Brynne Rolland and Lyndsey Robson—Apple Valley's potent one-two punch—shared the load for the Eagles during Friday night's championship game at the Roseville Holiday Tournament. By the time they were done, the pair had combined for 55 points, and helped the Eagles pull away from Centennial in the second half to win 81-67.

The Cougars 9-2 (2-0), ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, started the game strong, but the Eagles withstood the early pressure.

"We just had to get settled down," Eagles' head coach Jeremy Gordon said. "Centennial had a size advantage on us. I think we got intimidated in the first couple of minutes. They kept crashing the boards. Once we settled down, we took over from there."

A big reason they took over was the play of Rolland and Robson—the Eagles' top two scorers.

"They have been great all tournament and all year," Gordon said. "Lyndsey does a great job controlling the game and Brynne is solid inside. They work well together."

Rolland detailed the chemistry she has with Robson.

"We work perfectly together," Rolland said. "We know how to play with each other."

Robson—who has been on the varsity for six years—know how much the two feed off each other.

"Brynne has always been complimentary to me," Robson added. "We both love the game."

Rolland had 23 points in the first half for a total of 33 and Robson totaled 22 with 14 of those coming in the second half.

"Brynne was dominant," Gordon said. "They have a chemistry. Lyndsey knows when to look for Brynne. She is not afraid to throw the pass from half court if Brynne has a good seal. There is trust with that."

When the defensive intensity ramped up for the No. 5-4A Eagles 10-1 (2-0), so did the lead.

"We made sure to stop the post," Rolland said. "We just had to lock down on defense."

Robson feels defense has been the key to the entire season.

"We figured out early on our defense creates our offense," Robson said. "If we are struggling to score we get up on defense and that gets us going."

When the Cougars started to focus on Rolland, Robson took over.

"We knew they were going to make an adjustment and we were ready for it," Robson said. "They were sagging in on Brynne. I had to make them guard me and if they didn't, I had to shoot it."

"(Robson) is a strong competitor," Rolland said. "If nothing is falling for her, she won't stop. She will keep pushing herself. That is what she did in the second half—she just kept pushing."

 Robson and Rolland took turns driving the Eagles' offense. The pair pushed the team to a tournament championship.

Two top five teams played in the championship game of the 6th annual Roseville Holiday Tournament on Friday night. Behind the one-two punch of Brynne Rolland and Lyndsey Robson, the Eagles pulled away in the second half to take home the championship, defeating the Cougars 81-67.

Centennial, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, started cold from the field in the first five minutes. That allowed No. 5-4A Apple Valley and especially junior forward Rolland to get into the flow of the game.

As the first half wore on, the Cougars 9-2 (2-0) had no answer for Rolland who lead all scorers at the half with 23 points.

In the second half, the Cougars' defense began to slow down Rolland who finished with 33 points. The extra attention allowed Robson to get open. Robson totaled 22 points and scored 14 in the second half.

As much as the Cougars controlled the paint in the opening minutes, Apple Valley's rebounding and interior defense late in the first half and all the second half kept the Cougars off the glass and held them to one shot.

The Eagles 10-1 (2-0) got scoring from six players with Megan Baer becoming the third Eagles' player to score in double digits with 11.