Irish roll at Hamline tourney

• Girls basketball

The Irish girls basketball team has gotten off to a good start so far this winter.

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Observers would be hard-pressed to see Rosemount girls basketball coach Sam McDonald be anything but optimistic about his team’s chances.

Yet, three games into the season and even the optimistic McDonald is pleasantly surprised.

The Irish went 2-0 last week to win the Hamline tournament in the opening action of the season. Rosemount beat St. Paul Central 57-53 and Centennial 73-68 to take the tournament title.

The Irish then came back Tuesday and beat Rochester Century, 58-52.

“From the first game through last night, I have not been surprised by our skill set,” McDonald said. “Nobody has surprised me beyond what I thought they could do. What has surprised me is the composure that’s been evident in all three games. There were three or four times where the other team could have made a run and easily pulled away.

“These girls have a composure to them. They’re more composed than their head coach. They have a resolve and calm to keep playing. They know somebody is going to make a play to create a spark and we’ll get a run going and get right back in it, if not pull ahead.”

The resolve was evident early in games.

Rosemount trailed Centennial 11-2 early on. The Irish were behind Rochester Century, 10-1, on Tuesday. Each time they came right back.

On Tuesday, some quick timeouts led to the momentum shift.

“We struggled early,” McDonald said. “We called a couple of timeouts to get us on track and we wound up taking control of the game at that point. Century did a nice job. We needed to play very well to win that game.

“We didn’t shoot very well to start with. We missed some early shots and Century was ready to go.”

Rosemount ended up taking the lead by halftime and held on during its home opener.

Elaine Warner scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Irish. Rachel Hoeppner hit three 3-pointers en route to a 12-point night.

“We were able to turn the tables on them,” McDonald said. “Basketball is a game of runs. The girls do a good job of internally knowing that and it’s a credit to them.”

Micaella Petrich was the MVP of the Hamline tournament with a combined 21 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the two games. Sara Feeser also made the all-tournament team after scoring 35 points and getting seven steals.

Warner had double-figures in points in each game, finishing with 25 points and 13 rebounds during the tournament. Hoeppner added 23 points in the tournament, topping double-figures each game.

Tags: girls basketball, sports