Tori Oehrlein of the Crosby-Ironton Rangers is of course going to play college ball for the Minnesota Gophers while Morgan Staloch of the Jordan Jaguars will play for the St. Thomas Tommies. But, first, they faced off against each other in yesterday’s Breakdown Girls Tip Off at Southwest Christian in Chaska,
It was 2 games for the price of one. Crosby-Ironton won the first game (that is, the first half in a runaway 37-12. But, Jordan came back to “win” the second game (the second half) 40-25 and to make a game of it. After trailing by as many as 27, Jordan got within 7 4 times from 45-38 to 57-50 before C-I’s Regan Juenemann and Sammie Hachey iced it with a couple of buckets inside of 1:30. The final was 62-52.
C-I came out in a zone defense, and Jordan never found any offensive rhythm throughout the first half. I had them unofficially at 6-of-28 in the half. C-I was especially successful at denying Staloch, who took just 2 shots and made one in the first 15:00. She finished the half 3-for-3 on 2s and 0-for-3 on 3s. Meanwhile Oehrlein made 7-of-18 shots for the Rangers for 16 points and added 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. And while Jordan was a collective 6-of-28, C-I made 15 of 29 shots overall in the half. Yes, Oehrlein’s teammates made 8-of-11 shots, and the Rangers were up 24-15 on the boards, 11-0 on points off turnovers and 7-0 on 2nd chance points. Everything was coming up roses
Then came the second game, the second half. Jordan scored the first 10 points, with Staloch scoring 5 with an assist. C-I took a timeout and scored the next 6 points. They again appeared to be safe at 43-22. But, Jordan kept pecking away. Point guard Savi (short for Savannah) Borowicz scored 3 (a 2 and a pair of 3s) to get them within 45-38 with just under 10:00 to play. And now it was Oehrlein who was being denied, taking just 3 shots and missing them all over those 10 minutes. Staloch spent much of the game guarded and/or trying to guard Oehrlein. Then, at 47-40, Juenemann hit a big 3, then Hachey scored a 2, and Oehrlein scored her only basket of the 2nd half, and Juenemann another 3 and C-I was back up 57-43 at about 6 minutes. Jordan fought back to within 57-50 at 2 minutes but ran out of time. The final, again, was 62-52.
After their 6-for-28 in the 1st half, Jordan shot 14-of-27 in the 2nd. Conversely, after shooting better than 50 percent in the 1st, Crosby-Ironton shot just 10-of-31 in the 2nd, Oehrlein shot just 1-for-9. And while C-I won the battle of the boards in the 1st half 24-15, in the 2nd half it was just 17-16. Still, overall C-I had a solid 41-31 edge on the boards.
Oehrlein’s line ended up as 22 points on 8-of-26 shooting, including 0-for 7 from 3 and 6-of-10 FT. She added 16 rebounds, 9 on the defense and 7 on the offensive board, plus 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. It was not a good shooting day for Tori, but she played her usual calm and poise, not turning the ball over all day long. People describe her game as smooth. I don’t know how a player scores 35 ppg with 15 rebounds by just letting the game come to her, but Tori appears to do that. On the other hand, she shows bursts of aggression on drives to the hoop and on the offensive glass. Her step-through drives got her open layups throughout the 1st half though Jordan seemed to deny that move in the 2nd.
If Oehrlein’s game is letting the game come to her, well, that goes double for Staloch. Given her skill level, I’ve said that she could maybe be more aggressive. She is listed as a 6-foot guard and she most plays on the perimeter, and her passing is her biggest contribution to Jordan’s success. And, yet, she scored 19 ppg last year and scored 16 yesterday on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3s and 4-for-4 FT. Surprisingly, I had her down for just one assist and no rebounds on the day. But just one turnover with a lot of touches. Again, her skill level is pretty much stratospheric, and so just 9 shots and no rebounds? She could afford to be a little more active. Still, she is a wonderful player and I think she will be a great fit for Coach Ruth Sinn and her Tommies.
Meanwhile, returning to Tori Oehrlein, as fans always do, she reminds me of Carlie Wagner. A volume shooter, to be sure, but efficient enough, smooth, dominates even while letting the game come to her. I’m not gonna say she’ll be all-Big 10, but I think she’ll be highly competitive in the Big 10.
But, for the moment, for those who think of C-I as a one-girl band, well, Regan Juenemann and Sammie Hachey beg to differ. They combined for 30 points on 13-of-25 shooting. Juenemann, a transfer from Duluth Marshall, is a strong and active 5-9 senior guard who is rated as the #20 senior in the state. She added 5 rebounds to go with 18 points. Hachey scored 12 points and did not turn the ball over all game long. She is also a 5-9 guard, but a junior, and is rated #119 in her class.
Staloch is Jordan’s best player, but Borowicz is their leader. She too is a 5-9 guard and a senior and she’s rated #40 in her class. Like her team, she had a terrible 1st half–0-for-6 with 3 turnovers. But she opened the 2nd half with a 3 that changed the whole tenor of the game. She ended up with 20 points, all in the 2nd half, on 7-of-20 shooting, 7 boards and just those 3 1st half turnovers. But after hitting 3 straight 3s to get Jordan within 50-43, she missed her last 4 3-pointers.
I said this would be a great game. I was half right. The 2nd half was a fun, competitive game of basketball.
