![]() The Eagles gained possession with 4.9 seconds left to play in regulation. Photo by Jeremy PeyerĮhrman fouled Minnetonka’s Lanelle Wright, who missed her attempt from the line. McKinney made both free throws and the Skippers’ lead was back to two with the ball in their hands.Įden Prairie junior guard Vanessa Jordan (34) is one of five returning starters for Eden Prairie next season. The officials cited Schlagel for a flagrant foul, giving Minnetonka two shots as well as possession. Schlagel fouled McKinney, who fell to the floor on the play. Skippers senior guard Tori McKinney was met by Schlagel in the Tonka offensive zone. ![]() “It felt like you were in a dream with how loud everything was.” Final momentsĪfter Hardwick’s game-tying free throws, Minnetonka took possession with seconds remaining in regulation. “That was very, very physical, and this atmosphere is crazy,” said Schlagel, who led Eden Prairie with 13 points. The standing-room-only crowd was accompanied by bands from both schools, while student sections from Minnetonka and Eden Prairie tried their best to out-cheer the other at opposite ends of the court. The environment could not have been more electric for a section championship game. And you just don’t want to show it out on the court.” “Because that’s what their plan was the whole time: to get in our heads and mess us up. “You try not to let that get into your head,” Hardwick said. Junior guard Rae Ehrman left briefly as well, skinning her forearm after a fall to the floor. Hardwick, who scored 10 points on the night, left the game with a bloody nose early in the second half but quickly returned to patrol the defensive boards. But that’s just part of the game, and you’ve just got to keep playing.” “They were definitely very aggressive, which I knew they were going to be. “That was the most physical game I think I played all season,” Hardwick said. And we just really showed it tonight,” Eden Prairie junior guard Ella Hardwick (32) said after the Section 2AAAA title game at Minnetonka on Friday. “We’ve been working hard as a team all season. The Eagles stayed within two points of the Skippers for the final six minutes, as every possession was met with swarming defense and physicality by both teams. “Coming back, we felt the surge, we had momentum to go and win it.” “We were so excited,” Schlagel recalled of the moment. With 6:15 remaining in regulation and Eden Prairie trailing by three, Hardwick pounced on a rebound off a missed shot by Tonka, got the ball to junior guard Tori Schlagel, whose clutch shot from three-point range tied the game at 32. The Eagles trailed by as much as 11 points in the first half and were down by 10 early in the second half, but kept creeping back on the Skippers throughout the final 18 minutes. So that’s why we’ve been able to win a lot of games this year.” Second-half heroics “We never ‘don’t play’ defense like that. We never did shoot well the whole game, but that’s why you have defense like that because it keeps you in games. ![]() The Eagles had to scratch and claw to even the score, keeping themselves in the game by playing disciplined defense in a physical, hard-fought and low-scoring contest. “It was great to see,” Eden Prairie head coach Ellen Wiese said. ![]() “It felt like you were in a dream with how loud everything was.” Photo by Jeremy Peyer “This atmosphere is crazy,” Tori Schlagel (33) said. Hardwick drained both of her free throws, tying the game at 39. You’ve done it before, you can do it again.’” “I’m just looking at the hoop, thinking to myself, ‘Just breathe, relax. “I don’t really pay attention to that,” the junior guard said. The Eagles trailed the Skippers 39-37 in what had been a grudge match all evening, with the winner heading to the girls state basketball tournament at Williams Arena next week.Īs Hardwick readied herself for the two most crucial free-throw attempts of the season, she tuned out the sights and sounds surrounding her, including the Eden Prairie student section immediately behind the backboard, fluttering their hands in a show of support. 2 seed Eden Prairie Eagles and top-seed Minnetonka. Just 15.6 seconds remained in the Section 2AAAA championship game between Hardwick’s No. “My kids have more heart than any team I’ve been around.” Ellen Wiese | Eden Prairie head coachĮlla Hardwick stood at the free-throw line, surrounded by a sea of blue and a deafening roar, before a sold-out gathering at Minnetonka High School on Friday evening. The scoreboard tells the story as Eden Prairie junior guard Ella Hardwick (32) focuses on her game-tying free throw in the final seconds of the Section 2AAAA title game at Minnetonka on Friday. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |