Providence Academy girls basketball defeats Minnehaha Academy
The Providence Academy Lions defeated the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks 71-60 on Thursday night at Providence Academy.
Providence put its foots on the gas early by jumping out to a 9-0 lead after taking advantage of numerous Minnehaha Academy turnovers.
The Redhawks were eventually able to settle in and find their rhythm, getting within six points midway through the first half. More turnovers and missed free throws saw the Redhawks staring at a 16 point deficit going into halftime trailing 37-21.
In the second half, the Redhawks jumped out to a quick 7-0 run prompting the Providence head coach to call timeout as Minnehaha Academy was able to cut it to single digits. From then on Providence Academy found its groove and answered every Minnehaha Academy basket with a basket of their own as the Lions went on to outlast Minnehaha Academy 71-60.
Providence breaks down Minnehaha Academy defense
There is no doubt Providence is the team to beat in Class 2A so far this season.
They came into this game on an eight-game winning streak. That No. 1 ranking causes teams to take different approaches when playing the Lions.
Minnehaha started the game out in a 3-2 zone on defense, much to the surprise of Providence head coach Conner Goetz.
"Minnehaha usually doesn't go zone as they normally have the athletes to go man-to-man” Goetz said. "It's hard to replicate the length that they have at the top, but we were able to get the ball into the low post and create chances from there.”
In the first half, the Lions were able to take advantage of an abundance of Minnehaha Academy turnovers scoring most of their point in transition, but when Minnehaha Academy was able to set up their half court defense, the Lions got a little flustered which led to careless passes and turnovers.
In the second half, Providence Academy was able to break down that 3-2 zone much easier thanks to senior Grace Counts, who was able to get positioning in the post and was able to find her teammates in the corner for uncontested 3s. Brooke Hohenecker was the biggest beneficiary of Counts great passing as she had a game high 4 three pointers.
Greenway continues to shine
Coming into the game, Lions freshman Maddyn Greenway has been averaging over 30 points per game, which is the most in the entire state of Minnesota.
The Lions guard continued to impress tonight, tallying 25 points for her squad. Greenway's athleticism and speed in transition caused major problems for the Redhawks. Once she got past half court it was almost impossible to slow her down.
Minnehaha Academy was able to go on a run or make a big basket, but it was Greenway who answered for the Lions. Greenway put the game out of reach late in the game with multiple steals and passes that lead to easy Providence points.
“She just always delivers," Goetz said. "The moment is never to big for her, and she always knows when to step up and make big plays for the team.”
Here is our photo gallery from the game.
Providence Academy vs. Minnehaha Academy
