight fast break lay-ups, two by LT after steals and the other an assist by her to Kalli:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdp-M4sNkao

So, anyway, the Prowlers came in with an excellent 23 – 3 record.  They beat Detroit Lakes in the opening round – the 3rd time they had beaten the Lakers this year.  We split two relatively close games with DL this year.  The Prowlers were remarkably similar to the Lakers – not a lot of size, but a lot of players who could shoot the 3!   After the Prowlers recovered from the initial onslaught by the Cards [abetted, we believe, by an early plethora of foul calls against our pure and innocent Cards, thus stifling our previously stifling defense, and the Cards many possession descent into unforced turnovers (happens to all teams – and we have to remember, they are teenagers)], they recovered by displaying their 3-point shooting prowess to take a brief lead.  The Cards then re-spurted to a 31 – 20 halftime lead (meaning the Prowlers then had only 2 more points than LT), and the Prowlers only reduced the deficit to under 10 one more time the rest of the game.

[Cara and Whitney apply early full-court pressure.]

[LT goes for a “kick save.”]

[Best defines the entire season:  Cara headmanning a pass; a hat in my photo line!]

[LT’s first of several free throws.]

[One of our defenders must be cleverly hiding behind the ref?]

[If you have to jump to execute a backward pass from beyond the 3-point line . . .]

[Card “D” follows the ball; future Cards sitting behind the basket f0llow intently!]

[Prowler point guard (No. 11) hits a 3.  A very good player – but likely had never run into a force of nature like Ms. Trumm before.]

[LT tacks on some more.]

[Cards hustle back on defense.]

[Dani calls out defensive instructions.]

[Yup, some more.]

[Whitney inbounds to Cara.]

[Cara addresses her defender, “Hi, Prowler.”]

[LT spots Whitney, who has inside position.]

[At the half.]

[Card fans enjoy 7th inning stretch.]

[The band]

[Cards boys’ basketball team]

[Fergus girls’ team scouting us after having dispatched Sartell in the first semi-final.]

[LT inbounds to Amanda C to begin the 2nd half.]

[Cara whips a pass to her left flank.]

[Amanda C attempts a pickpocket move – a misdemeanor in all 50 states, even worse in Slovenia.]

[The basketball equivalent of gang tackling.]

[Random ambling.]

[Kalli thinks, “This is a great spot to stand for this play.”]

That great spot to stand was probably a set up for the wheel play.  Unlike DL, Fergus, Sartell, who we play regularly, we only play TRF if we meet in the sections (it requires a change of planes in Moorhead and a two dogsled rides to get there) – thus they are not familiar with us.  When they fell behind and had to press, we immediately ran the wheel play with Amanda C, with the accuracy of Tom Brady, hitting LT streaking down court for a lay-up.  The next time the situation arose, TRF played more of a prevent defense, so we inbounded normally.  Then the next time, we caught their free safety cheating, and hit LT going long again.  As Roger always says, “I love that play!”  We run the mini version of that play from under our own basket – LT circles the entire free throw area, picking up picks along the way, and ending up right underneath the basket for the inbounds pass.  If the defense catches up with her, it’s usually a foul; if they don’t, it’s a lay-up.  LT made many points off that play in the game.

[Amanda C sinks two.  She had a tough 1st half – sat out most of it in foul trouble.  In the 2nd half, she hit two 3’s, made her free throws, and scored all of her 12 points.  She can get to the line because she has the ability to take the ball to the hoop.]

[Cara made two free throws as the game wound down.  The team was solid in that regard and told the Prowlers they couldn’t get back in the game by fouling us.  Cara had her usual solid game running the team from the point.]

[We win!  Whitney hit a 3 and was a terror on the defensive wing – she had a lot of pass deflections and is becoming quite the shot blocker out there.  One time we thought they had an open look at a 3, but Whitney came flying out at her and blocked it  Kalli had 8 points in the 1st half, and then in 2nd half concentrated on getting all the rebounds!]

So now we play Fergus again for the section championship – next Friday in Moorhead.  See you there!

Good-bye to Halenbeck Hall for another year.

And another beautiful sunrise over Lake Darling this morning!  🙂

This was halftime.  It appears Bob and Dave were trying to think of a way to describe what they had just seen.  You’ll understand as we go along.

[Cara during warm-ups.  All seemed normal so far – except I accidentally shot this in flash.  An omen?  Who knows.  But I don’t much care for the tint of the flash photo.]

[Whitney generally settles in around the 3-point line.]

[Eyes on the prize.]

[Whitney and Cara shot lots of 3’s – nothing unusual there.]

[And LT did her usual shooting from the corner.]

[Val Trumm did a little pre-game distribution of “her daugher on a stick” to the LT Fan Club.]

[“Aaaaayyyyyy” (Of course)]

And the video of the game’s 1st 5 minutes – and it continued . . . :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9jIQxBgfNk

[It appears Sauk Rapids got off a shot here.  Did I mention we were playing them in the opening round of the class AAA sections?]

[And this is what happened most of the time – LT streaking down the court w/ball.]

[Jess and Cara play catch.]

[Cara shoots.]

[Note expired time as we roll along.  A half is 18 minutes.]

[A really tough defense to play against – aggravated if you don’t have tall guards.]

[The blue garbage can sets a mean pick.]

[Cards mass for a potential offensive rebound.]

[The Storm thought we were a blur the entire game.]

[LT and Cara set the offense.]

[I was just sitting there, minding my own business, when a big red bird ambled by.]

[“Let me breathe!”]

[Cara is back lit by the scorer’s table as she brings the ball into the front court.]

[Once past the scorer’s table, we resume normal ambient lighting as we convert on a lay-up.]

[Amanda C]

[The crowd is getting restless.]

[Whitney on the lay-up.]

[Jess]

[Cara brings it upcourt and sets up another score.]

[Still in the 1st half.]

[The Storm kept playing hard.]

[Then the Storm’s point guard got a break out and was fouled.  She missed her first free throw and even the Cardinal fans had to groan.]

[But she made her 2nd.  The Storm were on the board!]

[Now inspired, the Storm made a 3 as the half came to an end.]

Coming out for the 2nd half.  The game was no longer in doubt, obviously.  We were looking forward to seeing everyone getting a chance to play.  And at some point, the game went into running time.  Once things start rolling, it becomes infectious – everybody found a comfort zone that lead us to make more 3’s than I every recall.  Whitney had at least 3 (she can hit ’em when she takes her time and squares up), I think Amanda had a couple, and Cara may have had one too.  But mostly it was just overwhelming defense that made it difficult for the Storm to even get a shot – I’m sure a high percentage of our points came off turnovers.

[Amanda C and Cara practice 3’s.]

[Kalli works on her low post jumper.]

[Staff photographer and family.]

[The bench]

[The band.  The young man in the upper left, sax player, rainbow hair, will also be featured at the end of this post.  🙂 ]

[Kalli]

[So many options off this formation.]

[Whitney, “I seem to remember having teammates?”]

[“They did come to help!”]

[Concentration]

[“Everybody get ready to play!”]

[Cheers!]

[LT’s out, Amada G’s in, Amanda C at the line.  Lots of subbing going on.]

[End of the night for the starters.]

[The starters then enjoyed their role as cheerleaders!]

[Ponytails require constant adjustments – though that’s something about which I am not familiar.  Abby Hlinsky completed a 3-point play.]

[Next year’s size.  Amanda Gould (55), so., 5’11;” Emily Thul (31), so., 5’10;” and Alyssa Freiderich (51), s0., 5’11.”]

[Sarah Bruzek readies for a free thow.]

[Then everybody left her?]

[As I recall, she made it.  🙂 ]

[Karly Betterman]

[Abby, again]

[Super Fans Barb and Roger Riley with “LT-on-a-stick.”  You’ll recall the hockey girls are undefeated when Barb and Roger sing the National Anthem.]

Oh, the final score was 70 – 18.  Then Super Fans bolted to SAWA to catch the last half of Funky Gumbo Trio – who were later joined by our saxophonist from the pep band (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, of course.

[The boys tore the place down, as usual.]

We end our basketball coverage with Whitney in the Fergus game (from Echo Press).  All the higher seeds won in the opening round, so tonight’s semi-finals are Fergus v. Sartell and the Cards take on Thief River Falls in St. Cloud.  We plan to be there.  If we get by the Prowlers, the section finals will be in Moorhead next Friday.  Go Cards!

It’s 6:00 pm and so far not a single flake.  The blizzard-of-the-year should be ravaging us by now – everything in Alex has been postponed or cancelled accordingly.  The basketball girls’ opening round of the sections has been postponed until Thursday [Note:  It’s a 7:00 start].  Thus, there will be no basketball report to file on the morrow.  So, to avoid those annoying calls from Florida wondering such, I needed some filler.  Accordingly, at the demand of absolutely no one, we once again bring you Where in the World is Ruthie.  You should be aware that these photos are from 15 years ago so she may be harder to recognize.  And if you can stay awake to the end, the answers to the first round of Where in the World is Ruthie will be revealed.

[Hint:  This is on a different continent from the first four.]

[Granted, not a lot of geographical background.  Hint:  Lemon beer.]

[I was too chicken to take the cable car to the top.  Besides, the view was great from the square.]

There will now be a 10-minute intermission.  Refreshments are available in the lobby for a good will offering.  If you have ill will, your only option is week-old Twinkies.  But while we wait, here is a quiz within the quiz.  Only one of the following six photos is of local music group, Cassie and the Bobs?:

Please return to your seats as we are about to resume your regularly scheduled program:

[Hint:  Back in the States.]

And now for the answers to the first WWR (Where in the World is Ruthie):

1 – Lincoln Memorial; 2 – Bemidji; 3 – Lake Minnewaska; 4 – Cherry blossoms, Tidal Basin, Washington Monument; 5 – Crosby-Ironton; 6 – Al Franken; 8 – Mark Dayton; 9 – Chippewa Falls, WI; 10 – Sheboygan, WI; 12 – Elkhart Lake, WI; 13 – Eagle Center, Wabasha, MN; 14 & 15 – Grand View Lodge, Gull Lake, MN; 16 – National Archives; 17 – Arrowwood antique boat show, Lake Darling; 18 -MN/SD border; 19 – Lake Darling; 20 – Carlos Creek Winery; 21 & 22 – Inspiration Peak; 23 – Itasca State Park, Mississippi River source; 24 – Peter’s Sunset Beach Resort, Lake Minnewaska; 25 – Just into SD from No. 18; 26 – Chesapeake Bay, sailing with condo neighbors, Renu and John Stevens.

The staff photographer resides on the north side of the JHS gym; I on the south.  This assures complete and total coverage for our constituents.  The photos in this post are from the north side – of the Fergus Falls girls’ basketball game.

But before we begin (oops, I guess we already have), this past Friday and Saturday blessed us all with the girls’ state hockey tournament – now my favorite annual sporting event, even minus our Cards.  I thoroughly enjoyed “couching” it for two days as I partook of four semi-final and two final games.  Early on, the TV talking heads did a between periods or between games interview with John Millea.  You may recall John as a long time sports writer for the StarTribune, covering pro and major college sports.  John said he had an epiphany and decided covering high school sports would be much more fun than his previous beat.  So, he decided to go to work for the Minnesota State High School League.  Well, that certainly sounded familiar to me – so I decided to send him an e-mail (I don’t think he’d mind):

I saw you on TV tonight at the girls’ state hockey tourney and discovered we have taken similar paths (I have enjoyed your coverage of high school sports).  As someone who went to NCAA Final Fours for over 30 years, my only sports interests now are girls’ high school hockey and basketball – so much so I blog about them (mostly at the request of local snowbirds).  It’s great fun.  ~ Me

Thanks Tom. Great blog! Guys like us — who enjoy high school sports so much — are darn lucky. Kinda makes you feel sorry for those who give their hearts to pro sports, doesn’t it? Keep smiling and thanks again,  JM  ~ John Millea, Media Specialist, Minnesota State High School League

[The supervisor with Martha Williams in the Bemidji sculpture garden.  I blame Martha for producing an offspring who, with her teammates, convinced me to take the route now traveled by Mr. Millea.]

Anyway, I have had a great time over the years corresponding with hockey moms about their sport.  The following on this year’s state tournament:

Enjoyed all the games yesterday!  Particularly the last one (Minnetonka v. Lakeville North, class AA semi-final) – too bad someone had to lose.  Both teams were fast and flew up and down the ice the whole game.  The two class A games were very good!  And yes, Milica McMillen’s (Breck defense going to the Gophers) last penalty was totally ridiculous!  Kate Schipper (Breck junior forward committed to the Gophers) can play for my team anytime.  🙂  But there are lots of good players this year – the tourney is loaded with D-1 players.  Almost every team has a D-1 defenseman – and they’re all fun to watch.  But mostly I’m upset for our team – all those teams are incredibly young!  Breck and Red Wing are mostly junior high kids!  Lakeville North is all sophomores!  Will have fun watching again today.

We thought Minnetonka – Lakeville North was the most fun game to watch in the whole tourney.  The double OT game for the class A championship between Breck and So. St. Paul was obviously the most exciting.  It’s hard to believe Milica was on the ice for the entire 69 minutes, 55 seconds? ~ Me

[But back to the basketball game.  “The Red Hats,” as so identified in the original game post, upon closer inspection of the staff photographer’s efforts, appear to be basketball moms!]

[The student section.  Through the superior education they receive at JHS, they are able to read the sign above their section so they know where to sit.]

[Introductions]

[The ever popular, “Aaaaayyyyyyyyy!”]

[Fergus’s elder Monke sister, Mariah, is listed as 6’2″ but she seems taller.  I have to believe she is being recruited for the next level.]

[ . . . and she scored the first point of the game.]

[I believe these were the Cards’ first points.  A play we have seen over and over again the last two years.  LT makes a steal and goes in for a left-handed lay-up.]

[Kalli, Whitney, and Amanda make 1st half free throws.]

[No. 23 was their designated 3-point shooter.]

[LT’s still playing string music.]

[Great first half – Fergus stayed in by making 3’s.]

[The Roller Coaster Ride]

[Basketballer Aaron Billberg conducts the orchestra.]

[They’re high schoolers – sometimes they don’t take directions well.]

[“Wheeeee!”]

[I see hockey girls in the crowd – I hope they’re not violating training or an ethics code by being associated with this group?  😉 ]

[They’re getting woozy now!]

[Dramamine, please!]

[Amanda drives the base line.]

[LT’s still making ’em – to the student section’s delight.]

[Kohler is the real “Coach K.”]

[Kohler directs a play that leads to . . .]

[Free throws for LT.]

[Running a half court offense was like playing football.]

[LT!  From a hockey mom:  The state hockey tourney is my favorite event too!  I enjoy both the boys and girls tourney.  Did you recognize Shanee’ holding the LT 43 sign?  She got glasses last week.]

[Toward game’s end, Cara took out her frustrations about being beat upon the whole game with a beautifully aggressive drive to the bucket – everything was great except at the end she just didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to finish the play.]

Senior team managers Kendra and Missy were named “players”-of-the-game:

[With fellow class of ’65er, Ruth Helie Anderson, we’re sticking with our Cards!]

[But until the next game, I guess I’ll just have to work on the taxes!  Oy!]