Photo Gallery: Forest Lake vs. Stillwater
Early in Stillwater's home contest against Forest Lake Friday, senior standout Sara Scalia got the ball a long way from the basket — and promptly shot it.
Swish.
Early in the second half Scalia took another shot from well behind the 3-point line — and make it as well.
"I had someone ask me why I allowed her to take those long 3's, and I said, 'Because she's making them,'" Stillwater coach Willie Taylor said. "If she takes a shot from half court and makes it, I don't care."
Scalia drained five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points to lead the Ponies, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, to a 59-52 victory over the Rangers.
"When I see an opportunity to shoot, I shoot," Scalia said. "I have confidence in my shot, and obviously other teams don't give me open shots close to the basket."
Stillwater connected on seven 3-pointers in the first half and nine overall, and that helped the Ponies win their Suburban East Conference opener.
Scalia's freshman sister, Amber, had 10 points and a pair of 3's while freshman Alexis Pratt added 10 points and also made two 3-pointers as the Ponies improved to 3-1 on the season.
Abigail Groeneweg scored 13 points to lead No. 7-4A Forest Lake. Kenzie Stumne and Abby Leach each added 10 points for the Rangers, who fell to 4-1.
Sara Scalia hit a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around an Aliza Karlen 3 to open the game as the Ponies raced to a quick 11-3 lead in the first two minutes, and Forest Lake spent the rest of the time playing catch-up.
The Rangers used a seven-point run to cut their deficit to 18-15 with 9:24 left in the opening half, only to see Pratt connect on a 3-pointer to stop the run and Sara Scalia drill a 3 on the next possession.
"[Sara Scalia] is a dynamic scorer who's super-crafty with the basketball," Forest Lake coach Jen Wagner said. "She can score from anywhere.
"We know how she plays, and actually I felt we limited her a little bit."
Stillwater led 32-22 at halftime because of its 7-2 advantage in 3-pointers made and a 27-17 rebounding edge that included nine offensive boards.
"We got killed on the boards, especially in the first half," Wagner said. "We had better focus on that in the second half.
In the second half Forest Lake never came closer than five points, using a 7-0 run that cut Stillwater's lead to 47-42 with 5:40 on the clock. But the Ponies spread the floor, opening up driving lanes to the basket that created free-throw opportunities — Stillwater made eight of its final nine charity tosses.
The Rangers cut down their second-half rebound deficit to 27-23, but Stillwater's 54-40 rebound advantage for the game included 11 rebounds by Karlen —nine coming in the second half — while Allison Benning and Delaney Wagner each added 10.
"We told Allison we want her to get every rebound — and at times she does that," Taylor said. "And Liza Karlen is just a beast."
The result was a long night for Forest Lake, which became longer when Logan Anderson hit her head on the floor midway through the second half while Leach rolled her ankle in the game's final moments.
"Maddy Rice dislocated her kneecap against Coon Rapids and his working her way back," Wagner said in looking at her team's recent spate of injuries. "Groeneweg was home sick the last two days. ...
"But all those injuries are things you have to work through. And with all those things going on, I thought our kids played really tough."