Friday, March 27, 2009
Still waiting for the 'D'.....
It's a good thing not either team is having an off night shooting -- otherwise they'd be in trouble. The teams are on pace for an 100-point game each. Mari Korton has four points off the bench.
Where's the 'D'?
Both offenses are working early, and the defenses are still on the bus. Tiffany Moe, Alex Andrews and Heather Johnson have seven points each, and Johannah Leedham leads the Ravens with eight points and five rebounds...
Pregame
The NCAA Division II Championship Game between (1) Minnesota State and (1) Franklin Pierce is about two minutes away from tip-off. Here are tonight's starters:
MSU
Andrea Walsh -- 5-8, So.
Tiffany Moe -- 5-9, Jr.
Heather Johnson -- 5-8, Sr.
Joanne Noreen -- 5-8, Sr.
Alex Andrews -- 5-11, Sr.
FPU
Toby Martin -- 5-5, Sr.
Cynthia Gaudet -- 5-6, So.
Jennifer Leedham -- 5-7, Sr.
Johannah Leedham -- 5-11, Jr.
Marielle Giroud -- 5-11, Fr.
Leedham Sisters Will Be Key
— Jennifer (left) and Johannah Leedham, Raymond Starin • MSU Reporter —
And just like the Mavs, the sisters have come a long way to San Antonio, especially if you're considering their hometown is Ellesmere Port, England. Both Leedham's were considered solid prospects, but Johannah was thought to play nothing but Division I basketball. But when they payed a visit to Franklin Pierce's campus when Jennifer was a senior, the British National Under 18 Team was making a campus visit, something they do every year. It seemed like a homecoming for the girls, especially since Jennifer's best friend was apart of the Under 18 Team, who she hadn't seen for about two years.
So when Jennifer decided to attend Franklin Pierce, head coach Mark Swasey had to push hard to get Johannah to make the choice the following season.
"I couldn't believe that Jo was going to be coming into Division II at the time, I was really shocked," Swasey said. "When it turned out she was going to look at our conference pretty hard, we were very excited. Obviously Jen played a huge role in that but Jo had some tough decisions to make, and I hope she's happy with the decision she made."
Jennifer, a senior, and Johannah, a junior, lead the Ravens in minutes per game and points per game. The sisters average about eight more minutes per game than the rest of the team, and Johannah was a Second Team All-American this season.
Johannah -- a 5-foot-11 guard/forward -- leads the Ravens with 23.4 points per game and her six rebounds per game is second on the team. She's also first in blocks (44), steals (101) and second in assists (107). Johannah shoots 50 percent from the field, 38 percent from the 3-point line and even 86 percent from the free-throw line.
Johannah, along with her sister Jennifer -- a 5-7 guard who averages 11.8 points per game and leads the team with 177 assists -- both like to run the fast break, which is similar to the style the Mavericks have used to create their success this season. It could turn into a fast-paced game.
"We are all kind of beat up from the Alaska-Anchorage game and a little tired from all that running, but once we get on the court I don't think anything will matter and we won't feel our legs," said MSU guard Joanne Noreen. "It will be a track meet out there."
Tipoff is slated for for 7 p.m. tonight on ESPN2.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
MSU vs. Franklin Pierce Preview -- Part 1
SAN ANTONIO — Since the beginning of the season the Minnesota State women’s basketball team had a reminder in its locker room of its only goal of the season.
Coach Pam Gohl put a picture of San Antonio – the host site of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight – in the Mavericks’ locker room, and making a trip to southern Texas has been the lone goal since.
“We've been talking about San Antonio since September when coach posted that sign on in our locker room,” said MSU forward Alex Andrews. “We've been pumped since that first win and we're just having fun and we still have a lot of basketball to show.”
Heather Johnson paced the Mavericks with 25 points Wednesday against Alaska-Anchorage in the semifinals. And for Johnson, her scoring couldn’t have come at a better time with the title game against Franklin Pierce slated for Friday.
Johnson was 5 of 7 from the 3-point line Wednesday and 8 of 10 from the field, a night after scoring eight points on just 3 of 10 shooting.
“Tuesday I stood a lot and [Wednesday] I came off screens a little bit better and was more aggressive,” Johnson said. “That allowed me to get my shot off a little bit quicker.”
The Mavericks will need Johnson to make a similar contribution Friday, but need their defense to step up and stop the Leedham sisters.
Johannah Leedham, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, averages 23.3 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game. Her sister Jennifer, a senior, averages 11.9 points per game. The Ravens – a one-seed – dropped Delta State 58-39 to reach Friday’s final. The Ravens have lost just one game since New Year’s and started the season ranked No. 6 in the nation, but are 14th nationally in the most recent poll.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Bill Greehey Arena, and will air live on ESPN2.
“We’ve watched a lot of teams have their last few games over the past few weeks and our seniors, they don’t want that,” Gohl said. “They want to win. They want to go out on a winning note and they want to celebrate all the way back to Mankato.”
Coach Pam Gohl put a picture of San Antonio – the host site of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight – in the Mavericks’ locker room, and making a trip to southern Texas has been the lone goal since.
“We've been talking about San Antonio since September when coach posted that sign on in our locker room,” said MSU forward Alex Andrews. “We've been pumped since that first win and we're just having fun and we still have a lot of basketball to show.”
Heather Johnson paced the Mavericks with 25 points Wednesday against Alaska-Anchorage in the semifinals. And for Johnson, her scoring couldn’t have come at a better time with the title game against Franklin Pierce slated for Friday.
Johnson was 5 of 7 from the 3-point line Wednesday and 8 of 10 from the field, a night after scoring eight points on just 3 of 10 shooting.
“Tuesday I stood a lot and [Wednesday] I came off screens a little bit better and was more aggressive,” Johnson said. “That allowed me to get my shot off a little bit quicker.”
The Mavericks will need Johnson to make a similar contribution Friday, but need their defense to step up and stop the Leedham sisters.
Johannah Leedham, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, averages 23.3 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game. Her sister Jennifer, a senior, averages 11.9 points per game. The Ravens – a one-seed – dropped Delta State 58-39 to reach Friday’s final. The Ravens have lost just one game since New Year’s and started the season ranked No. 6 in the nation, but are 14th nationally in the most recent poll.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Bill Greehey Arena, and will air live on ESPN2.
“We’ve watched a lot of teams have their last few games over the past few weeks and our seniors, they don’t want that,” Gohl said. “They want to win. They want to go out on a winning note and they want to celebrate all the way back to Mankato.”
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Mavericks Blow Past Seawolves
With the smiles and laughs being shared between members of the Minnesota State women’s basketball team, one would’ve never known that 24 hours ago Heather Johnson played one of her worst games of the season. Luckily for Johnson and the Mavericks, they still found a way to win.
It would have been easy for Johnson to hang her head during Wednesday’s semifinal matchup against Alaska-Anchorage, but she knew Tuesday’s performance didn’t matter. The senior guard knew that any member of the team could pick her up.
But Johnson took matters into her own hands at Bill Greehey Arena, scoring 25 points to lead the Mavericks to their first-ever national championship game in a 83-60 massacre against the Seawolves.
“As long as I can come in and contribute,” Johnson said. “Anything I can do to help us win, whether it’s an assist, rebound, or defensively.”
Johnson electrified the Mavericks from the start – showing no signs of her struggles from the night before – as she scored 15 points in the first half and didn’t miss a shot from the floor, and was 3 for 3 from the 3-point line.
“We’ve been shooting pretty well throughout the course of the year,” said MSU head coach Pam Gohl. “But you never know if your shots are going to go in or if you’re going to be a little tight on your jumpers. The girls were relaxed and they just did a great job of knocking their shots down.”
The topic of the night wasn’t supposed to be about Johnson and the guards, but instead on the post play of UAA’s Rebecca Kielpinski and whether the Mavericks could match up with the All-American center.
Alex Andrews answered that question in the first half, as she and Mari Korton held Kielpinski to just two points, as she shot 1 for 3 from the field.
“We weren’t too worried about the big girls,” Andrews said. “We knew what we had to do and had to try and be as big as we could.”
The second half was more of the same for the Mavericks. But this time they got more players involved and were able to stretch the lead.
As Gohl’s said before, the Mavericks have so many dangerous players, some fans might not even see on the court.
One of those players is senior center Teresa Parker. Parker played in just 10 games this season and has seen minimal minutes. Gohl decided to sub in Parker midway through the second half, hoping it might give the lineup a boost.
It turned out to be a smart move as she had a team-high three blocks in just 10 minutes of work. And during every one of those blocks, every member of the bench was on their feet.
“We’ve had so much confidence coming down here,” Andrews said. “Like with Teresa stepping up, we have so much confidence in each other that we knew that whoever we faced—you can’t stop all of us on this team.”
The Mavericks will likely be on their feet for a few more hours, trying to settle down from the excitement.
“These girls have managed to understand the difference between celebrating after a big win and focusing on the next game,” Gohl said. “They’ve been so focused that I think we’ll be OK.”
The Mavericks have done more than what’s been expected, as they’re just two days away from a chance at making history.
The dream of bringing a national championship back to Mankato is no longer out of the question, as the Mavericks are just one game away from turning their dream into a reality.
It would have been easy for Johnson to hang her head during Wednesday’s semifinal matchup against Alaska-Anchorage, but she knew Tuesday’s performance didn’t matter. The senior guard knew that any member of the team could pick her up.
But Johnson took matters into her own hands at Bill Greehey Arena, scoring 25 points to lead the Mavericks to their first-ever national championship game in a 83-60 massacre against the Seawolves.
“As long as I can come in and contribute,” Johnson said. “Anything I can do to help us win, whether it’s an assist, rebound, or defensively.”
Johnson electrified the Mavericks from the start – showing no signs of her struggles from the night before – as she scored 15 points in the first half and didn’t miss a shot from the floor, and was 3 for 3 from the 3-point line.
“We’ve been shooting pretty well throughout the course of the year,” said MSU head coach Pam Gohl. “But you never know if your shots are going to go in or if you’re going to be a little tight on your jumpers. The girls were relaxed and they just did a great job of knocking their shots down.”
The topic of the night wasn’t supposed to be about Johnson and the guards, but instead on the post play of UAA’s Rebecca Kielpinski and whether the Mavericks could match up with the All-American center.
Alex Andrews answered that question in the first half, as she and Mari Korton held Kielpinski to just two points, as she shot 1 for 3 from the field.
“We weren’t too worried about the big girls,” Andrews said. “We knew what we had to do and had to try and be as big as we could.”
The second half was more of the same for the Mavericks. But this time they got more players involved and were able to stretch the lead.
As Gohl’s said before, the Mavericks have so many dangerous players, some fans might not even see on the court.
One of those players is senior center Teresa Parker. Parker played in just 10 games this season and has seen minimal minutes. Gohl decided to sub in Parker midway through the second half, hoping it might give the lineup a boost.
It turned out to be a smart move as she had a team-high three blocks in just 10 minutes of work. And during every one of those blocks, every member of the bench was on their feet.
“We’ve had so much confidence coming down here,” Andrews said. “Like with Teresa stepping up, we have so much confidence in each other that we knew that whoever we faced—you can’t stop all of us on this team.”
The Mavericks will likely be on their feet for a few more hours, trying to settle down from the excitement.
“These girls have managed to understand the difference between celebrating after a big win and focusing on the next game,” Gohl said. “They’ve been so focused that I think we’ll be OK.”
The Mavericks have done more than what’s been expected, as they’re just two days away from a chance at making history.
The dream of bringing a national championship back to Mankato is no longer out of the question, as the Mavericks are just one game away from turning their dream into a reality.
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